This are the slides to go along with the Compassionate Care Center of CT's Facebook Live event on Thursday, March 16 a6 7pm.

1. CANNA-CONVO:
QUARANTINE STRESS
Uzma Zakir RPh
Compassionate Care
Center
Bethel, CT

2. THIS TOO
SHALL
PASS
Many of us are struggling to see a future
beyond COVID-19, having anxious and
depressive thoughts like ‘this will last
forever’, contributing to a burden of stress,
anxiety, and fear
Stay Strong CCC Family!
We are all in this together
CCC is committed to serving your health
needs through this crisis

4. **MAYBE**CCC FINANCIAL
ASSISTANCE
CCC is proud to offer 10% off to those recently unemployed due to
the closing of non-essential businesses
Let us know if you have been effected and need assistance

6. DAILY
BREAD
FOOD
PANTRY
25 West Street, Danbury CT Hours:
Mondays: 1-2:30
Fridays: 10 – 11:30
www.dailybreadfoodpantry.com

7. BETHEL
COMMUNIT
Y FOOD
PANTRY
Serves Bethel residents who have obtained a
ConneCT Gray Card or a referral letter from
a doctor, social worker, or clergyperson
Open first and third Tuesdays of each
month
April 7 and April 21
Visits are by appointment please call 203-
947-1754 for details

8. DANBURY HOSPITAL COVID-19
COMMUNITY HOTLINE
If you think you
have symptoms
please call
1-888-667-9262
Hours of operation:
8am-6pm seven
days a week

10. QUARANTIN
E STRESS
Feelings of despair Increased health anxiety
Fear for loved one’s
lives
Decreased Financial
Security
Decreased Job Security Loneliness
Quarantines makes it
difficult to distract
oneself from existing
mental health issues
@RealDepressionProject

11. EFFECTS OF CHRONIC STRESS
Stress is a thought or
perception of a threat that
causes or worsens 95% of all
illnesses by doing the
following:
Contributes to persistent
inflammation
Damages our immune
system: depletes us of the
entities that defend our
system physically
Increases blood sugar & belly
fat
Increase adrenaline & cortisol
release
Causes Anxiety

12. TRY TO STAY ‘ZEN’
Wash your hands!
Moderate News Intake
Start a new hobby you’ve always wished you had time for
Call a few friends/loved ones every day
Meditate
Exercise
Sleep Well! Eat healthy!

14. EXERCISE!!
Even just 7 minutes of intense exercise can help calm you down
and sleep better
It’s a great time of year to walk & play outside
Many patients have told me that a sativa or sativa dominant
hybrid helps motivation to exercise and participate in physical
therapy
Yoga is my favorite at home exercise choice
Whats yours?

15. WHAT TO WATCH INSTEAD
OF THE NEWS?
What are you watching these days?
I’ve been watching:
https://artsandculture.withgoogle.com/en-us/national-parks-service
And I finally watched Frozen 2!

16. SUGAR &
DIET
Sugar raises our physiological stress and cortisol levels,
even if we’re not mentally stressed
Poor diet “junk food” sends stress signals to our brain and
good food choices send calming signals to our brain
Try to eat a colorful diet, look for a rainbow in your food
choices. Fill your plate ¾ with vegetables/fruit and have
healthy snacks. I’ve been eating almonds & dates and
small piece of chocolate to pick up my spirits.
Our emotions can dictate our food choices and our food
choices dictate our emotions!
If you are suffering from a poor appetite and having
trouble eating during this stressful time, THC can be
useful if ingested before meals. I like to recommend
gentle hybrids to increase appetites in various delivery
forms depending on the patient’s preferences and needs

17. CANNABIS & MEDITATION
Cultures in South Asia combine cannabis with their meditation practices
They believe it helps the mind reach ‘profound stillness’
Deepak Chopra, M.D. on the Benefits of Meditation: "The most significant health benefits of meditation are
stress reduction, better sleep, lower blood pressure, improved immunity, and the ability to stay centered in the
midst of all the turmoil that's going on around you”
Meditation won’t stop our thoughts, but can turn down the volume of our excitability factors
Try a Meditation App or follow a video on youtube.
How do you like to Meditate? Please share!

