CBD's Role In Social Self-Care

Self-care has become an important topic in recent years. Our fast-paced lifestyles and hectic schedules have taken a toll on our mental and physical health. And burnout has become a real problem. Some days we have no energy left to enjoy the company of our loved ones. Is your social self-care routine in need of a lift?

CBD has emerged as a popular natural remedy to boost wellness and promote relaxation. Curious how CBD oil products can help get your social life back on track?

Read on to learn how cannabidiol might help you relax your mind and reconnect with others.

What Is Social Self-Care?

Depending on the wellness expert you talk to, there are anywhere from five to eight types of self-care. You've likely heard of physical self-care, mental self-care, emotional self-care. And maybe even spiritual self-care.

But what about social self-care? Social self-care is all about taking care of your relationships and spending time with people who make you happy. It's important to nurture your relationships and connect with others, as social interaction has numerous benefits for your physical, emotional, and mental well-being.

However, the business of life can often get in the way of social self-care. We get so caught up in work, life duties, and other obligations that we forget to take time to deepen our close relationships.

What Does Social Self-Care Look Like?

Yah, it can help to have an image in mind…. Social self-care involves doing what it takes to develop and nurture various dimensions of healthful social connections, like:

• Quality interactions. Face-to-face or virtual experiences in which you’re actively engaged with each other.
• Undistracted time. Being focused and mentally present with the people we care about, e.g., a date night with your partner during which neither of you is staring at your phone. (Device fixation is not social self-care!)
• Awareness of our relationships. Prioritizing your relationships, which sometimes means letting go of ones that are no longer serving you.
• Your social self-care will look different at different times in your life. Get to know your needs and adjust your social self-care accordingly.

Examples Of Social Self-Care

There are many different ways to practice social self-care. Here are just a few examples:

• Brunch with the besties
• Visiting/calling parents
• Hanging out with your partner
• Hosting a dinner party
• Going to the movies with siblings
• Meeting friends for coffee
• After-work happy hour with work buddies

And, yes, lest you think otherwise — there’s definitely a place for CBD oil in all this. Let's see how CBD fits into the picture.

CBD's Benefits For Social Self-Care

CBD offers a wealth of wellness benefits that can help you emphasize and promote self-care.

For one, CBD may elevate mood and facilitate your social interactions. CBD’s thought to help reduce anxiety and promote relaxation. This can be helpful when you're socializing, as it can help you feel more comfortable and confident in yourself. It can also help you feel more present and focused during social activities.

CBD & Social Anxiety

CBD has been shown to reduce anxiety in people with social anxiety disorder.(1) How does it do this? It may be that CBD is interacting with the CB receptors in the brain to modulate the anxiety response. And brain imaging studies with social anxiety patients confirm that CBD seems to cause changes in brain activity.(2)

CBD & Depression

Research has found antidepressant-like effects of CBD in animal models of depression.(3)

It’s thought that CBD interacts with the endocannabinoid system (ECS) to help to regulate serotonin levels — a key neurotransmitter involved in mood. The way it vibes with your ECS may induce mood-improving effects.

CBD Might Enhance Closeness & Connection

Cannabis might also help facilitate feelings of empathy and interpersonal connection.(4) It's not clear if it's the CBD, THC, or a combination of the two that might be responsible for this effect.

But the anti-anxiety properties of CBD might play into this, making it easier to be open and present with others.

How To Use CBD In Your Social Self-Care

If your social self-care routine could use a pick-me-up, why not give CBD a try?

Take a look at all the ways you can enhance quality time with your closest friends and family.

CBD To Mitigate Social Anxiety

If social scenarios make you anxious, CBD may help you feel more calm and at ease around people. Consider taking a CBD gummy an hour or two before a social gathering, or a CBD oil tincture to use as needed throughout the day.

CBD For Connecting With Others

Do you have a million things on your mind and find it hard to be fully “there” with others?

CBD may help you focus and feel more connected. By relaxing the body and mind, you may find it easier to transition from stress time to social hour. Try using a CBD oil or CBD water soluble an hour before socializing to help your brain ease into relaxation mode.

CBD In Social Activities

CBD might help strengthen feelings of connectedness, so why not combine CBD and your favorite social activity? For example, you could host a CBD-infused cocktail party, or take CBD gummies to your next book club meeting.

Take a look at these articles to inspire your next get together:

• Foolproof CBD Recipes For The Chillest Brunch Ever
• Cook Up Some Calm With These CBD Recipes
• Be A CBD Bartender! CBD Bar Basics

CBD For Couples Time

If your socializing looks like getting a babysitter so you can go out on the town with your partner, CBD can help there too! Couples who use cannabis together often report feeling closer to each other.(5)

Learn about incorporating cannabis and CBD into your relationship here: Cannabis For Couples: A Guide To The Romantic Benefits Of Cannabis. CBD may just be your ticket to heightened intimacy, pleasure, and tranquility with your special someone.

CBD-Post Social Hour

If you're an introvert — even if you love your closest friends — you still need some alone time to recharge. If you're the type of person who gets drained by being around people for too long, you might want to try a post-social time CBD routine.

Maybe you already have a rest and recharge routine — like reading a book, taking a bath, or meditating. Adding CBD to the mix could help you relax even more, easing you into a state where you're ready to face the world again.

CBD For Social Self-Care: All Together Now

CBD is top of mind when we think about wellness-furthering natural remedies. And social self-care should be part of your wellness routine.

CBD can play an important role in social self-care — helping to ease social anxieties, improve mood, and usher in feelings of closeness and connection.

Give CBD a try if you’re looking to:

• Help ease the mind so you can be more present with loved ones
• Quell social anxiety so you can enjoy time with friends
• Host a fun new activity, like a CBD-infused brunch
• Use it as part of your post-social routine to help you relax and recharge
• Reconnect with your S.O. by sharing a cannabis-enhanced experience

CBD is a versatile tool that can be used in many different ways to support your social self-care.

So why not give it a go and see how it can help you feel more relaxed, at ease, and connected to your social world?

TREAT YOURSELF TO CBD

References

1. Bergamaschi, MM, et al. (2011). Cannabidiol reduces the anxiety induced by simulated public speaking in treatment-naïve social phobia patients. Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2011.6
2. Crippa, JA, et al. (2011). Neural basis of anxiolytic effects of cannabidiol (CBD) in generalized social anxiety disorder: a preliminary report. Journal of psychopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881110379283
3. Sales, AJ, et al. (2019). Cannabidiol Induces Rapid and Sustained Antidepressant-Like Effects Through Increased BDNF Signaling and Synaptogenesis in the Prefrontal Cortex. Molecular neurobiology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-018-1143-4
4. Davis, T. (2020). How CBD May Promote Social Connection. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/click-here-happiness/202006/how-cbd-may-promote-social-connection
5. Travers, M. (2019). Can Marijuana Improve the Quality of Your Relationship? Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/social-instincts/201905/can-marijuana-improve-the-quality-your-relationship