Being in the limelight may not be a walk in the park for everybody. With the whole world watching your every move, your flaws often become the topic of discussion among many. As anxiety kicks in, Xanax becomes part of your solution to calm down. This describes the fate of some of the famous songbirds such as Whitney Houston that lost their lives overdosing from Xanax. It is true that the drug calms your nervous system temporarily making you feel less depressed as you try to conceal your problem, but too much of the drug causes fatal conditions.Your doctor may even recommend Xanax to help you relax but overdoing it could change your life.
Emulating those who seem to have it all is what makes most young people start using this drug. According to a study conducted by National Service on Drug use and Health, it showed that most people aged between 18 and 25 are Xanax addicts who get addicted for using this drug without a doctor’s prescription. Some use intermediaries and private links to acquire Xanax and even distribute it among their friends just to get money. Associating with such friends is what causes you to overdose on the drug since you can no longer control how much your body is craving. Xanax detox is the only solution to getting rid of this habit and making your body go back to normal.
We will have a discussion regarding what this drug is all about, how it affects your body and what you can do as a victim to detox from it.
How much is too much dose of Xanax?
If you are having trouble calming down, your doctor may prescribe the right dosage of Xanax to help you relax. This often depends on your age, how your body might react to the drug as well your medical history. Your psychological disorder may be treated with doses between 0.25 mg and 2mg. These amounts are limited so that your body does not react negatively to Xanax. Your doctor tries to understand how your body is reacting to the drug and may increase the quantity a little if there is no bad reaction.
Where people go wrong is when they decide to take more than 4mg of Xanax without their doctor’s approval. Taking high amounts of Xanax to help you sleep may not be a solution to your nightmares and panic attacks rather, it leaves you feeling fatigued in the morning. Most young people often mix it with other drugs such as alcohol to get high and feel like they are in another world.
How do you get addicted?
Your brain contains a useful chemical called GABA which reduces when you take a high dosage of Xanax. This is what makes dopamine to increase so that it can deal with your panic or anxiety while increasing a feeling of satisfaction. Anxious feelings will let you use Xanax more than the doctor has prescribed leading to overdependence on the drug. Depending on how much influence you are getting from peers, you may end up getting addicted in the following stages:
Initiation
Your friend may be the one to be the cause of your downfall with a prescription of Xanax. When they mix it with alcohol, you can hardly tell what you have hard since it relaxes your mind. And this is when the xanax addiction and its side effects start kicking in
Experimentation
After the first dosage, you may be curious as to what effect doubling the dose may have on your body. In a bid to experiment, you find yourself taking more than is required.
Dependence
Increasing how much you take, your body may become over-reliant on Xanax where you feel you cannot do without it.
Xanax disorder
Trying to withdraw from the new habit which you have developed for a month or two, becomes next to impossible with symptoms kicking in.
This pattern is how people end up needing a Xanax detox immediately.
Why you should never mix it with alcohol
As you enjoy partying with alcohol that is mixed with Xanax, you cause more damage on your brain than just using one drug. This reduces the signals sent to your central nervous system causing sedation because it mutes excitation on your brain. You may not only end up causing an accident as you drive back home but also increase the chances of suffering a cardiac arrest. Be warned!
Xanax detox
Different medications are used to help you detox from this drug. This include:
Taper
Rather than immediately stopping the use of Xanax, the taper is an effective detox method used to administer fewer doses of the drug for a certain period so that slowly, your body can adapt depending on an individual. Detoxing may be unique to every person considering factors such as how long you have consumed it and your withdrawal history.Doctors will make you comfortable so that they can stabilize your symptoms for easy taper.
Carbamazepine
If you are have not used Xanax for long, it means that your dependence level may not be that high compared to someone who has used it for years. This makes it easier for doctors to use carbamazepine medication to sedate you so that your symptoms may reduce. Combining this medication with benzodiazepine helps you gradually break the mild dependence.
Clonidine
This is administered in case you are suffering tremors with less consumption of Xanax. It helps you calm down and fight anxiety without having to rely on the drug.
Therapy
Apart from receive medications, therapy will also help you get through recovering. Some of the therapies that deal with addictions that you can try out are:
Cognitive-behavioral therapy
Xanax has been associated with suicidal thoughts. This is why you hear cases of Xanax drug addicts killing themselves because they cannot take it anymore. Such therapy helps you control your thoughts by monitoring behavioral patterns so that you don’t get affected by societal stigma.
Contingency management
This therapy rewards you for staying on track without suffering from a relapse. It is a good way to make you feel appreciated and motivated.
Final thoughts
Xanax may help you calm down in case you are having a mental breakdown, however, when you get to a point of relying totally on these pills, it ruins your life.Do not be the next victim of death that we have to bury due to Xanax addiction.