Xanax Addiction and Treatment

Xanax can only be obtained legally only through a prescription issued by a doctor or other healthcare professional. Xanax is extremely useful for those dealing with the often debilitating effects of anxiety and various sleep disorders, but even people who take Xanax as prescribed are at risk of developing an addiction. This is why dosage and length of use require strict monitoring to avoid the high potential for abuse and addiction.

When people take Xanax more often, longer, or in different forms than prescribed, they will find themselves quickly building a tolerance, which can progress from misuse and abuse to full-blown addiction in as rapidly as just a few weeks.

How Does Xanax Work?

Xanax, like the majority of other benzos, works by mimicking a neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which regulates feelings of anxiety by blocking the nerve signals that trigger those feelings from being able to reach the brain.

GABA can help calm you down, induce sleep, or manage stress.

Xanax is chemically similar enough to GABA that it can activate the brain’s GABA receptors into overproduction in order to suppress activity in the brain and central nervous system. The brain then floods with GABA, which produces the intense feelings of relaxation and sedation. Users typically feel relief within an hour after taking, and this feeling can last for a few hours.

After a while, this binding can start to lose its effects as the GABA receptors become less sensitive, requiring heavier doses to keep working normally. The resulting dependence on Xanax can lead to worsening insomnia or anxiety symptoms, which then leads to a strong physical and psychological Xanax addiction that can be difficult to break.

When your limbic system, also known as the brain’s reward system, responds to the relaxation and anti-anxiety effects of Xanax, it may begin to confuse the drug use for life-sustaining activities.

However, there are several signs and symptoms of dependence and addiction that you should be aware of if you or a loved one has been prescribed benzodiazepines.

What Are the Signs of Xanax Addiction?

It is important to note that Xanax abuse and Xanax addiction are different things. Recreational users may still maintain some control over their use. But abuse can lead to addiction, which is when no matter what the user does, the pull of Xanax is stronger than leaving it alone.

It can be difficult to spot the signs of a Xanax addiction while it is still in its early stages even if you are the one who happens to be misusing it, and often the problem will not be recognized until it is too late and Xanax abuse has escalated and progressed to addiction. Signs of Xanax addiction that may seem obvious in hindsight can be easy to miss if you are not looking for them.

As someone becomes more and more dependent on Xanax to function—prioritizing obtaining and using it over nearly everything else in their life—they begin to exhibit abnormal behavior.  These red flags are based on the fact that Xanax has become the driving force behind their decisions. These signs are associated not only with an addiction to Xanax but also with substance use disorders in general.

These behaviors are all signs of Xanax addiction, or at the very least, Xanax dependency and abuse that is in very real danger of progressing to full-blown addiction. If you have observed these signs in yourself or someone you care about, it is vital that you seek out professional addiction recovery treatment as soon as possible, ideally starting with medical detoxification to flush the Xanax from your system and safely handle Xanax withdrawal.

What Is Involved in Xanax Addiction Treatment?

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) defines addiction as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is treatable though not curable. Addiction treatment programs can be designed to fit the needs of the client. They vary by the client and substance(s) used as well as factors such as how long the person has been in active addiction.

Recovering Xanax users will need to start a medical detoxification at a facility equipped to oversee this process. A medically-monitored detox handled by a health care professional is necessary to rid the body of the toxins and to help manage painful and uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. Medications used in Xanax detox include a longer-acting benzodiazepine, such as Valium. Other medications also may be administered to treat other conditions that arise during the withdrawal and post-withdrawal period, including:

After detox is complete, the next step is to enter an addiction treatment program that allows recovering users to come face to face with their addiction to Xanax to understand its causes and how they can work toward recovery.

A drug rehabilitation center offers a supportive network of medical staff as well as addiction counselors, therapists, and others who are trained to support recovering users on their journey to sobriety. Such support at the beginning stages of recovery as well as throughout the process helps to ensure that the recovery attempt is successful.

Inpatient or residential treatment, which can last anywhere from 28 days to 90 days in a facility, depending on the program, uses diverse therapies to help users work through, and overcome their dependence on addictive substances. According to NIDA, however, addiction recovery treatment generally requires at least 90 days in length for it to be at all effective in preventing relapse.

Outpatient therapy can help Xanax users who are in the early stages of their addiction or have a mild case of it. This kind of therapy does not require an on-site stay at a treatment center, which means there is more flexibility to incorporate treatment into established schedules, such as for work or school.

Outpatient clients are still required to attend structured sessions three to five times a week or more, depending on the person’s situation. Outpatient clients are completely responsible for keeping their environment free of any negative influences that can set back their recovery.

Recovering Xanax users also can benefit from aftercare services that help them reach their recovery goals and avoid relapse. After treatment is completed, recovering users may struggle with depression, anxiety, and other post-acute withdrawal symptoms (known as PAWS) for months or years down the road.

How Dangerous Is Xanax?

Similar to how alcohol affects the body, Xanax users may feel mentally impaired, have poor coordination, and may struggle with performing mechanical tasks such as driving or operating machinery. Slurred speech, dizziness, drowsiness, and lethargy are also other effects that make this drug dangerous to abuse.

It is also common for Xanax users to mix the benzodiazepine with alcohol, prescription opioids, and heroin, which is incredibly dangerous.

Alcohol, in particular, has what is known as a synergistic effect with Xanax. This means that they build off of each other to increase the intensity of their respective effects. Mixing Xanax with alcohol increases your risk of overdose, which causes severe sedation, depression, slowed breathing, hypotension, fainting, muscle weakness, or even a coma.

If someone is experiencing a Xanax overdose, emergency medical attention must be sought out as soon as possible in order to prevent death from major organ shutdown due to lack of oxygen in the body.

Users can build up a tolerance quickly. As chronic Xanax users come to physically and mentally depend on the drug to function in their day to day lives, they will typically experience extremely intense withdrawal symptoms whenever they stop using the drug or cut back on using it.

Xanax withdrawal, as with other benzodiazepines, is usually painful, very difficult to deal with and can even be deadly, especially if someone attempts to stop using all at once without any kind of medical supervision.

If someone attempts to quit using Xanax after a particularly long period of extremely heavy use, they are likely to experience benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome, which is the regular Xanax withdrawal, only now longer, much more intense, and also with more unpredictable, life-threatening symptoms.

Tonic-clonic seizures involve two phases. The tonic phase comes with sudden muscle contractions where the limbs are pulled in, close to the body. The clonic phase comes immediately after with violent convulsions. Deaths associated with seizures are usually due to them causing fatal accidents. However, other serious medical complications can occur.

Rebound anxiety and insomnia are caused by the central nervous system going into overdrive without the suppressing effects provided by Xanax. Now in withdrawal, the nervous system goes into shock and hyperactivity, causing old symptoms of insomnia and anxiety that the Xanax had been treating to re-emerge.

The difference between regular anxiety and insomnia and the rebound variety is that the hyperactive nervous system makes these symptoms significantly stronger than they may have been before someone started abusing Xanax. Rebound insomnia can keep someone awake for days on end, and rebound anxiety can cause debilitating panic attacks.

Start Your Journey to Recovery Today

If you or someone you care about is struggling with an addiction to Xanax, take action and get started on the path to a better, brighter tomorrow with the help of Delphi Behavioral Health Group.

Our on-call specialists are available 24 hours a day to assist you in getting connected to the resources and support you need for you or your loved one. This includes everything from helping you find a facility and treatment program, get your insurance verified and answer any questions or concerns you might have.

So call us now at 844-899-5777 to take the first steps towards getting your life back or contact us online for more information.