Many people have been prescribed benzodiazepines without being given ample warning about their dangerous – and potentially life-threatening – risks. There have been many instances of patients unwittingly becoming dependent on these drugs and requiring benzodiazepine addiction treatment.
If you or a loved one have been using benzodiazepines on a regular basis, you may be interested in seeking treatment. This article will explain how benzodiazepine addiction treatment can help you manage the issue.
Do I Need Benzodiazepine Addiction Treatment?
The sad reality is that most doctors don’t provide their patients with enough information about benzodiazepines. Because of this, more and more people are at risk.
Currently, nearly a third of all prescription overdoses involve benzodiazepines, and more than 3 times as many Americans are prescribed benzos now as there were in the 1990s.
These scary statistics might be enough to encourage you not to use benzodiazepines. However, the question remains as to whether or not you need treatment.
Treatment for benzodiazepines is generally considered to be safer than trying to do it on your own. This is because benzodiazepines can produce fatal seizures if you attempt to stop using them cold-turkey.
Because of the way that benzodiazepines override the body’s GABA system, they can lead to ‘rebound seizures.’ The GABA system is what balances out and relaxes our nervous system.
If we use benzos for a period of months or years, our body stops regulating its own GABA system. When you stop using benzos, your nervous system can become over-excited and lead to seizures.
At the very least, you will likely experience some other difficult symptoms. These can include anxiety, depression, irritability, shaking, sweating, hallucinations, memory loss, difficulty thinking, confusion, and tremors.
If you have been using benzodiazepines on a daily basis, you may want to consider treatment. Before jumping into treatment, ask your doctor to lower your dose slowly.
Slowly reducing your dose is known as ‘weaning,’ and it’s the best way to make sure that you can avoid the unpleasant or dangerous withdrawal symptoms.
What Is Benzodiazepine Addiction Treatment Like?
Benzo treatment is much the same as other forms of treatment. The goal of treatment is to provide you with a framework to build a life free from drugs. This generally involves a few steps.
- Therapy and counseling. Most rehab centers focus on therapy and counseling. In the case of benzo addictions, you’ll probably receive therapy to address your underlying anxiety and learn methods to cope with future stressors. After this, you may become less inclined to use benzos.
- Group meetings are meetings in which you receive a chance to talk to other people in a similar situation. Here, you can share advice and stories about your experience.
- Detox is especially important for people who are detoxing from benzos or other GABA drugs. In a detox program, you’ll have professionals watching over you to make sure you don’t have any seizures.
Conclusion
If you or a loved one are prescribed benzos, it could be a good idea to seek help. This is because long-term benzo use is not only difficult to manage, it can also be dangerous.
