A benzo taper can sometimes rid someone recovering from any withdrawal symptoms. This is because tapering allows the central nervous system to slowly adjust to the drug’s removal. If your doctor has previously prescribed Xanax to treat a medical condition like anxiety, an alternative medication will likely be prescribed as your Xanax is being tapered.
Xanax Withdrawal Timeline
- Mixing drugs like alcohol and Xanax is dangerous because it’s difficult to know how the drugs will interact with one another.
- College students and teens are at a higher risk of Xanax addiction, with rates peaking in recent years.
- Reckless prescribing practices have contributed to thousands of cases of dependence and misuse.
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a cognitive therapy that focuses on acceptance and change, targeting emotional regulation to address substance abuse.
- Get you or your loved one help for addiction or mental health issues today.
Reckless prescribing practices have contributed to thousands of cases of dependence and misuse. Research shows that in 2018, an estimated 5.4 million people over the age of 12 misused prescription benzodiazepines like Xanax. In 2017, doctors wrote nearly 45 million prescriptions for Xanax (alprazolam). Statistics suggest that one in 20 people in the U.S. fill a prescription for benzodiazepines each year.
- Eliminating an addiction to Xanax involves multiple stages of rehab that target the physical, psychological, and emotional causes.
- This drug can be useful during the detox process as many clients can experience depression and anxiety when they wean off Xanax.
- If you or a loved one are struggling with Xanax addiction, it is essential to understand treatment options that can help.
- You should never take a higher dose than your doctor’s prescription.
- About 80% of older adults achieve abstinence, while about 25% of those with complicated addiction with polydrug use achieve abstinence.
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Your doctor might also prescribe other medications to ease your withdrawal symptoms. Symptoms of Xanax withdrawal can be more severe than that of other benzodiazepines. Mild symptoms of withdrawal can occur after taking the drug for as little as 1 week if stopped abruptly.
Addiction Treatment Programs
CBT addresses the learning processes underlying substance use disorders. It involves working with a therapist to develop a set of healthy coping strategies. It’s essential to recognize that Xanax addiction often coexists with other mental health disorders, such as depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This phenomenon is known xanax addiction as a dual diagnosis or co-occurring disorder. Effective treatment for Xanax addiction must address both the addiction and any underlying mental health conditions simultaneously.
Xanax Addiction Treatment & Rehab
- Treatment may also address other underlying conditions, such as anxiety or depression.
- Detoxification (detox) is a process aimed at helping you safely stop taking Xanax while minimizing and managing your withdrawal symptoms.
- However, flumazenil could worsen symptoms in patients with a history of seizures or head injuries.
Additionally, her use of supratherapeutic doses of alprazolam poses a safety concern. Because risks of continued use outweigh any potential benefits, tapering her down and off of the medication should be discussed. Xanax is one of the most common short term prescriptions for anxiety disorders, panic attacks and moderate to severe levels of stress. This drug is supposed to be taken for a short period only since it has addictive properties that when abused, can lead to Xanax addiction. Xanax is in the benzodiazepine drug class and can effectively lower excitement levels in the brain thereby giving a person a sense of calm and comfort. This drug has been prescribed by medical professionals since the 1960’s and its use and abuse has significantly increased over the years.
