![]() We don't teach that it's OK to feel these things," LaPilusa said. ![]() "We really don't have that push for learning how to get better at feeling. As a result, people are so determined to eliminate discomfort that they turn to medication. The idea that negative emotions are harmful and must be removed in order to be successful and content is being sold to people, he said. LaPilusa said the increase could be due to an increased desire to remove discomfort instead of learning to cope with the feelings. Now, she said, "people are more likely to present for treatment or even acknowledge they have an anxiety disorder." "People talk about anxiety much more than they did 20 years ago," Salcedo said. Beth Salcedo, board president of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, said one of the reasons for the escalating number of prescriptions is that they are written by primary doctors, who typically don't provide psychotherapy or have resources to give referrals for good psychotherapy.Īnother possibility: More people are talking openly about stress than ever before. "That's why someone cutting back or stopping these medications needs medical supervision." What's leading the charge in benzo Rxĭr. "All of these medications can cause significant withdrawal when stopped abruptly after being used consistently for an extended period of time, he said. Longer-acting drugs, such as Librium and Valium, may be less prone to withdrawal, he said. Xanax, for example, is known to cause more severe withdrawal symptoms, as it is a short-acting benzodiazepine. Wilson Compton, deputy director at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said withdrawal depends on the type of drug. Seizures can also occur in severe cases.ĭr. Withdrawal symptoms could include increased anxiety, insomnia, depression, irritability or muscle jerks. The withdrawal process for benzodiazepines is even more dangerous than it is for opioids, she said. ![]() If used long term, then it's best only to take them two to three times a week. Lembke said that if benzodiazepines are needed daily, people shouldn't take them for longer than two to four weeks. ![]() She said there isn't enough data from long-term studies to definitively declare the likeliness of addiction, but she estimated that about 10 percent to 15 percent of users will develop addiction, while a larger proportion may develop a physiological dependence. If the drugs aren't available, the individual experiences heightened anxiety, Lembke said. "Ultimately, the individual becomes dependent on benzos to remain calm." "The brain basically compensates … by downregulating its own internal mechanisms for calming the brain," Lembke said. By enhancing their function, benzodiazepines ultimately calm the brain down. GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. Some people build up a tolerance to antidepressants and may experience rebound anxiety, or a worsening of anxiety symptoms.īenzodiazepines work by binding to GABA receptors and enhancing their function, said Lembke. Yet doctors may shift toward benzodiazepines depending on the individual, their needs and their type of anxiety. Anna Lembke, chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. People in this age group are also experiencing plenty of new external stressors, he said, like new jobs, relationships and colleges.Īntidepressant medications, such as Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil, are also prescribed to treat anxiety, as they are the "first line of treatment for anxiety disorders," said Dr. Justin LaPilusa, a licensed clinical psychologist in San Diego, said that in his experience he's noticed that many people develop anxiety in their early 20s, a time age in which they don't always have the personal resources to manage their symptoms. It's expected to reach about $3.8 billion by 2020, revealed a Zion Market Research report. In 2014 this sector was valued at more than $3.3 billion in the United States. Like opioids, there's plenty of money to be made in the general anxiety-disorder drug market, which includes antidepressants, benzodiazepines and buspirone. The trend is fueled by the fact that benzodiazepine prescriptions increased 67 percent between 19, with the number of adults filling a benzo prescription in the United States tallying 13.5 million, according to a study. In 2015 benzo overdoses accounted for 8,791 deaths, up from 1,135 in 1999. Overdose deaths involving benzodiazepines - such as Xanax, Librium, Valium and Ativan, drugs commonly used to treat anxiety, phobias, panic attacks, seizures and insomnia - have quadrupled between 20, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
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