How Cannabis Helps With Anger Management

How Cannabis Helps With Anger Management

How Medical Marijuana Helps With Anger Management from CannabisNet on Vimeo.

It’s normal to experience an occasional bout of anger. Road rage, someone cutting you off in line, or when someone embarrasses you in public.

However, for a certain percentage of the population, anger is a debilitating problem. One that needs intervention, therapy, and management. Maybe you know a person or two in your life who has anger problems. But did you know that cannabis can help with anger management?

Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED)

Intermittent explosive disorder (IED) is the textbook definition of someone with anger issues. Statistics say that a shocking 16 million Americans have IED, which is also considered one of the lesser-known forms of mental illness.

IED is characterized by difficulties controlling one’s aggressive impulses, and usually results in fits of temper, destroying property, and physically or verbally assaulting other people. A typical IED outburst lasts less than 30 minutes, and people with IED feel aggressive, irritable, and angry most of the time. IED episodes can recur without incident or trigger. Other symptoms include palpitations, racing thoughts, tremors, shouting, tightening of the chest, threatening people or animals, damaging property, tirades, and heated arguments.

People with IED react differently once an episode has finished; while some feel a great sense of relief and calm, others experience terrible regret, embarrassment, and remorse. Domestic violence is a form of IED, too.

Diagnosing IED isn’t as easy as taking a blood test because no such thing can physically determine if you have IED. It’s up to the people who live with others who have IED, or those who have IED themselves, to put themselves forward and ask for help. But according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an IED diagnosis can be given once a person experiences three episodes of uncontrollable anger where they either lost control and broke something that had value, assaulted or attempted to assault someone out of rage; or threatened to hit someone while in a fit of rage.

While the cause of IED is unknown, the medical community believes that people with certain existing mental illnesses may be more prone to suffering from this type of anger problem. These include borderline personality disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, antisocial personality disorder, bipolar disorder, and other kinds of disorders that have are characterized by disruptive behaviors.

Because of the nature of the symptoms itself, people with IED suffer serious ramifications which can affect their personal and family relationships, career, and much more.

How Cannabis Can Help

Have you noticed that cannabis users are just more chill and relaxed, in general? That’s no accident.

But cannabis can be used to effectively treat the anger, depression, and anxiety that triggers explosive outbursts. If a patient has other forms of mental illnesses, depending what kind, cannabis can also be used for that. Cannabis strains for anger management is a topic of some Reddit threads as well as on Medium.

Studies show that CBD can regulate imbalances in the endocannabinoid system, thereby effectively treating the triggers or causes of angry outbursts. The study, which looked at 400 participants, involved administering either placebos or hemp oil. The participants who received the CBD revealed significantly reduced stress levels compared to those who were given the placebo. Another study analyzing CBD on social anxiety involved placing some participants under social stress, followed by CBD medication. They found that the participants who didn’t take CBD had much higher alert levels, a metric that is also found among people who have anger management issues.

Scientists have also found that CBD medications can provide the brain with a sense of calm thanks to its ability to regulate the neurotransmitters. When you take CBD, this tapers off the fight or flight responses, and it calms you down when you are faced with situations that would otherwise trigger panic or fear.

Cannabis and CBD can not only help with the emotional or mental triggers that lead to an outburst. People have experienced success in treating stress and anxiety when using cannabis, especially high CBD strains and CBD products. But it can also help the physical triggers of anger issues. People who are experiencing chronic pain are more irritable and angry (wouldn’t you be?), and the good news is that cannabis can help with this too!

Whether the cause of anger is an internal or external one, the issue of anger management can be challenging to even admit, what more treat. But instead of turning to pharmaceutical medications, cannabis offers a much safer way to keep your head cool because it regulates the endocannabinoid system. Even when you aren’t high, it helps you stay level-headed.

How Medical Marijuana Helps With Anger Management from CannabisNet on Vimeo.