Detoxing and Recovering from Benzodiazepines
How Addiction Takes Hold
Understanding Benzo Addiction and Recovery
Like many addictive drugs, the benzodiazepines class of medication was originally meant to help people. Usually, people who take benzodiazepines under a doctor’s care are taking them to relieve anxiety or sleep disorders, such as insomnia; there are about 5 million people in the United States who are taking benzodiazepines without a prescription. Because benzodiazepines are available by prescription, many people think they are safe to use, but like other drugs, you can become addicted to them. Here is some information about detoxing and recovery from benzodiazepine addiction.
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What to Expect
Detox from Benzodiazepines
Detoxing from a drug means that your body is ridding itself of the substance, so you can finally live without benzodiazepines. If you have been taking benzos for a while, or you have been taking a lot of them, your body will react to the absence of the drug, which is called withdrawal.
When you withdraw from benzodiazepines, you might experience some symptoms, such as sleep problems, cramping, and pain, especially around the face or neck. These symptoms are normal. However, many people who are withdrawing from benzodiazepines experience muscle tension or spasms, racing heart, and shaking or trembling, which means it would be better for you to detox under a doctor’s care. If you undergo a physician-assisted medical detox, you may receive medication to lessen the symptoms of withdrawal and complete the detox safely. Usually, people who are detoxing from benzodiazepines take one to two weeks before the body is completely free of withdrawal symptoms.
Next Phase of Care
After the Detox Process
Once your withdrawal symptoms are gone, and you are free of the drug, you can begin to recover from your addiction. After detox, there are two types of treatment programs: inpatient treatment and outpatient treatment. With outpatient treatment, clients don’t live in a treatment center. Instead, clients attend meetings or go to therapy programs outside of a facility. Inpatient treatment means that clients live in a residential facility for somewhere between 30-90 days. Because every client is different, treatment teams focus on what each client needs.
Long-Term Healing
The Recovery Process
Your recovery from benzodiazepine addiction has many steps. You didn’t become addicted to benzos overnight, and recovery from a benzo addiction takes both time and effort. While you are in recovery, you will learn new ways of connecting with people who can help support positive changes, how to reconnect with family and friends who can help you, and other strategies to combat stress. Also, if you do have an undiagnosed anxiety disorder, you can receive treatment and medication for your anxiety. You can begin to work on your mental illness in both individual and group therapy.
Turn to SCA Recovery for Help Recovering from Benzodiazepines
Are you struggling with an addiction to benzodiazepines? We can help. SCA Recovery is located in the Los Angeles area and serves individuals in Orange County, Ventura County, LA County, and surrounding areas. Each of our locations are prepared to help clients who want to move toward greater communication with loved ones and healing rather than continuing the cycle of addiction. If you are tired of feeling run down and stressed about where your next high is going to come from, let us offer you a new path. Reach out today. Our professionals are waiting for you to take that first step.