People who live with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) experience patterns of intense and unwanted thoughts or fears, called obsessions. These obsessions often lead to the development of repeated behaviours, or reactions to the obsession, which are called compulsions. Compulsions can impact or impede day to day life, and acting out these compulsions typically becomes a coping mechanism to dealing with obsessive thoughts.
But recently, evidence suggests that medical cannabis or cannabis-based products may be of benefit to people with obsessive compulsive disorder. This is because one of the biological networks that is involved in regulating our moods and emotions is the endocannabinoid system. This is the same system, or network, that carries cannabinoids like THC and CBD around the body after they’re administered.
Although evidence in this area is still being uncovered, currently, it appears that when cannabis cannabinoids are used appropriately and applied medicinally, they can impact neural activity. Findings suggest cannabinoids may be able to calm an overactive mind by balancing brain activity, and communication signals, after accessing the endocannabinoid system.
This, in turn, can lessen the feeling of anxiety and relieve stress and possibly the intensity of compulsions, which may make daily life easier to manage. In the UK, those who have not been able to find similar results, or relief, with conventional OCD treatments may be eligible for medical cannabis.