An Excerpt from CNN Health written by Lisa Drayer

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Anxiety relief in the time of Covid-19

By Lisa Drayer, CNN

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Indeed, a more recent survey looking at consumer attitudes and behavior during Covid-19's enforced "social distancing" revealed that people have been turning to cannabis and CBD as a way to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic. Specifically, among the general population, 10% are using cannabis, and 5% are using CBD.

Just last week, researchers warned of a rise of anxiety and "coping responses" during the pandemic, and called for better monitoring of mental health as part of the global response to the pandemic.

 

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People living with coronavirus-related anxiety due to fear of one's health or the health of loved ones, isolation, entrapment from quarantining, a disrupted routine, or simply uncertainty of the future might turn to CBD as a useful tool to get them through this difficult time. Of course, the trauma of health care workers on the front lines is another aspect of the pandemic calling for anxiety and pain relief, where CBD may be a welcome lifestyle intervention.

"Health-care workers [who] are working long shifts are finding CBD helpful for restorative sleep and on their days off using it for pain and inflammation -- from being on their feet all day, [and having] low back pain and neck pain," Chin said in an email.

"CBD can also help with panic attacks and insomnia as the prevalence of depression and PTSD mounts in response to this pandemic," Chin added.

Studies have also revealed that CBD may be a compound of choice for those struggling with drug addiction, and it may even have the potential to help opioid addicts avoid a relapse through reducing craving and anxiety, according to study author Dr. Yasmin Hurd, a neuroscientist at the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai (AIMS) in New York.