Not many professions are as physically, mentally, and psychologically demanding as first responder essential services. The COVID 19 pandemic that ravaged the entire world showed how stressful it could be for doctors, nurses, and auxiliary staff of hospitals. Many of these workers spent most of their days during the pandemic in hospitals attending patients round the clock.
Will CBD Help Firefighters, Nurses, and Veterans?
Firefighters during 911 were known to spend weeks on end, literally living in fire stations and constantly on standby. These Firefighters were on call 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, attending to any fire incident as a possible terror attack.
In more modern times, there has been a greater understanding of post-traumatic stress or PTSD effects on military personnel. It has led to much better treatment and management of PTSD, particularly in war Veterans.
Fire responder workers are subjected to an enormous amount of stress which can be both physical and mental. Chronic stress can lead to many health issues, including restlessness, insomnia, high blood pressure, mental illness, cardiac arrest, and even sudden death.
Today, many Firefighters, Nurses, and Veterans have turned to Cannabidiol (CBD) in relieving their stress. CBD is an all-natural supplement that is effective in providing users with relief from their physical and mental health issues caused by excessive stress. To understand how CBD will help, let’s get to know more about what CBD is.
What is CBD?
Cannabidiol or CBD is a cannabinoid that is found in the Cannabis plant. CBD is one of the hundreds of cannabinoids that can be derived from this plant. However, CBD is not an addictive compound. Also, Cannabidiol is not a psychoactive cannabinoid, unlike Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which gives users the “high” that they experience when they smoke cannabis.
CBD will not get you “high,” but rather this cannabinoid will provide your body with several health benefits similar to opioids and prescription pain medications. The main difference between CBD and opioids or prescription pain medication is that CBD is not addictive while the others are very addictive.
CBD is a safer, more effective alternative to conventional painkillers. CBD is also legal, and even the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has now removed CBD from its list of prohibited substances.
Cannabidiol will therefore not hinder essential workers in any way from carrying out their duties and responsibilities. Drug testing is now mandatory for most essential service workers. You will not test positive for a THC drug test when you use pure CBD, as this supplement is entirely free of any traces of THC.
What is CBD used for?
If you’re a firefighter, nurse or veteran, you can use CBD to treat and manage a host of physical and mental health challenges. Let’s talk about some of the health benefits of using CBD.
CBD is an Excellent Pain Reliever
First responder workers like firefighters, nurses, and military personnel subject their bodies to a lot of rigorous and sometimes gruelling work. This hard physical work can lead to injuries. As they wear their bodies to the ground, these workers usually do not develop health conditions characterized by inflammation and chronic pain.
Back and joint injuries can lead to inflammation and severe pain. This pain can be so debilitating that first responders may be forced to take extensive time off from work. The problem with this is that it could lead to other health issues such as depression and anxiety.
Sufferers of chronic pain can resort to using addictive opioids and painkillers. This addiction in itself is also a serious issue. But by using CBD, first responders experiencing inflammation and chronic pain will gain relief without tackling the problem of addiction.
CBD regulates the body’s immune system response to inflammation and thereby significantly reduces the effects of inflammation on the body. Also, patients will recover quickly, which prevents them from falling into a state of depression and anxiety.
CBD Provides Relief from Restlessness
Working round the clock can be very stressful. The human body is not designed to work with rest or sleep, but first responders are often put in such a situation. Even when they have some time to rest, they find it difficult to get some needed sleep.
Restlessness and a lack of sleep can lead to high blood pressure, stroke, cardiac arrest, and sudden death. However, CBD can help first responders to get some rest and quality sleep time. Good sleep leads to better on-the-job performance, and CBD can help with that.
CBD and PTSD
After experiencing the tragedies that befell 911 victims and their families, many firefighters at the time had PTSD. Also, many doctors and nurses treating COVID 19 patients and experiencing death were known to suffer from depression, anxiety, and PTSD.
First responders are human, after all. Soldiers coming back from serving their country in war-torn regions also battle with PTSD. PTSD is dangerous as it can lead to deep depression, impulsive, aggressive, and violent behaviour.
However, it is now known that Cannabidiol is effective in the treatment and management of PTSD. CBD helps to relax and calm the nerves. CBD will help PTSD patients to get some rest and sleep, which is vital to dealing with this problem as many PTSD patients suffer from restlessness, insomnia, and night terrors.
Depression and anxiety may be obvious symptoms of PTSD, but this mental health condition may also make sufferers suicidal or homicidal. Self-harm is often a cry for help, and many PTSD patients resort to inflicting harm on themselves as a way of getting people’s attention to their problems. There are studies that found CBD to help bring relief to PTSD patients by giving them quality and undisturbed sleep.
Fortunately, CBD offers a natural, safe, legal, and healthy medical means of helping PTSD patients to come to terms with and address their condition head-on.
