Benzodiazepines

[sara226]

Would you take benzodiazepines (Valium, Ativan...) for social anxiety?

I read they can be addictive.

 

[lacucaracha]

benzo.org.uk - Aggression, Violence & Benzodiazepines

 

[dyingtolive]

yes they can be abuesd.. and they can feel very good even better than alcohol.

 

[dyingtolive]

highly addicting, (if ur the type who gets addicted) i cant speak for other people

 

[Looking_in105]

I use it, but only when I get pretty bad. I use it like once every fortnight or month. I'm not addicted.

 

[Kamen]

No, no and no! It's very likely you'll regret that. Better lookup Valerian and Mentha.

 

[lyricalliaisons]

I disagree with a lot that's been said from personal experience. I've been taking a benzodiazepine (Klonopin) for about two years, or almost, now & I'm glad I started taking them. For me, they haven't been at all addicting & I haven't even had any withdrawal symptoms when I've been without them, though that is incredibly rare. Honestly, unless you have addiction problems, if you're anxiety is severe enough, I don't see a problem with them.

 

[lyricalliaisons]

yes they can be abuesd.. and they can feel very good even better than alcohol.

I've definitely never noticed anything like that. If you take far too many of them, maybe, but if you take a small dose-- just enough to help your anxiety, that will not happen.

 

[decadeOfSA]

Benzos likely made my anxiety worse. I've been on them for 15 years. I've been tapering for 2 years slowly and have 1.5 mg Klonopin to go. Most of that time I had to take a certain amount of benzos everyday or have terrible anxiety from withdrawal. When you get addicted, you are a slave to the pills. You have to keep taking them or risk having a seizure or worse.

Add on tolerance, dependence, rebound anxiety, rebound insomnia, etc. and they eventually become a nightmare. It may take years to realize it, but you will run into the above at some time if you take them on a regular basis. Then you will eventually want to taper off and it will not be easy. The sooner you stop, the better. There's even the possibility of long term brain damage (like alcohol, since benzos work in a similar way to alcohol). There's also something called protracted withdrawal. This is when you continue to experience withdrawal symptoms months to years after stopping benzos.

There's all sorts of horror stories you can find by googling. Huge class action lawsuit in the UK and it will happen in the USA probably some day. It's like big tobacco. There's so much money in it and it's such a big problem that it's going to take time, but eventually they will either be banned or extremely regulated.

They have their place when used short term, but often doctors will prescribe them long term (the FDA doesn't approve long term use btw). Even if a doctor will prescribe it short term, you might love the stuff so much that you will doctor shop until you find a doctor who will give them out like candy. There's lots of doctors out there that will give you as much as you want. Then you start having tolerance issues, rebound anxiety, etc. and you want to quit and they don't know the proper way to taper you off.

None of the doctors that prescribed me benzos warned me of the bad things.

Anyway, do some googling on benzo withdrawal horror, long term effects benzos, etc. and you shall find a lot of sites that will tell you of all the dangers.

 

[panicsurvivor]

I disagree with a lot that's been said from personal experience. I've been taking a benzodiazepine (Klonopin) for about two years, or almost, now & I'm glad I started taking them. For me, they haven't been at all addicting & I haven't even had any withdrawal symptoms when I've been without them, though that is incredibly rare. Honestly, unless you have addiction problems, if you're anxiety is severe enough, I don't see a problem with them.

You have been taking them for two years. Have they cured you?

 

[panicsurvivor]

I have always found that having them is better than taking them. I have xanax. I never take them, but I always have them on me. If I have an emergency, I will take one. But that only happens a couple of times a year. Every time I take one, I consider it a defeat. Make no mistake, they are addictive. That is not up for debate. Period. That does not mean that just because you have them and just because you take them that you will become a hopeless addict. But you will if you depend on them whenever you feel anxiety. They are not a magic pill that you take whenever you feel bad and then you feel good. Having them is great, and even taking them once in a while when things get REALLY BAD is all right. But if you take them on a daily basis, you WILL GET ADDICTED!!!!!!! They are not an answer. They only mask your anxiety for a little while, they do not cure it. If try to take them like a medication your anxiety will get worse, and worse than that you will develop a tolerance and soon they will not even work to mask your anxiety. The nightmare that can happen to people who go down this road, is unbearable. If you get a prescription for xanax or klonipin or valium, tread carefully. They are a nice ace in the whole, but they are not the answer.::::::

 

[Prestonator]

I wouldn't take medication at all. I personally think it's possible to get over SA without meds, but that is only my opinion. I think all meds could become addictive because you get addicted of the way they make your anxiety dissapear. ::

 

[nothingtofear]

I got a hold of some ativan once (without a script) and intending to experiment with it in social situations to see if it helped with SA decided not to because I know how easily you can develop a nasty dependence on that stuff plus since I have more anxious thoughts than the actual feeling of intense anxiety/fear that I used to have and anxiolytics help with the latter, not the way you think so it probably wouldn't help me much anyway... ....but then some really unexpected personal drama started going down and I was really stressed out so I took one (2mg) and the drama got worse when a certain someone came back 20 minutes later so I said **** it and took 5 at once (10mg) without thinking and an hour later I was feelin goooooooood haha. I wound up laying down and falling asleep. Someone woke up 13 hours later and I remember feeling like I was still dreaming and I don't think I was much help (he needed something) and after a few more hours of sleep he came back and asked me if I was stoned the first time he came by.

