Xanax is a type of benzodiazepine that is commonly abused, and like any drug of abuse, it can be extremely dangerous. Read on to learn more about Xanax addiction, how you can identify it and treatment.
Is a Xanax addiction affecting the lives of you or a loved one?
A study on Xanax abuse revealed that in 2011 alone, there were nearly 176,000 emergency visits related to benzodiazepines.
The tricky part about prescription medication addictions is the fact many people are addicted without even realizing it.
This guide is our call to prevent you or anyone you know from a dangerous life ruining addiction.
In this article, we’re going to define what makes Xanax so addictive and how to identify the symptoms in order to reach help.
What Is Xanax?
Xanax, or Benzodiazepine, is a depressant made to target and slow down your central nervous system.
You become stressed and anxious from a low interaction with your neurotransmitter’s gamma amino-butyric acids (GABA).
How does Xanax work?
It works by activating when the body feels stress from a rise in heart rate, temperature, and blood pressure. By increasing this GABA interaction, the drug suppresses your brain, reducing stress, anxiety, and panic.
These factors can also contribute to lowering insomnia, seizures, and muscle tension in other cases.
With its added bonus of increasing dopamine production, this broad diagnosis makes a Xanax addiction one of the most addictive prescription drugs on the market.
How Is It Abused?
Because of its accessibility, the medication is frequently abused, from both prescribed patients and recreational drug users seeking its sedative effects. The drug acts fast, affecting the user within an hour and a duration of at least 6 hours.
You don’t just have an addictive personality. Recreational and even medical use of Xanax leads to a tolerance and dependence if taken a lot over a long course of time.
Identify the problem if your friends and family are using.
The non-medical popularity of Xanax has given it numerous street names such as the following:
- Xannies
- Handlebars
- Blue Footballs
- Benzos.
If you hear these names mentioned, chances are you know a recreational user of Xanax.
Other Recreational Abuses with a Xanax Addiction
Due to its physical and mental dependencies, Xanax is used for various purposes that have tons of people ending up in the ER.
By mixing the drug with alcohol, the side effects intensify the sedation process of the drug. Too much of the two can cause an overdose, leading to eventual death.
Because of this result, some users resort to using the drug for date rape, mixing the crushed form of the capsule into someone’s alcoholic beverage.
Sign and Symptoms of Xanax Abuse
Abusing Xanax causes changes in your physical and mental behavior.
Xanax addiction not only damages your professional life but your private life as you push away the people close to you.
Some physical symptoms of Xanax abuse include:
- Drowsy, sluggish movements
- Light-headedness
- Low concentration
- Poor memory
- Headaches
- Bursts of joy or happiness
- Extended sleep patterns
These symptoms are accompanied by mental and behavioral changes which strain your relationships with family, friends, and love interests.
Addiction encompasses all aspects of your life.
In your professional life, your dependency will hinder your production level, making you’re unable to function without dosing yourself.
With a heavy addiction comes the financial problems as the addiction isn’t cheap, especially if you’re not prescribed Xanax.
As you prolong your addiction, you’ll spend more money towards an expensive drug to upkeep dependency.
The Effects of Abusing Xanax
The longer a Xanax addiction is prolonged, the more negative effects take over your body and mind.
Remember, the drug is a depressant, and its purpose is to slow you down.
This can put negative consequences towards your coordination and speech abilities as well as leaving you confused and disoriented most of the time.
As for more physical, long term effects of using Xanax, you’ll experience your body slowly shutting down in breathing and coherence.
You may even find yourself sedated for days in cases of larger doses. An inevitable process as your tolerance grows stronger with each passing day of your addiction.
Horrible Withdrawals
Taking Xanax comes with its price, and besides the effects of prolonged use, the withdrawals are frightening.
A withdrawal can occur hours after your last dose to days later. When you take the drug for a long time, your brain becomes dependent on the drug to function.
When removing yourself from the drug, you’re strangling your brain from GABA and dopamine intakes it’s used to receiving.
You’ll begin to experience high levels of panic, stress, anxiety, hallucinations, and, in some cases, seizures.
This drug is too dangerous to quit cold turkey, and if you do decide to stop taking Xanax like this, you run the risk of putting your life in danger. The best way to deal with a Xanax addiction is to enroll in a medical detox program.
These programs offer mental and physical support, supervising you in a safe detox process.
The process is a steady decline in Xanax, leading your intake to zero to aid you onto a more successful track in your life. Without the drug.
Find Peace of Mind with the Right Help
If you know anyone suffering from a Xanax addiction the best solution for them is professional treatment.
A recent study from the US government has determined that every dollar spent towards an addiction treatment program returns a 4-7 dollar decline in drug-related crimes, criminal justice costs, and theft from the addicts.
Treating yourself is only a positive investment.
If their Xanax addiction has been a long journey, causing high dependency and poor physical health, the best option would be an inpatient treatment program to help them recover.
Act Now Rather Than Later
Turning your life around takes minutes.
If you’re still not sure which treatment program is right for you or your loved ones, contact us today. We have compassionate experts standing by for you.
And, we’re more than willing to help you find the right treatment. So, what are you waiting for?
Has Xanax influenced the lives of people you know?
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