Benzodiazepine drugs are often prescribed to individuals who need help managing mental health disorders. Many people benefit from the medications when taken as prescribed. However, if you stray outside the guidelines outlined by your doctor, you could end up becoming addicted to benzos. Some people have a hard time recognizing benzo addiction symptoms. Once you realize you have a problem, achieving recovery often requires a specialized benzo rehab program.
How Can You Develop a Benzo Addiction?
Benzodiazepines are psychoactive drugs that stimulate the production of dopamine. The resulting chemical reaction makes people feel calmer and more relaxed. Doctors may provide benzo prescriptions to patients to help them manage the fallout of various mental health and addiction issues, including:
- Alcohol withdrawal
- Social Anxiety
- Bipolar Disorder
- Panic Disorder
- Insomnia
- Seizure Disorder
- Muscle Spasms
People typically only receive a legitimate prescription for benzos for a short time. Physicians are aware of the dangers of developing a dependency. Some people remain unaware of the risks of going over their prescribed dosage of benzodiazepines. Once that happens, they may turn to other means of obtaining benzos if they can no longer get them from a doctor.
You may recognize some of the brand names for commonly prescribed benzodiazepine medications, including:
- Valium — Typically prescribed to patients diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. It’s sometimes used to help patients dealing with symptoms of alcohol withdrawal
- Ativan — May be prescribed to patients as part of the treatment they receive for a panic disorder
- Klonopin — Often recommended to help patients dealing with a seizure or panic disorder
What Are Some Benzo Addiction Symptoms?
You aren’t destined to become dependent on benzodiazepines if you receive a prescription. You should check in with your doctor about any issues you may be having with the medication. They can monitor you and adjust your dosage as needed.
Below are some common benzo addiction symptoms:
- You constantly feel weak or lethargic.
- You withdraw from your friends and family to focus on your benzo abuse.
- Your personality and behavior become more erratic.
- You start telling lies and engaging in other secretive behavior to hide your benzo addiction.
- You start running into financial difficulties and even resort to stealing to support your benzo habit.
Abusing benzos can cause you to develop a tolerance, where your brain stops producing the same reaction. That means you need to take larger benzo doses to feed your addiction. While it’s more difficult to overdose on benzos than other drugs, taking them with alcohol can prove lethal.
How Can I Treat Benzo Abuse Symptoms?
Once you admit to the depths of your benzo addiction, you’re better equipped to address the issue. It’s okay to acknowledge that you are not in control. That’s how you start the process of recovering from benzodiazepine addiction. You don’t want to get to a point where you suffer permanent damage from benzo abuse or end up in a medical situation that could result in your death.
Is Xanax Addictive?
Xanax is a popular benzodiazepine that—when taken regularly at increasing doses—often leads to addiction. Greater Boston Treatment Center helps clients continue the path of recovery through Xanax addiction treatment. We understand the difficulty of overcoming the symptoms of Xanax addiction. Substance abuse treatment can help you understand your disease and find ways of getting through life without using benzos.
After evaluating your condition, the Greater Boston Treatment Center staff comes up with a customized treatment plan that we believe gives you the best opportunity for success. Support from the right rehab environment can be a big difference-maker in overcoming a benzo addiction.
Benzo Addiction Treatment
Benzo addiction treatment is a special care program that helps addicted people to overcome their withdrawal symptoms and learn new ways of dealing with stress. It usually consists of medical care, therapy sessions and aftercare support.
The goal of benzo addiction treatment is to help the person abstain from taking benzodiazepines for life. Therefore, the treatment usually lasts for several weeks or months and includes different types of psychological and pharmacological methods.
Medical care is the basis of addiction treatment, since it helps to address specific withdrawal symptoms that people who want to quit benzos may face. It can help with anxiety, muscle spasms, convulsions, nausea, insomnia and other unpleasant symptoms.
Therapy sessions are also an important part of benzo addiction treatment. They help people understand the reasons behind their addiction and learn ways to cope with stress without relying on drugs. Group therapy allow participants to share experiences and get valuable advice from others in similar situations.
Aftercare support is crucial for maintaining sobriety after completing the treatment. It usually includes help with finding a job, housing or support groups that could be useful in dealing with certain life problems.
Get Help With Benzo Addiction Symptoms
Greater Boston Treatment Centers assists clients dealing with benzo addiction and other substance use disorders, including:
Learn more about how we can help you get past your addiction issues by calling our facility at 877.920.6583.
