Does CBD Help With Anxiety? What the Research Shows (UK)

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is a feeling of unease, such as worry or fear, that can be mild or severe. Everyone feels anxious at times, but for some people it becomes hard to control and affects daily life. Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is a long-term condition where you feel anxious about a wide range of situations. Signs include restlessness, trouble concentrating, a racing heart, tense muscles and poor sleep (see anxiety symptoms). The NHS recommends talking therapies, medicines and self-help as the main treatments.

Does CBD help with anxiety?

The honest answer is that it isn’t proven. Short-term studies of people giving a speech in a laboratory have been encouraging, but they were small and used doses far higher than supplements contain. The one trial adding CBD to therapy for hard-to-treat anxiety found no extra benefit, and a placebo-controlled trial at an everyday dose found no difference from a dummy oil.

CBD sold as a food supplement in the UK isn’t a licensed medicine, it isn’t prescribed by the NHS for anxiety, and it can’t be marketed to treat any condition.

What the research shows

These are the human studies most often quoted when people ask about CBD and anxiety. Notice how small they are, and how few used anything like a supplement dose.

A 2015 review of animal, human and population studies concluded that CBD had potential for anxiety, but that human evidence was mostly limited to single doses and few studies had looked at people with diagnosed anxiety disorders. That is still broadly true today.

Two points stand out. First, more is not always better: in the Linares study, the middle dose made a difference and the highest did not. Second, the strongest results come from short-term “stress test” studies, not long-term daily use at the amounts people actually buy.

What the latest reviews say (2024 to 2026)

Reviews pool many trials together, so they give a better overall picture than any single study. The recent ones are cautious.

Put simply, the more carefully the evidence is pooled, the weaker the case looks. That doesn’t prove CBD does nothing, but it does mean nobody can honestly promise that it will make a difference to anxiety.

The placebo effect: does CBD actually do anything?

Searches for “does CBD actually do anything” have jumped this autumn, and it is a fair question. Expectation plays a big part in how people feel after taking CBD.

• Telling people it is CBD changes how they feel. In a 2024 Canadian study, 48 healthy adults all took the same CBD-free oil, but half were told it contained CBD. After a stressful task, the group who believed they had CBD felt more sedated, and their stress and anxiety ratings returned to where they started while waiting for a second task, unlike the other group.
• A dummy oil did as well as a real one. In the 2025 German trial of 180 stressed students, a low dose CBD oil and a placebo oil both did better than taking nothing for stress scores, but there was no difference between the CBD and the placebo.

So a calm feeling after the first few drops may be expectation rather than the CBD itself, which is why a simple diary helps if you try it. Our guide why isn’t CBD working for me? covers the practical reasons it can feel like nothing is happening.

How fast does CBD work for anxiety?

There is no proven timeline, because there is no proven effect at supplement doses. What the research can tell you is how the studies were timed and how quickly CBD reaches the blood:

Drops held under the tongue are often said to act faster than capsules or gummies, but good human data is limited. Our guide how long does CBD take to work? goes through each format, and CBD oil vs gummies compares the two most popular options.

Study doses vs supplement doses

Most controlled anxiety studies used 300 to 600mg of CBD in one go. A typical CBD supplement serving is 10 to 40mg, and the FSA advises healthy adults to take no more than 10mg a day. The NHS notes that shop-bought CBD products tend to contain only very small amounts of CBD, so it’s not clear what effect they would have.

In the Shannon case series most people took 25mg a day, but that study had no placebo group, and the 2025 placebo-controlled trial at a low dose found no difference. So you can’t assume a 10mg serving will match the effects seen in a 300mg study.

The FSA’s 10mg a day figure is precautionary advice rather than a legal limit, set while longer-term safety research continues. At Evopure we think it is a very cautious figure, and many adults use more. If you go above it, increase slowly, and check with your GP or pharmacist first if you take any medication. Our CBD dosage guide shows how many drops make 10mg in each of our oils, and the FSA’s 10mg advice explained covers where the figure came from.

Evopure CBD products are food supplements, not treatments for anxiety. If you decide to try CBD, ours are broad spectrum with 0% THC.

How CBD works in the body

CBD (cannabidiol) is one of more than a hundred compounds in the hemp plant. Scientists don’t fully understand what it does in people, but there are three main ideas:

• The endocannabinoid system. This network of receptors and messengers is involved in mood, stress and sleep. CBD appears to slow the breakdown of anandamide, one of the body’s own cannabinoids.
• Serotonin receptors. CBD activates 5-HT1A receptors in lab studies, the same family involved in mood and some anti-anxiety medicines.
• The stress response. Brain imaging studies suggest single doses change activity in areas that process fear, such as the amygdala.

This comes mostly from lab, animal and single-dose studies, so it explains why researchers are interested rather than proving an effect. Read the endocannabinoid system explained or our beginner’s guide what is CBD?

Can CBD make you high?

