Making the conscious decision to get clean and actively working towards kicking benzos is already a huge mental hurdle to clear and deserves applause.
It’s the first in a series of hurdles with the next big one being detox.
The entire process of recovery is a lot of work, no bones about it, but the rewards are so worth the effort. Having control over your life again rather than being directed by benzos is priceless.
What Are Benzos?
Benzos, or benzodiazepines, fall into a class of drugs called sedatives.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) adds they’re “a class of medicines approved to treat generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia, seizures, social phobia, and panic disorder. Benzodiazepines are also used as premedication before some medical procedures.”
Given how common some of those conditions are, it’s no wonder that research found benzos were the “most widely prescribed pharmacologic agents in the United States (more than 112 million prescriptions in 2007)”.
With a drug that’s become so ubiquitous, you’ll easily recognize some of the most commonly prescribed ones:
- Xanax
- Valium
- Ativan
- Klonopin
What Are the Signs of a Benzo Addiction?
Understanding what a benzo addiction looks like is the only way to start solving the problem because if you can’t name it, you can’t fix it.
Addiction to benzodiazepines manifests in several ways, so keep an eye out for these:
- Using benzos other than how prescribed
- Doctor shopping or forging prescriptions to get more
- Unable to cut back on them
- Spending a lot of time getting, using, and recovering from benzos
- Taking larger doses because you’ve built a tolerance
- Having intense cravings
- Work, school, and family obligations suffer
You’ll also begin to notice behavioral, psychological/cognitive, and physical issues arise:
- Severe drowsiness
- Confusion
- Slurred speech
- Difficulty breathing
- Mood swings and irritability
- Impaired thinking, poor judgment, and decision-making
- Disorientation and poor coordination
- Weakness
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Blurred or altered vision
- Constipation
- Tremors
- Insomnia
- Memory issues and inability to concentrate
Don’t let these signs and symptoms pile up, take action early.
How to Safely Detox From Benzos
Detox unfortunately comes with withdrawal. That’s just the way it works.
And withdrawal from benzos comes with physical and mental pain. In fact, withdrawal symptoms can become so severe that they can rise to the level of actually being life-threatening if you try to quit cold turkey.
So, how to safely detox from benzos then?
Easy. By going through it under the supervision of experts in the field. Trained professionals who can support you through those very low lows of withdrawal and guide you towards that light at the end of the tunnel. At Valley Recovery Center at Agua Dulce, we understand detox because it’s something we’ve been specializing in for years.
What To Do After You Detox From Benzos
It’s critically important to keep in mind that detox from benzos is not the end of the process but rather it’s the beginning. It’s the start of your recovery journey.
Detox is about overcoming physical addiction. That’s only part of the battle because addiction is mental. As the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) puts it, addiction is “considered a brain disorder, because it involves functional changes to brain circuits involved in reward, stress, and self-control. Those changes may last a long time after a person has stopped taking drugs.”
So after detox, it turns from the physical to the mental and that’s where treatment and rehab come in. For more severe addictions, residential inpatient care is often the best course of action. Even better is finding a facility that specializes in recovery from benzodiazepine addiction which is exactly what you’ll find at VRC at Agua Dulce.
To learn more about our program, give us a call or shoot a message over.