Xanax Addiction and Withdrawal
Xanax addiction – it starts innocently enough for most people. Maybe you need some help calming the racing heart and other symptoms that anxiety and panic attacks induce. Or perhaps you suffer from stress or some other anxiety disorder. Your doctor prescribes Xanax to help deal with the symptoms and for a while, you take the medication as prescribed. However, with drugs such as Xanax, it is easy to become dependent upon the calming sensation and begin to take more than the prescribed amount.
The problem with that scenario is that the more Xanax you take, the more tolerant your body becomes. Pretty soon, you require more and more just to get through the day. Eventually, some Xanax addicts find themselves taking close to 30 pills each day. Since Xanax withdrawal is physically uncomfortable and extremely unpleasant for most people, those who are addicted find themselves doing whatever is necessary to avoid withdrawal. Xanax abusers usually begin to exhibit signs of addiction that may include muscle cramps, nausea, drowsiness, lack of concentration, slurred speech, appetite loss, and loss of coordination.
Though withdrawing from Xanax is difficult, it is not impossible. One of the most difficult facets of Xanax withdrawal is that the symptoms the Xanax was controlling – such as anxiety or depression – return with a vengeance once the withdrawal process begins. Xanax withdrawal is also physically uncomfortable.
Because of these reasons, most people who are treated for Xanax addiction usually begin treatment in a detoxification center. In a controlled and supervised environment, treating Xanax addiction is manageable. After completing detox, patients are usually moved to a residential treatment facility for the next phase of treatment.
Once the withdrawal process is complete and residential treatment program is finished, recovering addicts must still complete some type of counseling in order for the process to be effective. The most common options include treatment at a day facility, outpatient treatment, or either private therapy.
Tags: addicted to prescription drugs, prescription drug, xanax addiction
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Excellent post! So little is out there for recovering addicts who are dealing with Xanax withdrawals and the whole healing process. I am a former Xanax addict (five years clean now), but the drug literally derailed my entire life.
Thanks for taking the time to speak about this seemingly innocent though truly horrific drug.
Namaste,
Gwen Noles
Peace & Equilibrium Today