Family Member on Benzos?

Benzodiazepine addiction treatment is much like any other hard drug addiction problem. Unfortunately due to it being a prescription based medication (“mothers little helper”), families are unaware or don’t view it as a “drug addiction” until it has progressed to a critical point. All too often families even “enable” benzodiazepine addicts without even knowing it. Speak to one of our counsellors about effectively treating benzodiazepine addiction in your family.

Benzodiazepine Detox

One just as to visit a wikipedia page to understand that acute benzo withdrawal requires a specialised environment and programme designed around the long term effects of benzodiazepines. In some cases it is harder to withdraw individuals from benzodiazepines than it is from street drugs like heroin or meth. For drugs like Heroin, withdrawal can last within 10 days to months or even years after recovery. Break the cycle, develop the skills, avoid relapse and start your mindful and constructive path forward.

Symptoms of Long-term Use

Tranquilizers and sleeping pills are not intended to be used on a long term basis. For a short time frame they will help you calm down and sleep, but over longer periods of time they will begin to have an opposite effect.
One of the long-term side effects of benzodiazepine exposure is the “depersonalisation effect”, this is a general feeling of disconnection from our immediate surroundings, relationships and/or interactions with other people. Further adverse effects include a decline in cognitive functioning, physical health, and mental health deterioration.

How People Get Addicted

Many patients become dependent by repeat prescriptions of these tranquilizers. Indicative “seeking” behaviours include stealing prescription pads from doctors offices, buying benzos from illegitimate sources (not prescribed) and/or progress to polysubstance abuse. In general people that have been exposed to benzos for a long enough time period inherent the addiction by alterations to their natural brain chemistry. In lower dosages, benzos are sedatives. In more moderate dosages, they help with anxiety. In higher doses they are considered to be “hypnotics”.

Recovery Direct Benzo Rehab

Benzodiazepine addiction is a relatively common addition and a particularly tough one to manage in terms of treatment. Patients start out as patients seeking legitimate medical help for common sleeping and anxiety disorders and stray into a world of chemical dependancy. With the nasty long-term withdrawal and side effects of benzos, cessation in the form of sleep problems and anxiety issues return. Dealing with the benzodiazepine addiction needs to cater for this on top of long term treatment and addiction cycles that have entrenched themselves over the period of abuse.

Effects and Side Effects

Effects
For short-term use, benzodiazepines can be valuable in a wide range of clinical conditions. Almost all of the problems of benzodiazepines result from long-term use, beyond four weeks. Thus solid relapse prevention strategies need to be employed to combat the long-term effects of benzos after rehab.

Side effects of long-term use of benzodiazepines.

• Difficulty concentrating, memory loss
• Drowsiness, dizziness, leading to increased risk of accidents in traffic, at home and at work
• Depression and apathy (contributes to the loss of work and unemployment)
• Paradoxical inflammatory effects in some individuals
• Emotional and cognitive impairment.
• Increased risk of suicide and depression
• Increased risk of death from overdose if combined with other drugs or alcohol
• Passing through the placenta during pregnancy
• Cognitive effects seen in varying degrees which affect everyday functioning.
• Impaired concentration and memory deficits; impairment in the ability to stay organized, structure and plan.