No. CBD isn’t intoxicating, and a 2026 JAMA review describes it as a compound that does not have psychoactive effects. The high from cannabis comes from THC, which is a controlled drug in the UK.

THC matters for anxiety too. The same review reports that people using high-potency cannabis had higher rates of generalised anxiety disorder than people using low-potency cannabis (19.1% vs 11.6%). Full spectrum CBD contains traces of THC, while broad spectrum has it removed, and all Evopure CBD products are broad spectrum with 0% THC. See does CBD get you high?, CBD vs THC and full spectrum vs broad spectrum vs isolate.

What about panic attacks and depression?

Panic attacks. There is very little research. The one controlled trial that included people with panic disorder (Kwee, 2022) added 300mg of CBD to exposure therapy and found no extra benefit over placebo. CBD is not a treatment for panic attacks. The NHS advises seeing a GP if you have symptoms of panic disorder, and you can also refer yourself to a talking therapies service. Our guide on how to stop a panic attack covers breathing and grounding steps.

Depression. The 2026 Lancet Psychiatry review found no randomised trial evidence for cannabinoids as a treatment for depression. People search a lot for “CBD for anxiety and depression”, but there is nothing solid to report yet. See what the research says on CBD and depression.

If you decide to try CBD

CBD isn’t a treatment for anxiety. If you choose to try it, a careful approach makes it easier to judge whether it is worth continuing:

• Check your medicines first. If you take any regular medicine, speak to your GP or pharmacist before you start (see medicines below).
• Choose a format. Drops are easy to adjust drop by drop; capsules give a fixed amount with no taste.
• Start low. Around 10mg a day, in line with the FSA advice above.
• Take it with food. CBD is absorbed better with a meal.
• Keep a short diary. Note how you feel each day for two to four weeks, alongside sleep, caffeine and alcohol. Because of the placebo effect, written notes are more reliable than a general impression.
• Stop if nothing changes. If you notice no difference after a month, CBD may simply not be for you.

Read how to take CBD oil, CBD oil vs capsules and when to take CBD oil. If you are comparing products, our best CBD oil for anxiety buyer’s guide explains what to look for, including lab reports and THC content.

What to realistically expect

Based on the research so far, expect a subtle change at most, and possibly none. The approaches with stronger evidence come first: the NHS self-help advice includes talking to someone you trust, breathing exercises or yoga, enough sleep, regular exercise and meals, less caffeine, and not using alcohol or drugs to cope. See how to deal with anxiety and caffeine and anxiety.

Other supplements people ask about include magnesium, L-theanine, ashwagandha and reishi. Magnesium is the only one with an authorised health claim: it contributes to normal psychological function. Our comparison of natural supplements for anxiety sets out the evidence for each.

Side effects, medicines and who should avoid CBD

CBD is generally well tolerated at supplement amounts. Possible side effects include tiredness, diarrhoea, changes in appetite and a dry mouth, mostly at higher amounts. See CBD side effects for the full list.

Medicines. The UK prescribing information (SmPC) for Epidyolex, the licensed CBD medicine, says CBD inhibits the liver enzyme CYP2C19, which may raise blood levels of medicines broken down by it, and names others that may be affected, including warfarin, omeprazole, tacrolimus and digoxin. It also warns that alcohol and other medicines that cause drowsiness can add to CBD’s sleepiness. If you take sertraline or another SSRI, any other antidepressant or any anxiety medicine, speak to your GP or pharmacist before trying CBD. Never stop, reduce or replace prescribed medicine with CBD. See how CBD interacts with medicines.

Can CBD make anxiety worse? CBD isn’t known to cause panic attacks, and it doesn’t make you high. THC, the intoxicating compound in cannabis, can trigger anxiety and paranoia in some people, which is one more reason to choose a THC-free product. A small number of people feel uncomfortable on CBD, so start low. If you notice a racing heart, read can CBD cause palpitations?

Who should avoid it. Evopure products are for adults (18+) only, and the FSA advises against CBD for under 18s unless under medical direction. We don’t recommend our products during pregnancy or breastfeeding. The FSA also advises against CBD if you are trying to conceive or taking medication, unless under medical direction. Our CBD products are not for pets.

When to see your GP

See a GP if anxiety is affecting your daily life, work or relationships, or if it is causing you distress. The NHS says a GP will usually suggest talking therapies, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), before prescribing medicine, which is usually a type of antidepressant called an SSRI. In England, adults can also refer themselves to NHS Talking Therapies without seeing a GP. Never stop or change prescribed medicine without medical advice.

Related guides

• Decided to try CBD? Our best CBD oil for anxiety UK guide compares our oils by routine, with the checks to make before you buy.
• See social anxiety: signs and how to cope.
• See high-functioning anxiety and anxiety at night.
• OCD is a separate condition; see CBD and OCD for what the studies found.
• For the wider picture across sleep, stress and pain, see our guide to CBD benefits and side effects.