Are anti-anxiety meds REALLY addictive?

[sullyS25]

These meds sound great. Why can't we just stay on these things every day of our lives? It makes us happy, we don't have anxiety, why not?

Because there comes a point where they stop working and you have to take more and your tolerance grows until you need to take amounts of them that would be lethal to normal people. Then you doctor shop to get enough to get enough to last you the day but it still isn't enough. When there comes that point you don't have any and your body literally needs them and if it doesn't get them you can die.......or at least make you wish you were dead.

 

[Shyangel]

Ahhhh, I guess that's a pretty good reason. lol Sometimes I think it's worth the chance.

 

[sullyS25]

Ahhhh, I guess that's a pretty good reason. lol Sometimes I think it's worth the chance.

Believe me I can tell you from experience....it is not

 

[Shyangel]

Okay, Sully, thanks for the advice. I'll try and keep your words in mind whenever I think about it.

 

[sullyS25]

Okay, Sully, thanks for the advice. I'll try and keep your words in mind whenever I think about it.

I wasn't trying to scare you or anything. I just posted that because I asked myself the same question a few years ago and was even warned about it on a forum like this and did not listen. I found out the hard way and I will offer any advice so other people don't have to suffer from it.

I will leave you with this....If you think your anxiety and depression is bad now, multiply it by 5 and it might accurately depict the mental aspect of benzo withdrawal.....combined with the physical part = no fun whatsoever

 

[this_portrait]

Wow, so many different opinions since I started this topic!

I guess I should update my own experience. Since I made this topic, my therapist hooked me up with a psychiatrist who then prescribed me an SSRI (Prozac, to be specific). So, I can't say I've had any experience with prescription benzos.

As for Prozac, though, I've been on it since November. I started out with 10 mg, then it was upped to 20 mg this month. I've been having mostly positive results with it, because my mood seems to be a lot better; I'm less impatient when I go out; I don't get as irritable; and things that normally annoy the hell out of me don't seem to anymore (or at least not as much). So it's been pretty good for my temper and any other negative emotions I may experience.

Anxiety levels don't seem to feel as high as they used to, but I still do engage in my nervous habits from time to time and feel anxiety in specific situations. I also still worry about things a bit too much still. I would say that Prozac helps mostly with my moods and a little bit with my anxiety levels, but I think that therapy and exposure, in combination with it, will ultimately be the best for my SA.

The only side effect of Prozac that is a bit bothersome is drowsiness. I've been sleeping A LOT more ever since I've been on this pill, and even switching to taking it in the evening hasn't eased that much. Well, it started to help with it, but now I get tired during the day again. I've been sleeping so much that I've started using a cucumber eye gel under my eyes so I don't get dark circles, bags, or puffiness. Sometimes I end up messing my sleep schedule up because I'll take too long of naps.

But yeah, other than drowsiness, my body has seemed to adapt pretty well to Prozac. Then again, my body's always been pretty good with most pills. I think the only pill I've ever taken that my body has had a bad reaction to is Vicodin (I was prescribed it when I got my wisdom teeth removed and took one after running out of Lodine; it made me feel sick).

 

[skins]

Exactly.

SSRI's are not addictive because they can't give you a 'high'. Also, my Psychiatrist has told me (and other doctors) that you're only more likely to have suicidal thoughts, if you were already suicidal.

I've never had any adverse affects from my antidepressants.

My dad has a bit of a prescription pill addiction, and he takes Xanax and he takes it because it can get him high. If you are the type of person who likes being high, it would definitely be easier for you to abuse the prescription and take much more of it so you can get high. But in my opinion it comes down to a choice, it's not so addictive like cigaretts that your body is reacting to not having enough, it's a choice of whether you want to drown out your pain and get high.

Abusing Benzo meds is how people force their bad feelings to go away because at a certain point, you end up in a la-la land and you don't really feel. SSRI and other antidepressants don't do this at all.

I've been given Klonopin and Xanax, and I hardly ever use it because I don't know if it truly works for me. Maybe it's because my doctors always give me low doses and it isn't strong enough, but every time I take them I never really know if they helped or if I calmed myself down.

As I said in another thread, antidepressants truly saved me. I suffered horribly for two years until I couldn't take it anymore and got help. The meds gave me my life back to the point that I wasn't in fear every day of my life. I think my success (which is not 100%) has come 60% from antidepressants and 20% from exposure. Several times I have gone off my pills for a couple weeks and I definitely notice my symptoms coming back; the blushing and sweating happening far more often and with less negative stimulation.

But really, it comes down to each individual person. Some say the meds never work for them, and some like me say it really helps. I think if anyone is unsure of whether they will work, just give it a try at least.

whoever told you SSRI'S are not addictive because they don't give you a 'high' is an idiot and doesn't know what they are talking about. some will give a high feeling if taken in a high enough dosage and are addictive, from my own experiance effexor is a good example. i think the problem here is many people have a differing opinion of what being addicted is. if being addicted to a drug means you get withdrawal symptoms when comming off them or 'detoxing' then i think most drugs are addictive if taken frequently enough and in high enough dosage. if your definition of an addictive drug is how hard it is to stay off a drug and not relapse and want to go back on it, then thats another story....then again you could imagine that an addictive drug means that how hard it is to come off it once you body is dependendant on it, or even how easy or difficult it is to become dependant on any particular drug. so its all relative and all depends on what you mean by addictive...for me the SSRI i have been on, i have terrible withdrawal during detox if comming off them suddenly, but once past this phase (about a week), eveythings back to normal again. however emotionally, i tend to go back to taking them again after some time, just for beliefs they help me cope better, but thats not my body 'needing' it.

 

[ChrystaR]

Well, no one really told me that SSRI's aren't addictive. I just took it from my own experience and from the experiences of people I've known.

From my own experience, I've never felt any sort of high from an SSRI and I am on a high dose of Effexor. But then, I have never taken a LARGE dose, or more than what was necessary for me to function.


As for me, I suppose I am dependant on my antidepressant as opposed to addicted. Because every time I go off it, my anxiety comes back, not as a withdrawl symptom though.

 

[A86]

it makes me wonder, given people's different experiences with addiction to different drugs wether its not the drugs that are addictive but the high of being calm from their effect.

 

[doesit]

few people made a good point,first when speaking about anxiety meds there has to be few points taken to what consider addiction:as example,you feel anxiety coming on and you know that you gonna be a total wreck for the time being,but also at the same time you have the drugs that will get you through the event,so the question is would you take them,and most people with severe enough case would take the pill which is totally alright.So the problems start when you feel the need to use drugs on smaller scale situations where before you would get by without any help,or the dosage which was prescribed doesn't get you trough and you increase it to have same effect.In most cases follow your doctors advice and read the prescription,as it states the dangers clearly,because if meds don't work you need to speak with your doc,not experiment by yourself,thats the gap that people skip and after getting addicted or complications they blame all the world,pharmacies,doctors except them selves.Also for people who don't feel the need or urge going on the meds,it most likely means your condition isn't bad at all ,and therapy or lifestyle changes gonna solve your problems.

 

[decadeOfSA]

Benzos surely are.