Many prescription drugs offer significant health benefits but can also pose serious risks. While they may help manage your condition effectively, your body can develop a tolerance over time. This means you need increasingly higher doses to achieve the same effects—raising the risk of dependency and addiction.
This can happen with any drug, including benzodiazepines or ‘benzos.’ If you take benzos over a long period, you can develop a benzo addiction.
Benzodiazepine drugs are particularly dangerous because they’re used to treat anxiety disorders. Not only can you end up chemically addicted to these drugs, but you can end up emotionally reliant on them.
The good news is you’re not on your own. Our comprehensive and individual-first addiction treatment center in Tennessee offers everything you need to recover successfully.
Gain access to one-on-one treatment up to three times per day, as needed. Recover in the tranquility and beauty of the countryside. Our ranch offers the serenity, care, and supportive environment necessary for your benzodiazepine addiction treatment.
What is Benzodiazepines?
Benzos or benzodiazepines are a type of prescription medication used to calm anxiety, insomnia, or muscle spasms. It works by supercharging the brain’s GABA chemical; powering it up helps us feel relaxed.
There are multiple different types of benzodiazepines, including:
| Benzodiazepine Type | Brand Name |
| Alprazolam | Xanax |
| Clonazepam | Klonopin |
| Lorazepam | Ativan |
| Diazepam | Valium |
| Temazepam | Restoril |
Our team can help overcome your addiction to any benzodiazepine, from short to long-acting benzos, so it doesn’t matter what specific brand you use. Come to our team here at Magnolia Ranch Recovery, and we can build your custom benzo rehab program for you.
Benzo Addiction: In Numbers
Benzodiazepine prescriptions and use are common. In 2019, there were an estimated 30.6 million adults who were taking benzodiazepines. Of those millions, 2.2% – that’s 5.3 million people – were misusing it.
Worse, more people are overdosing on Benzodiazepine, with a 23.7% increase in ED visits from 2020 compared to 2019. While it’s incredibly uncommon to die from a benzodiazepine overdose on its own, many take benzos along with opioids, which drastically increases the risk of a fatal overdose.
To put that number in perspective, 92.7% of benzos-related overdoses also involved opioids.
Signs and Symptoms of Benzodiazepine Addiction
Benzos addictions are more challenging to spot than others, especially if you or your loved one received them as part of a prescription. Even those who follow the dosage recommendation of their prescription drugs may end up developing a tolerance – and, in turn, an addiction – to the drug.
Signs and symptoms to watch out for include:
- Changes to your sleep pattern
- Concentration challenges
- Blurred vision
- Weakness
- Drowsiness
- Mood swings
- Irritability
- Drug-seeking behavior (doctor shopping)
Suppose you or your loved one are going through increasingly risky means to get your benzodiazepine, tried to quit but can’t on your own, or are combining benzos with other substances (like alcohol or opioids). In that case, you deserve the help and guidance from the experts you’ll have access to at Magnolia Ranch Recovery.
Benzo Withdrawal Symptoms
One of the reasons why it’s so hard to beat benzodiazepine addiction on your own is because of the protracted withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms begin as early as one day after you stop taking your medication.
Physical symptoms can include:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Weakness
- Sweating
- Muscle spasms
- Insomnia
- Hot flashes
- Seizures
You may also experience mental health withdrawal symptoms, including:
- Disorientation
- Agitation
- Anxiety
- Panic Attacks
- Depression
How We Can Help Alleviate Withdrawal Symptoms
We can help guide you through the detox process. This includes medical detoxification if you mix benzos with opioids, an inpatient Benzo detox program, an intensive outpatient program, and finally, a support outpatient program.
You will be under medical supervision throughout the entire process by medical professionals, so if you have any medical conditions, like a seizure, we can safely help you through it. We can even offer medication-assisted treatment if necessary.
The goal is to help you through the detox process from the start to help you achieve lasting recovery.
How a Benzo Addiction Can Impact Your Life
A benzos addiction can impact your life in so many different ways:
- Social: You may become more irritable or aggressive with your loved ones, particularly if you are experiencing withdrawal between doses.
