Xanax and other benzodiazepine medications are designed to help people overcome a short period of anxiety, but according to an editorial in the American Journal of Psychiatry, about 1.65 percent of the population has taken benzodiazepines for one year or even longer. Many of these people have legitimate anxiety disorders, and their addictions were born when they attempted to get help for these problems. Recovering from a Xanax addiction means weaning away from the drug and refusing to take it in the future. For people with anxiety, this means looking for new treatment programs that don’t include the use of this dangerous drug.

Talking It Over

Some anxiety disorders benefit from intensive therapy sessions in which the person learns more about how the anxiety issue developed, and what could be done to control it. Some therapists use cognitive behavioral techniques in which the person is asked to:

• Identify what anxiety feels like on a physical level.
• Make a list of situations or people that tend to cause anxious feelings.
• Think of ways to avoid those people or situations.
• Determine how to intervene, should symptoms of anxiety appear.

These same lessons could be applied to the person’s addiction, as it’s quite possible that the person leans on high doses of Xanax when the symptoms of anxiety appear. By learning more about how an episode begins, and how the mind can be used to keep destructive forces at bay, the person might learn how to control both conditions, all without the use of drugs.

Learning New Techniques

People with Xanax addictions might be accustomed to leaning on drugs to quell their minds, without looking for other methods that don’t involve drugs. For some people, learning a few alternative techniques could allow them to develop an entirely new way of living. For example, research suggests that people with post-traumatic stress disorder might benefit from taking yoga classes. Here they calm their minds, focus on their breathing and bring their attention to bear on the feelings of the body, not the worries of the mind. In one study, people with PTSD who participated in yoga and breathing classes dropped their PTSD scores from the severe range to the mild-to-moderate range, and those improvements held steady at the six-month follow-up point. Alternative techniques like this can help people to develop powerful relaxation skills, and they can utilize those skills when their anxiety seems to grow.

Other Options

Some people with severe anxiety cannot go without some form of medication. Their minds are too active, and too difficult, to curb in other ways. This doesn’t mean, however, that these people should be trapped in a cycle of Xanax addiction. In fact, it’s likely that they’ll never be provided with Xanax again. Instead, their doctors might provide them with an entirely different kind of medication for the symptoms they face. Antidepressants, for example, might be helpful for specific types of anxiety issues, and they don’t tend to cause euphoria or other addictive symptoms in people who take them. These could be good choices for people who just can’t adjust to a medication-free life.

At Axis, we work with people who have addictions to all sorts of substances, and we know how to tailor our approaches to help people who have both addictions and mental health issues. If you’d like to know more about how these dual diagnosis programs work, please call our toll-free line to speak to an expert.