07 Jun Why Some People Get Addicted To Benzodiazepines?
It is easy to understand that Benzodiazepine addiction is more common in people with some types of anxiety disorders, mood disorders or sleep disorders. Benzos are often prescribed for such disorders and most users find them helpful and effective. Unfortunately, tolerance to the drug develops fairly quickly and people need increased doses and stronger benzos in order to deal with the symptoms of their disorders. They become physically dependent on the drug.
The most common reason for the addiction is its use beyond the true need for the drug. Using larger doses than prescribed is also a sure path towards the addiction. Mixing alcohol with benzodiazepines is also one of the common reasons for the addiction.
Doctors prescribe benzodiazepines fairly liberally, although there is a consensus that the use of medication for treating anxiety is at best palliative. Psychotherapy is the only type of therapy which tackles underlying causes and can lead to the cure. While the use of drugs is at times required, particularly together with the psychotherapy, their use should be short term only, as needed, and not as a part of a long-term therapy course.
Most addicts – 4 million Americans – are the drug’s long-term users who became addicted by accident, as their doctor kept renewing their prescriptions for months and even years. People with chronic physical or mental issues and older people residing in homes for elderly are also easy victims to benzodiazepine addiction.