7 Ways To Handle Anxiety After Quitting Xanax

They can also answer any questions you have about Xanax use and, if needed, refer you to a treatment center. This page acts as a guide to tapering off Xanax and will discuss what you can expect. Scroll further down the page to learn more about drug dependency and why people develop addictions and for more information about Xanax. Some people need to enter recovery programs because of their Xanax use, but this isn’t always the case. We may have hurt the ones we love, do things we are ashamed of, and caused harm to ourselves.

• For example, you may begin taking the drug and discover that you no longer feel the effects as strongly as you did when you first began using it.
• They can also answer any questions you have about Xanax use and, if needed, refer you to a treatment center.
• Express that you are concerned about their substance use and avoid blaming them; blame the substance instead.

You’ll also become dependent on the drug to help you feel relaxed or calm. You feel the effects quickly, but you also lose those effects quickly. This happens as the brain pathways become altered and the brain’s reward system takes over. It records the pleasant effects of the drug and prompts ongoing use. It is important for a person to remember that not every treatment works for everyone. Once a person is ready for treatment, speaking with a doctor can help a person discover what treatments and resources are available to them.

Should You Quit Xanax Cold Turkey?

Brain chemicals will start to rebalance and over time normal functioning will occur. Treatment involves multiple therapies, holistic methods, and education. During rehab, the person will learn how to better manage their stress and anxiety. They will also make a customized relapse prevention plan to help guide them in recovery. Rebound symptoms are quite common during Xanax detox and withdrawal. These are the same symptoms you were trying to treat with the drug in the first place.

Rebound effects are intensified symptoms of a pre-existing psychological disorder and may include anxiety, panic attacks, and inability to sleep. These rebound symptoms usually fade away after about a week, but the underlying disorder often requires specialized treatment. Our partial hospitalization programs and intensive outpatient programs offer rehab programming during the day, evening, or weekends for people https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/does-alcohol-dehydrate-you/ who can live at home and travel to our rehab on a fixed schedule. Xanax (alprazolam) is the most commonly prescribed benzodiazepine in the U.S., representing a third of all benzo prescriptions in 2019. As a Schedule IV controlled substance, Xanax can cause addiction, abuse and dependence. If you take Xanax regularly and try to stop suddenly, you can experience unpleasant and dangerous withdrawal symptoms.

What Are the Symptoms of Xanax Withdrawal?

That’s why it’s recommended that detox from the drug be done at an addiction treatment center under the care of medical professionals. Doing so will make the detox process much more comfortable and safer. Upon completing detox, it’s important to continue addiction treatment with outpatient or inpatient rehab. Detox alone often isn’t enough to prevent relapse from happening.

The key to achieving this goal is to follow the tapering schedule to the very end. By the end of your taper, you might be cutting pills into halves or quarters. Protracted withdrawal is a prolonged withdrawal experience marked by waves of mild psychological symptoms that come and go over the course of several months. An inability to refrain from using Xanax is the first symptom of addiction and sudden withdrawal can be intense and unpleasant. While some people may be able to use Xanax prescriptively, others will feel a strong impulse to consume it to excess. Once someone becomes addicted to Xanax, acquiring and consuming it becomes a priority.

What are the drugs like Xanax that are not addictive?

Medications can sometimes treat or prevent Xanax withdrawal symptoms, including drugs like prochlorperazine for nausea. If Xanax withdrawal is left untreated, it can trigger hallucinations, agitation, seizures, changes in consciousness or even death. This is why tapering the dosage is the safest and best way to quit taking the drug, and why it is the course of action xanax addiction recommended by doctors. Tapering the dose helps the individual who wants to quit Xanax avoid distressing and potentially dangerous effects that come from withdrawal. Often, the severity of these symptoms when they arise will depend on the length and severity of a person’s Xanax addiction. Xanax withdrawal is a tough process for both the brain and the body.

Physical dependence can occur with or without an addiction to the drug; however, it is a common feature of addiction. If you’re unsure and you have concerns over your use, then here are some common traits of addiction to be aware of. If you believe any of these describe you, then you may have a substance use disorder or addiction. By Corinne O’Keefe Osborn

Corinne Osborn is an award-winning health and wellness journalist with a background in substance abuse, sexual health, and psychology. When it comes to the long-term management of getting off benzodiazepines, there are two directions you can go. Research shows that most stable, healthy adults will achieve long-term abstinence after completing a taper.

Entering recovery and following an addiction treatment plan is usually only needed for those with an addiction to the drug. It’s important to understand the difference between dependency and addiction. It is normal to develop a physical dependence on Xanax, experience withdrawal symptoms when discontinuing use and having to taper. The most dangerous symptom of Xanax withdrawal is the increased heart rate, which can come with seizures.

• The symptoms of Xanax withdrawal typically appear within 8 to 12 hours of your last dose.
• This page acts as a guide to tapering off Xanax and will discuss what you can expect.
• Yet taken in high doses or when consumed with other substances, such as alcohol, the consequences can be catastrophic.
• There is a subpopulation of patients exposed to benzodiazepines that is more likely to escalate their dose, mainly those with coexisting drug or alcohol use problem (Griffiths and Wolf, 1990; NICE, 2014).
• Before doing so, your doctor may decide to switch you from short-acting Xanax to a longer-acting benzo such as Klonopin.