Unlike many other addictive substances, benzodiazepines are a legitimate medication prescribed to treat multiple serious conditions. These drugs, including Valium, Xanax, and Ativan, make patients feel sleepy and relaxed after administration. When used as prescribed, they lower brain activity in patients with anxiety, insomnia, and seizures.

Unfortunately, their legality and effectiveness expose addiction-vulnerable populations who would not otherwise have access to illegal addictive substances. For example, patients who initially take “benzos” as prescribed may over-rely on them to function. They may build a tolerance and overtake their doses, then experience withdrawal symptoms when their prescription runs out.  Others try them when illicitly offered, and buy them from dealers or patients to continue getting high.

Benzodiazepine Addiction Symptoms

Medical professionals officially refer to benzo addiction as a hypnotic, sedative, or anxiolytic use disorder. When suffering from this disorder, patients modify their medication regimens and social lives to support drug-seeking. They also experience dangerous physical symptoms that may impede their ability to function, such as drowsiness at work or even at the wheel. 

Behavioral Signs of Sedative Use Disorder 

When suffering benzodiazepine addiction, patients typically “overtake” their medication—taking doses larger than prescribed and/or continuing their prescriptions longer than necessary. After running out, they start trying to obtain the pills by any means necessary. 

Drug-Seeking 

Most health professionals recognize drug-seeking and shut it down. Undeterred by one denied prescription, many with addictions engage in “doctor shopping.” They visit one doctor after another, insisting on a benzodiazepine prescription until they get one. Even with a regular, legitimate source, overuse depeltes their prescription and forces them to find a new doctor or turn to other methods. 

People with benzo addictions resort to asking friends and family with similar prescriptions for their meds. Others turn to drug dealers for their fix and turn to theft and fraud to pay them. Dealer relationships often expose them to other substances, creating additional complications. 

Psychological Problems Caused by Benzodiazepines 

New psychological symptoms often emerge in tandem with these drug-seeking behaviors. When assessing someone for potential addiction, consider recent complaints of anxiety, tremors, headaches, or insomnia. They may struggle to remember recent events, or make unwarranted complaints about being overweight and or overeating. Watch for sudden mood changes, poor decision-making, and the inability to accurately assess the consequences of their actions. 

Psychological 

One of the first signs of addiction is a sincere desire to quit, but inability to follow through. The cravings—powerful, uncontrollable, and unwanted needs for the next dose—inevitably overwhelm them. The cravings and misuse continue even as they strain relationships with loved ones. The motivation to quit rises, but few overcome these cravings without help. 

Social 

Benzodiazepine addiction mirrors behavior patterns seen in other substance use disorders. Sufferers withdraw from romantic, familiar, and social attachments in favor of the more immediately-pleasurable drug use. Some fixate entirely and exclusively on obtaining and consuming benzodiazepines and feel incredible anxiety when their supply runs low.  

Physical Changes from Benzodiazepine Addiction 

The physical consequences of benzo misuse are subtle at first. It’s easy to mistake them for the prescriptions common effects like weakness, drowsiness, and blurred vision. Patients take benzodiazepines to cause the first two effects for medical reasons, which make recognizing misuse difficult until it’s too late. 

Increased “tolerance” to benzos—requiring a higher dose to achieve the same high—is by far the most dangerous. The escalating dosages significantly increase the risk of benzodiazepine overdose, which can be lethal.

Benzodiazepine Overdose Signs 

Benzo overdose manifests in many ways, all of them dangerous. 

Patients may experience weakness and dizziness, as well as loss of fine motor control or the ability to stand upright. Overdose patients’ speech becomes slurred, and they feel confused and drowsy. Severe overdoses can even cause difficulty breathing or induce a coma. While these severe symptoms are rarely lethal alone, mixing benzos with alcohol can very easily kill. 

If a loved one prescribed benzodiazepines or whose behavior has changed recently exhibits these symptoms, call a hospital immediately.  

Sedative Addiction Treatment and Medical Dextox

Benzodiazepine overdose requires serious and immediate medical intervention. After doctors address the most serious symptoms, the patient will, in ideal circumstances, enter a specialized treatment program. 

These programs open with a monitored detox period. Patients settle into an isolated area with zero access to benzos or other drugs while doctors monitor their condition. Going without benzodiazepines and other addictive substances after sustained use forces their bodies to adjust as it flushes the last of the drug out of their system. 

For most, the body doesn’t flush the toxins quietly. The process is intense. The suite of common symptoms ranges from minor inconveniences: 

• Headaches
• Appetite loss 
• Sweating 

To debilitating problems: 

• Muscle pain
• Nausea
• Headaches

As well as serious complications like heart palpitations. These symptoms are dangerous and even life-threatening to the vulnerable, and anyone experiencing the accompanying psychological symptoms like anxiety, confusion, and paranoia will fail to treat even the milder symptoms, potentially putting their lives at risk. 

Banzodiazepine Tapering Schedule 

This devastating cocktail of unpredictable benzo withdrawal symptoms lasts, at minimum, for 24 hours. In some patients, it lasts for several weeks or even months. In severe cases where immediate withdrawal would overwhelm the body, physicians employ a tapering schedule. 

Under careful medical supervision with controlled doses and administration schedules, patients wean their bodies off benzos with lower and lower dosages. Many programs utilize safer alternative substances during tapering, which satisfy cravings without benzos’ severe side effects. 

Older patients more likely to succumb to withdrawal symptoms benefit most from this “medication-assisted treatment.” It is, however, used for any patients with severe physical dependence or can’t otherwise care for themselves. 

While effective and life-saving, drug tampering is not a substitute for sustainable, long-term recovery via rehabilitation and therapy. It represents the first step in a lifelong process. 

Why Benzo Rehab Programs are Important

After managing withdrawal symptoms through supervised medical detox, benzodiazepine treatment programs transition the patient into long-term therapy programs. These courses use cognitive behavioral therapy, support group meetings, and other proven methods to address the patient’s initial reasons for using. Discussions also cover ways to avoid relapse and ways to rebuild their lives after months or years of addiction. 

Medical Supervision 

Sedative use disorder treatment at an inpatient drug rehab opens with round-the-clock care until benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms subside. While it’s possible to receive similar treatment at many hospitals, specialized care surrounded by knowledgeable experts is the most effective option. 

Access to Therapy 

Access to multiple treatment modalities allows patients to address the reasons (both past and present) that first drove them to use benzos. Effective therapy helps avoid backsliding or later relapse, keeping them sober and healthier long-term.  

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps patients identify self-destructive thoughts and behaviors, addresses why they happen, and develop psychological tools to manage them. Many rehab facilities pair CBT with group sessions that offer opportunities for solidarity, sharing life experience, and celebrating shared success. Both group therapy and family therapy help rebuild broken bridges and foster the sense of acceptance and community that’s vital to recovery. 

Follow Never Alone Recovery to Learn More About Addiction and Addiction Treatments 

Knowing is half the battle when it comes to inpatient drug rehab, but knowing where to start is hard. Patients, their families, and anyone interested in more information should follow Never Alone Recovery’s blog and social media pages to learn about all aspects of addiction. With educational articles like this one posted regularly, Never Alone—a proud provider of support and insurance verification for addiction patients—is committed to sharing lifesaving information with the people who need it most.