Benzodiazepines Addiction: Abuse Symptoms and Warning Signs

Benzodiazepines Info

• Benzodiazepines Addiction and Abuse
• Benzodiazepines Symptoms and Warning Signs
• Benzodiazepines Treatment and Rehab
• Benzodiazepines Withdrawal and Detox

Earlier this year, the NHS released data revealing that one in eleven UK patients were prescribed medication that was either addictive or difficult to stop taking. Benzodiazepines are a class of sedative drug administered for the short-term relief of seizures, anxiety, insomnia, panic disorder, alcohol withdrawal and muscle spasms amongst others. The United States has recorded over six thousand deaths related to Benzos since 2010.

There is a high risk of addiction when you abuse benzos, as many people have reportedly developed physical dependence within a few weeks. You’re at a greater risk of medical complications if you have a history of addiction, mental health issues or risk factors that predispose you to addiction. Some of the side effects of benzo abuse are life-threatening, which is why you should seek help as soon as possible.

Recognising the Common Warning Signs of Benzodiazepines Abuse

The outward signs a person might exhibit if they are on benzos include:

The Dangers of Benzodiazepines Abuse

Perhaps the biggest risk of taking benzos is an overdose. As with most addictions, you might overdose if you take a high dosage or combine benzodiazepines with alcohol or anything else that has sedative properties. In such cases, the body forgets how to perform basic functions such as breathing. Your heart rate slows down, the brain doesn’t get enough oxygen and the system slowly shuts down.

It is easy to become addicted to benzos. Addiction could happen within a month for some individuals. If you take a high dose or increase the frequency of use, it accelerates the timeline of dependence. Your brain associates benzodiazepines with feelings of pleasure and euphoria, craving the next dose and urging you to increase it for a more intense feeling. Over time, these drugs will become insufficient, and you’ll seek out other narcotics or alcohol to mix them with.

Withdrawal symptoms are painful, especially the risk of seizures that could leave your brain damaged if you try to get off the drug too quickly. Withdrawal symptoms sometimes take up to a month before you start feeling better. At their peak, you might suffer hallucinations, psychotic episodes, convulsions, chronic insomnia and panic attacks.

Recognising Benzodiazepines Addiction

Where prescription pills are concerned, it’s difficult to tell when an individual is taking the medication according to doctor’s orders or is, in fact, abusing the drug. However, there are some behavioural and psychological signs of addiction that are easy to spot if you know what you’re looking for.

A person who is struggling with addiction loses interest in activities they previously enjoyed. Their work performance suffers, they withdraw from friends in favour of spending more time indoors and become preoccupied with drugs as their primary interest. An addict will ‘shop’ for prescriptions from several doctors because they need a steady supply of drugs. They lie about their symptoms or fake them to prove that they aren’t getting better.

The immediate psychological symptoms you’ll notice is that the mental health problem they tried to solve with benzos returns such as rebound insomnia and anxiety. Other psychological symptoms of benzodiazepines addiction include depression, mood swings, suicidal ideation and cognitive dysfunction.

Long-Term Benzodiazepines Abuse Side Effects

Relationship damage: When you abuse benzos, it soon becomes the main priority in your life, to the detriment of your personal relationship with your loved ones. Sometimes, you might exhibit strange behaviours such as becoming violent when you don’t have access to drugs, screaming or going through extreme mood swings.

Brain damage: Benzodiazepines were not made to be taken for a long time. Research shows that long-term use has a negative impact on your memory, learning abilities, processing speed and sensory perceptions. Individuals who take benzos for up to six months could develop dementia in the upcoming years.

Tolerance and dependence: Tolerance happens when you abuse a benzodiazepines. After a while, the normal dose isn’t enough, and you’ll require larger amounts to feel the original effect. If you suddenly quit, you might experience anxiety, seizures and tremors.

Overdose: All it takes is one large dose of Benzodiazepines for an overdose to occur. Although it is unusual for benzos alone to result in such a situation, it is often that users combine them with alcohol, depressants or opioids. This is extremely dangerous.

Intervention for Benzodiazepines Addiction

setting, an intervention has a 93% success rate of encouraging individuals with benzodiazepines use disorder to seek treatment. A few tips to follow include:

Symptoms manifest within the first three days after you quit using. Some individuals might experience the symptoms within 4-6 hours after their last dose. After 4-7 days, the symptoms reduce but cravings might persist. Most physical symptoms fade away by the second week, but you might suffer from insomnia, anxiety and irritability for up to a month or more.

Your doctor might prescribe withdrawal medications such as Ondansetron to treat nausea, SSRI antidepressants for anxiety, beta-blockers for tremors, clonidine to normalise blood pressure and anticonvulsants for those at high risk of seizures.

Treatment and Next Steps

Treatment begins with a comprehensive assessment to check for co-occurring disorders and any medical condition that should be addressed. The tapering method is used during detox to keep you safe.

An inpatient treatment centre provides a serene, therapeutic environment where your entire focus is on recovering from addiction. You’re surrounded by peers who have the same recovery goals and provide moral support and motivation when you need it.

Therapy sessions are at the core. There is an underlying reason why you abused benzodiazepines and your therapist will help you identify all the triggers and teach you practical coping skills for dealing with them without relapsing.

Get started by calling an addiction treatment helpline and a drug counsellor will help you find the right rehab centre that caters to your unique treatment needs.

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