I'm really weary about making use of drugs with high potential for abuse especially or even if they have any recreational value what so ever because as you may be able to tell from the story above I don't always have the best judgment. It's more of a spontaneous thing than uninformed carelessness, I have been known to experiment but I usually do a good deal of research first and try to do so responsibly but if I'm in a really bad mental state there are times I just dgaf.

 

[panicsurvivor]

I wouldn't take medication at all. I personally think it's possible to get over SA without meds, but that is only my opinion. I think all meds could become addictive because you get addicted of the way they make your anxiety dissapear. ::

Very smart my friend. Not only is it possible to get over anxiety without meds, it is the only way to actually get over anxiety. Meds don't cure you, they are a temporary way to address symptoms, that is IT!!!!! A cure can only come from life change and mental reprogramming. Sometimes meds help you to do that, so some people benefit from meds. But more often than not meds do more harm than good.::::

 

[decadeOfSA]

Very smart my friend. Not only is it possible to get over anxiety without meds, it is the only way to actually get over anxiety. Meds don't cure you, they are a temporary way to address symptoms, that is IT!!!!! A cure can only come from life change and mental reprogramming. Sometimes meds help you to do that, so some people benefit from meds. But more often than not meds do more harm than good.::::

I generally agree with this for SAD. I think some people are biologically predisposed though. My grandfather had SAD, I believe, from his behavior. My dad has different anxiety issues, and now I have SAD.

I think the mechanics of SAD come from irrational and negative thoughts and also just negative associations with people. You may have been bullied and/or just had too many bad experiences around people.

So how do you fix it? With CBT. You become aware of the irrational and negative thoughts and counter them with rational and positive thoughts. To break the association of people with fear, you have to take baby steps and make yourself relaxed and gradually expose yourself to situations that cause you anxiety, while relaxed. Over time, you mind will automatically replace a fear response around people with a more relaxed response.

Google about CBT, cognitive therapy, and systematic desensitization.

If those measures fail, then I don't have a problem with trying some anti-depressants or something like propranolol. Stay away from benzos though!

 

[doesit]

I generally agree with this for SAD. I think some people are biologically predisposed though. My grandfather had SAD, I believe, from his behavior. My dad has different anxiety issues, and now I have SAD.

I think the mechanics of SAD come from irrational and negative thoughts and also just negative associations with people. You may have been bullied and/or just had too many bad experiences around people.

So how do you fix it? With CBT. You become aware of the irrational and negative thoughts and counter them with rational and positive thoughts. To break the association of people with fear, you have to take baby steps and make yourself relaxed and gradually expose yourself to situations that cause you anxiety, while relaxed. Over time, you mind will automatically replace a fear response around people with a more relaxed response.

Google about CBT, cognitive therapy, and systematic desensitization.

If those measures fail, then I don't have a problem with trying some anti-depressants or something like propranolol. Stay away from benzos though!

Now i wish that was this simple,anxiety comes from the chemical imbalance in our brain,and it doesnt matter what the hell you thing when your anxious or panicking because you are already panicking because of some irrational fear which in different situation would look ridiculous,but all the feelings you get is because your brains are secreting adrenaline and all the nasty stuff which causes fight or flight response,now unless you can somehow control your heart beat or hormone secreation all the cbt stuff is limited until your instincts kick in.And speaking of Benzos yes they help but they were invented to deal with short term situations like grief or accident traumas.

 

[Lccska]

I've been taking Clonazepam for 15 years! No, it hasn't cured me, much as Insulin doesn't cure a Diabetic. I've never abused it, and I believe I have a "addictive personality". It has helped me to function and live with society. I don't consider myself a "drug addict". I wasn't able to function without the medicine. I feel no regret or guilt for depending on medications. I have an illness. If I treat it, I can live a full life. Without it, I'm a basket case.

 

[doesit]

recently i got hold of xanax myself and,i could easily see how people could get dependent on it,since it works in minutes makes u numb to everything and at the same time works only for short term,that's where the problems start,because if you have many stressful days,where anxiety kicks in constantly you develop a need to take it for any anxious situation.Anyway its good for sleeping but if taken daily u loose sex drive are always tired at the end of the day and loose interest in anything.Thats why i said i gonna seek medical advise later this year and try to get something that works without building tolerance,and yes id rather take drugs than suffer daily anxiety which leaves me crippled for days to recover most of the time.

 

[Lowlight]

I was prescribed Klonopin a couple of years ago. When I first started taking it, it was a “use as necessary” medication. I remember the first time I took a 1 mg pill was in college. It was the first week or so of classes and I was completely riled up with anxiety. I took the pill and everything slooowwed down. Then I felt really tired. I think I actually fell asleep in the cafeteria that day. From that point on though the Klonopin has had less and less of a sedative property to it. I believe that this is just because of a tolerance you build up to it.

Here is the one thing though that made me want to comment. I remember being in the cafeteria the day before taking the pill. I actively felt as if everyone were watching me, so I desperately and methodically moved my hands and arms around hoping that I would look normal from what ever angle they saw me from. When I took the pill the next day I forgot all about it and was able to just sit without thinking about how I was being perceived.

As for addictiveness, I found it wholly non addicted. I always took the prescribed dosage and never went beyond that. I had been taking it and then gone months without taking it and had no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever I must be one of those people who just don't get addicted to the stuff. The only point I am trying to make is that under the careful supervision of a credible medical professional there is a place for drugs such as these.

 

[foxdude]

I think most benzodiazepines are meant for temporary sleeping problems or panic attacks. only some benzos like klonopin are meant to be taken for long periods.

I prefer ssri's or tricyclic antidepressants, since for me they have way less side effects and don't turn me into an apathic zombie. but then again I've heard people say the same about benzos so I guess it's all personal.