19. CANNABIS
& SLEEP
When looking for a cannabis product to help
with sleep we look at the Terpene Profile,
not just the strain or THC content so we can
provide informed and researched
suggestions to our patients
We look for harvests high in Beta-Myrcene
and low in limonene and pinene.
All MMJ products in CT are tested for
cannabinoids and terpenes and the
information is on all product labels (example
of a label?)
Quicker acting delivery systems such as
sprays, vapes, and flower are helpful to fall
asleep quickly.
Longer acting delivery systems such as
tinctures and consumables aid in staying
asleep longer

20. THE ECB SYSTEM AND
STRESS RESPONSE

22. THE HUMAN
BODY MAKES
ITS OWN
CANNABINOID
S: THE HUMAN
ENDOCANNABI
NOID SYSTEM
Most mammals have an ‘Endocannabinoid System”.
This system is comprised of:
1. our natural cannabinoids called
Anandamide and 2-AG
2. receptors for these cannabinoids called
CB1 and CB2 that are present in our central
nervous system, immune system, organs, and
skin
3. enzymes
The purpose of this system is to maintain balance
and to improve how well and how quickly our cells
communicate to one another.
THC works on the CB1 and CB2 receptors like a lock
and key
CBD blocks enzymes from breaking down so our
natural cannabinoids so they stay activated longer

23. THE REGULATION
OF EMOTIONAL
RESPONSES UNDER
DIFFERENT
ENVIRONMENTAL
CONDITIONS IS
ESSENTIAL FOR
MENTAL HEALTH
Our ECBs have an
essential role in
maintaining our
emotional
homeostasis…
(Hill et al 2011)

24. THE ROLE OF THE ECB SYSTEM
Anandamide is named after the
Sanskrit word for ‘bliss’
It regulates our response to pain
Stimulates hunger
Plays a part in the brain’s ‘reward
pathway’
Crucial contributor to ‘runner’s
high’
Regulates mood and emotion
Reduces anxiety and depression
Regulates hormones, sperm, and
eggs in the human reproductive
system
Found in breast milk
Cell regulation and development
Signal to other cells
THC mimics the actions of
anandamide

25. THE
STRESS
RESPONSE
“The stress response is a biological
cascade of events that occurs in response
to a real or perceived threat to
homeostasis” (Morena et Al 2016)
“Stress exposure also provokes a shift in
many neurobehavioral processes, such as
anxiety/vigilance, memory, reward
salience, pain sensitivity, and coping
behaviors” (McEwen, 2012a)
CB1 receptors represent the most
abundant class of G-protein-coupled
receptors in the central nervous system
(Herkenham et al, 1990)

27. THE STRESS RESPONSE: NEUROENDOCRINE
HOW THE BRAIN REGULATES THE HORMONAL
ACTIVITY IN THE BODY
Sensory information is what the brain
collects from your senses that give you
information about the world around you
Pertaining to stress, our Sensory
Information is transmitted through the
amygdala(fight or flight) and crosstalk with
the medial prefrontal cortex (braking
system) and hippocampus. Disturbances in
any of these 3 structures results in
increased anxiety and sensitivity to stress
(Morena et al 2016)
ECBs put the brakes on the over-active fight
or flight and enhance our brain’s ability to
shut down our response to stress/danger
(Hill et al 2011)

28. THE STRESS
RESPONSE:
GLUCOCORTI
COIDS
Glucocorticoids are
released after we are
exposed to stress to
mobilize energy stores
so we can respond to
the threat (cortisol, the
stress hormone)
Persistent
glucocorticoid release
can lead to
hypertension, type II
diabetes, and mood
disorders
ECB signaling actually
contributes to the
return of glucocorticoid
release to control
after the cessation of
stress exposure
Hill et al, 2011

29. STRESS DISRUPTS THE ECB
SYSTEM
There is a prominent stress-inhibitory role of the eCB System
(Morena et al 2016)
Exposure to acute stress as well as repeated exposure to the same
stressor (chronic stress) generally causes a rapid reduction in
tissue content of AEA. This occurs prominently within the
amygdala and other brain structures responsible for our response
to stress*
Stress even significantly decreases CB1 receptor expression in
certain parts of the brain*
“Data indicates the eCB system is exquisitely sensitive to stress
exposure and exhibits dynamic and temporally specific changes in
response to stressful stimuli*”
*Morena et al 2016