Benzodiazepine Addiction Treatment in California

People experiencing benzo addiction will inadvertently express fidgeting or anxiousness beyond their control. These can be irrepressible ticks, such as scratching, lip biting, or other similar habitual impulses. Excessive fidgeting is especially apparent while sitting or being still for an extended period of time.

If you require more than the strictly recommended dose to feel relief from symptoms, it may be a sign of physical dependency. Even if a person doesn’t feel physically or psychologically addicted to benzos, it’s important to communicate with a medical professional once they notice this happening. Failure to do so may result in severe withdrawal symptoms, thus requiring extensive, high-monitoring rehab methods.

Ironically, taking increased dosages of benzodiazepines can cause people addicted to them to have difficulty falling asleep. They can hinder REM sleep even when you fall into unconsciousness, resulting in frequent nighttime awakenings.

When addiction takes precedence over one’s life, hygiene and other important obligations can take a back seat. The result is a very evident, unkept appearance and a thorough lack of hygiene. These symptoms can only worsen as addiction progresses.

Avoiding social interactions with friends and family members should not go overlooked, especially if it’s uncharacteristic of a person’s usual behavior. It may be a silent cry for help or an expression of shame for becoming addicted.

A single doctor can only prescribe a certain amount of benzodiazepine medication to a single person. An individual addicted to benzos will seek out opportunities to get multiple prescription approvals to continually feed the addiction, commonly known as “doctor shopping.” They may lie about symptoms, pretend to be more sick than they actually are, or visit different doctors in an attempt to work the system.

When benzo dependency takes up a person’s time and energy, family and home duties can fall by the wayside. They may not realize just how much their addiction has taken up space in their life until someone they love speaks up about how much they themselves have been affected. This is why family-based therapy is a key part of recovery that helps the family heal and grow together.

A person’s inability to perform duties at their job (or at school) can stem from frequent tardiness, no shows, showing up intoxicated, or drug use in a professional setting. It may even stem from an utter lack of energy to perform the required tasks. A person may forget to meet deadlines or have a diminished capacity to complete specific tasks due to intoxication or poor rest.

Excessive benzo use can make the body prone to respiratory and bodily infections. The immune system is too busy to fend off simple conditions due to being occupied with processing benzodiazepines.