tips for avoiding anxiety medicine addiction

[just say know]

anxiety meds build a tollerance very quickly; resulting in needing more and more of the drug to ease anxiety. however; many people take enough of the anxiety meds to completely rid themselves of anxiety; which there is good anxiety and bad anxiety. bad anxiety is the kind in which you constantly worry over something or in which it doesn't drive you. good anxiety drives you. alot of people try getting rid of all their anxiety and i believe this results in addiction. so i think it's best to deal with a little anxiety than none.

does anyone else have any input, thoughts, or constructive criticism?

 

[Gyrospeck]

Overall I agree. You should use the drugs to bring you from an unhealthy level of anxiety down to a normal level of anxiety. If you feel more relaxed, euphoric, or stress free after a dose, than you've taken too much. The perfect dose won't feel like much.

 

[SixBuckets]

anxiety meds build a tollerance very quickly; resulting in needing more and more of the drug to ease anxiety. however; many people take enough of the anxiety meds to completely rid themselves of anxiety; which there is good anxiety and bad anxiety. bad anxiety is the kind in which you constantly worry over something or in which it doesn't drive you. good anxiety drives you. alot of people try getting rid of all their anxiety and i believe this results in addiction. so i think it's best to deal with a little anxiety than none.

does anyone else have any input, thoughts, or constructive criticism?

Anxiety medication is not addictive (if you mean SSRIs and SNRIs). They can cause physical dependence, meaning that you'll experience withdrawal effects if you stop using them suddenly, but you are highly unlikely to demonstrate symptoms of psychological addiction like cravings for the medication, or using more than you want to/are prescribed, or using the medication in a way that causes damage to your life or relationships.

Does that make sense? Dependence and addiction are two different things.

 

[DrGreenthumb]

...but they use benzodiazepines for anxiety in the USA, which are addictive, do cause physical dependence, have issues with tolerance & have rebound effects. Not saying that's worse, because I haven't seen any evidence that SSRIs or SNRIs are any better than placebo & they have their own side effects, just doctors like to prescribe them because they create dependence & they're no fun to take.

Non-drug therapies are probably better. Good diet, exercise, sunlight, counselling, etc.

 

[just say know]

that was actually what i was going for; the addictive ones. and i agree with DrGreenthumb about non-drug therapies.

 

[SixBuckets]

...but they use benzodiazepines for anxiety in the USA, which are addictive, do cause physical dependence, have issues with tolerance & have rebound effects. Not saying that's worse, because I haven't seen any evidence that SSRIs or SNRIs are any better than placebo & they have their own side effects, just doctors like to prescribe them because they create dependence & they're no fun to take.

Yes, benzos can cause both dependence and psychological addiction in some people - I was under the impression that they weren't generally prescribed as ongoing monotherapy in the US? That's the case in Australia.

I've been successfully managing a Valium script for 12 years with no dependency or tolerance issues, but I do get some rebound anxiety on the rare occasions I take it. Infinitely preferable to trying to struggle through a panic attack, though!

I take an SNRI as part of my treatment regime. I can't tell you how well it works, because I take other medication too, but the total effect is the difference between "pretty much non-functional" and "living a normal life".

Non-drug therapies are probably better. Good diet, exercise, sunlight, counselling, etc.

Depends on how severe your anxiety is. For mild anxiety, sure. For severe anxiety, these strategies aren't going to do a great deal on their own.