- Functional: You may lose interest in your hobbies. You may struggle to keep up with your responsibilities. You may find it hard to hold a job or continue your education.
- Financial: Many with prescription addictions end up struggling financially to pay for the drugs, either legally or illegally.
- Legal: Drug-seeking and risky behavior can lead to legal challenges.
- Cognitive Health: You may experience cognitive impairment and find it harder to think, focus, or accomplish tasks.
- Physical Health: Chronic benzos use is very dangerous to your health, especially if you mix them with other drugs like alcohol or opioids.
Why Benzo is So Addicting
Being addicted to a prescription drug can be particularly challenging. You have a genuine need for the medication (for example, you have an anxiety disorder). Taking any medication, including benzodiazepine, causes your body to build up a tolerance. Soon enough, you’ll need higher doses, at greater frequencies, to get the same results.
This is how easy it is to fall into an addiction. If your doctor ups your prescription, then you may not notice how addicted you are to the substance. If you cannot get the same results as you used to, and your prescription doesn’t cover it any longer, then you may turn to drug-seeking and risky behavior to fill the gaps.
Withdrawing from a benzos or Xanax addiction, especially without help or resources, can also be challenging. If you haven’t managed to cut down on your benzos intake or stop on your own, then getting help from a licensed and individual-first treatment program is a must. Our facility in Pulaski, TN – just 75 miles from Nashville, offers serenity, facilities, and therapies to help you achieve long-term recovery.
Signs You Need Help with Your Benzo Addiction
If you currently struggle with mental health challenges and find that you cannot, for any reason, cut back or stop your Benzo use despite needing or wanting to, then you deserve help. We can provide that help in a serene, intimate countryside location.
Our team will put together a personalized treatment plan that will help you first minimize withdrawal symptoms and then work on helping you manage withdrawal symptoms on your own.
We use a combination of prescription medication (always under medical supervision) to help you through the most severe withdrawal symptoms and then follow up with a combination of psychological, holistic, and group therapy to give you the best chance at long-term recovery.
With us, you’ll learn healthy coping strategies that are needed to manage those other withdrawal symptoms and control the urge to seek out benzos to help with your mental health challenges. We do this by treating not just the symptom but the cause. Thanks to our fully personalized benzo addiction treatment, you can understand the reason behind your addiction and learn and grow in a peaceful environment.
Get Comprehensive Treatment at Magnolia Ranch Recovery
Our process starts by safely removing benzodiazepines from your system. This is done with medical supervision so that your benzo withdrawal goes smoothly. In some cases, we may recommend a partial hospitalization program.
From there, we offer comprehensive treatment, starting with residential intensive treatment, followed by intensive outpatient, and then outpatient. During your time with us, you will have access to:
- Three (maximum) sessions with your therapist per day, not just once per week, to support you through your Benzo withdrawal.
- Certified therapies like CBT, DBT, or PTSD treatment help you address your underlying psychological symptoms.
- Holistic therapies help you reconnect with your body and build confidence. Enjoy art therapy, yoga, and equine-assisted therapy as part of your benzodiazepine detox treatment plan.
- On-site amenities across our 38-acre ranch. At Magnolia Ranch Recovery, you will have the peaceful environment needed to recover.
Welcome a New You With Our Tennessee Benzo Detox Today
We offer professional help around the clock in a truly serene, stunning countryside location just 75 miles outside Nashville. So, if you’re looking for a safe place to detox in Nashville, we’re here.
Here at Magnolia Ranch Recovery, you aren’t just a number. Your entire treatment program is personalized for you. We offer the most comprehensive benzo detox in Nashville, Tennessee, and the country.
You’ll have access to medical professionals to help minimize any health risks. We’ll then build you a custom program of treatment options ranging from cognitive or dialectical behavioral therapies to equine-assisted therapy, where you’ll connect and bond with horses to build up your confidence and sense of responsibility.
Our goal is to help our patients achieve a long-term recovery. We’re here to help you meet a new you. Make that first step today, and get in touch with our team. We’ll even run a complimentary health insurance check and help you understand your options for benzo recovery here at Magnolia Ranch Recovery.
