Treating Benzodiazepine addiction

Benzodiazepine Abuse

A benzodiazepine is a central nervous system depressant that is often prescribed for anxiety or as a muscle relaxant. This means that it slows down a person’s breathing, relaxes muscles, and slows down their brain function. It is a prescription drug, often prescribed for psychiatric illnesses. The brand names for the most common benzodiazepines are Ativan, Klonopin, Valium, and Xanax.

Prescription drug abuse is on the rise in America – with prescription drugs coming in just below cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana on the list of drugs commonly abused by Americans. The most common way kids obtain these prescription drugs is from a friend or family member for free to help them “calm down” or to “try it out.” The second most common way they obtain them is by buying it from various sources, including schoolmates and drug dealers.

There are many street names used to buy, sell, or disguise the use of these drugs. The most common street names for various benzodiazepines are: Benzos, Goofballs, Candy, Downers, Sleeping Pills, Tranx, Heavenly Blues, School Bus, Valley Girl, Howards, Sleepaways, Vs, and White Boys.

In many instances, these drugs are mixed with alcohol – which is extremely dangerous. Alcohol lowers your breathing rate and so do benzodiazepines. This means that, when you mix them, you can actually stop breathing and die.

Benzodiazepine Addiction Treatment

Benzodiazepines can be extremely addictive – both physically and psychologically. This can make it difficult to get off of these drugs. There is even something called “benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome.” Because benzodiazepines mask anxiety, when someone quits suddenly, the anxiety kicks back in in full force. Here are other symptoms of the withdrawal syndrome:

• Insomnia
• Tension, anxiety, panic attacks
• Difficulty concentrating
• Dry retching and nausea
• Weight loss
• Heart palpitations
• Muscle pain
• Flu-like symptoms
• Seizures
• Psychotic reactions 

Trying to get clean by yourself – or even as a part of an out-patient program – can be extremely difficult and dangerous. The best option is to go through a medical detox program. A medical detox is an in-patient program in which caring and professional staff will monitor your progress and utilize medication to help you through the detox process.

After getting completely clean, the addict should participate in therapy for both their body and their mind. When it comes to benzodiazepine addiction, this stage is crucial. Benzos affect your mind most heavily.

The idea behind therapy in rehab is to find out where the addictive behavior comes from and sort out how to avoid or resolve those things that trigger it. Another thing to consider regarding an in-patient rehab program is the after-care treatment. After-care is very important, because no matter how great you feel in rehab, you must go back and face the things that contributed to the addiction in the first place. This is something that can require a lot of help from those who care about you, but is extremely rewarding. The idea behind any benzodiazepine addiction treatment is to get the addict completely free of the drug and help them take their life back.

Sources

www.DrugAbuse.govwww.MonitoringtheFuture.org
www.NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov