Which benzodiazepine are you trying to quit? Which is the least addictive benzodiazepine? Which is the most addictive benzodiazepine?
Are you concerned about benzodiazepine addiction? Have you been taking benzos for many years, and now you don’t know how to stop? Should you seek benzo addiction treatment at a residential treatment program?
When you ask your doctor, friends, and family members, everyone points to benzo addiction as the source of your problems. They claim that you have become a benzo junkie, because when you try to stop, you get physically sick.
What kind of drugs are benzodiazepines? Are benzos a type of opioid? For example, is Xanax an opioid, just like heroin?
While there are some similarities between benzodiazepines and opioids, they are very different drugs. Opioids have a fairly high addictive potential, yet benzos have a very low addictive potential.
Opioid addiction treatment with medication-assisted treatment is life-saving. Treatment for benzo use is very different.
Can benzo rehab help with benzodiazepine dependence?
Why do people believe that benzos are so addictive? It could be the bad reputation that specific benzo drugs have developed over the years.
For example, Xanax is a benzodiazepine medication that is sold on the streets, and often taken together with drugs of abuse. It might be used to come down from a cocaine high, to sleep off opioid withdrawal, or to get more drunk by taking it with alcohol.
However, just because someone abuses or misuses Xanax does not mean they are addicted to it. Benzo abuse or use does not equal benzodiazepine addiction.
Separating out the difference between addiction and physical dependence can seem confusing at first, but they are very different conditions. Just because someone has drug withdrawal symptoms does not mean they are addicted.
Addiction involves obsessing over a drug, and then the compulsive, continued use of the drug when it is available. People with substance addictions often relapse and go back to drug abuse over and over again, even when they know they are harming themselves and others.
Physical dependence means that the person becomes physically sick when they quit taking the drug cold turkey. A person who is sick with drug withdrawal is not necessarily addicted.
Rehabs are not prepared to treat benzodiazepine dependence.
Residential rehab programs are typically profit-driven businesses that market their services to anyone with any substance-related issue. If you call a rehab and ask for help getting off of a benzodiazepine, such as Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, or Ativan, they will be happy to help.
Unfortunately, the problem is that rehabs, or detox facilities, treat benzo dependence the same as opioid addiction. Benzo dependence is not an addiction. In fact, overall, benzodiazepine abuse and addiction are quite rare.
Benzo tapering should be performed gradually and carefully. A 30-day rehab stay is not enough time to guide a patient through a proper taper in accordance with the Ashton Manual.
Additionally, most rehab programs will treat the benzo client as if they have an addiction. A stay in rehab for a benzo-dependent patient can be a nightmare experience of gaslighting and benzo withdrawal sickness.
Benzodiazepine tapering can take anywhere from 5-6 months up to several years. When a rehab forces a fast taper on a benzo client, they are at higher risk for developing a protracted withdrawal syndrome.
If rehab cannot help with benzodiazepine dependence, who can help?
Rehabs are excellent at providing meth addiction treatment and cocaine addiction treatment. An alcohol addiction treatment program is great for getting off of alcohol.
opioid addiction treatment is offered both as residential treatment and outpatient treatment. However, these types of facilities are not ideal when they try to function as benzo rehab programs.
When a person has taken benzo medication for years, as prescribed by their doctor, they will almost certainly develop a physical dependence. They do not have a benzo addiction.
Since addiction is not the problem, there is no reason to go to rehab. In order to safely get off of the benzo, a private doctor who has experience in guiding tapering is a better option than a residential rehab.
The doctor can work with the patient to help them follow the Ashton Method, or a similar gradual tapering program. There is no need to follow an addiction recovery program for a patient who is dealing with a physical dependence to doctor-prescribed medication.
Benzodiazepine detox must be performed gradually, and it must be patient directed.
When a rehab takes a patient off of benzos too quickly, and they may develop protracted withdrawal, it could be considered to be an iatrogenic injury. The patient suffers long-term due to being forced to taper too quickly.
It is important that family members of a person who is physically dependent on benzos understand that their loved one is not necessarily addicted. While benzodiazepine dependence may seem to be an addiction, it should not be treated as such
The best place to start, when trying to quit benzodiazepines, is to visit an experienced doctor who is familiar with the Ashton Manual. Going to rehab is often not the best option, and it can possibly be harmful for people who are benzo-dependent.
A heroin addiction treatment program is not equipped to handle benzodiazepine dependence. Beware the addiction treatment center that advertises benzodiazepine addiction therapy.
If there is a legitimate benzo addiction treatment program to treat the rare cases of benzodiazepine addiction, it would likely turn away many potential clients. This is because most prospective clients will turn out to have a dependence issue, not an addiction. True benzodiazepine addiction treatment will only be required in a very small percentage of cases.
For the majority of people who need to come off of a benzo, the most important task is to avoid or minimize benzodiazepine withdrawal. Also, it is important to address the underlying panic disorder or anxiety disorder with other forms of therapy.
A gradual taper, supervised by an experienced physician, is most often the best way to minimize withdrawal symptoms. While individual therapy with a psychologist may also be helpful, there will likely be no need for the doctor of psychology to provide addiction-focused psychotherapy.
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