How To Quit Using Benzos

Addiction is a serious disease that doesn’t differentiate based on race, gender, or background. It comes in many forms and can impact anyone at any time. There are a few drugs that are particularly addictive, such as benzodiazepines, which are also known as benzos. If you or someone you know is suffering from a benzo addiction, please seek professional help. Benzos can change one’s life drastically and are extremely addictive. Benzo abuse can also be detrimental to one’s health and is very dangerous

What are Benzodiazepines?

Benzodiazepines, also known as benzos, are a common class of prescription medication that is used to treat a variety of medical conditions. Some of the most common forms of benzos are diazepam, lorazepam, Klonopin, and Xanax. Benzos have two major medical applications. First, benzos are used to stop someone who is having seizures. A seizure takes place when the neurons in the brain start to fire out of control. There are different kinds of seizures such as tonic-clonic, grand mal, and absence seizure.

The other major application of benzos comes in the form of anxiety management. If someone is having a panic attack, benzos such as the commonly prescribed Xanax, stop the panic attack from continues. This medicine is short-acting and can stop a panic attack in its tracks; however, this medication is also incredibly addictive. Benzos are supposed to be prescribed as an emergency use only pill, but people prescribed can end up taking them every day.  The longer someone abuses benzos, the more likely they’ll become addicted. It’s really not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. There are certain signs and symptoms one can look out for when it comes to an addiction to benzos.

What are the Signs & Symptoms?

If someone develops an addiction to benzos, there are a few signs and symptoms that people might note. First, someone who suffers from an addiction to benzos will end up going to the doctor more often than usual. This takes place because someone is going to need a prescription to pick up benzos. Then, that individual might end up going through prescriptions of benzos faster than they should. 

As the addiction worsens, individuals are going to develop mood swings, become increasingly lethargic, and experience slurred speech. They will do anything they can to feed that addiction. When the doctor stops writing prescriptions, someone who suffers from an addiction is going to turn to buying them off the streets. This can directly impact someone’s financial situation as they’re paying out of pocket for the drugs versus using insurance. 

How to Quit

The safest and most effective way to quit using benzos is to seek help from a trained medical professional. Stopping cold turkey is extremely dangerous and can cause health complications, such as seizures. If someone is addicted to their prescription, they can go to the doctor prescribing the medicine and asked to be tapered off. Being “tapered off” means the doctor will determine a smaller dose to give the person, then a smaller dose after that, to gradually get this person off the drug. 

If someone is addicted to benzos that they’re buying off the street, they can also go to a doctor and seek help or they can go to a drug rehab for detox. During detox, the person will also be tapered off the drug, under medical supervision 24 hours a day. Detox at a rehab isn’t only for people who are purchasing benzos illegally, it is for anyone who is addicted regardless of if they have a prescription or not. 

Completing detox at a rehab then attending an inpatient rehab is one of the best ways to ensure someone will get sober and stay sober. During treatment, the addict learns the coping skills needed to stay sober and also gains a support group. Having the support of friends and family is important when getting sober, but having a sober community is even more important for beating a benzo addiction.

Let Us Help!

At Soba Recovery, we offer detox and inpatient treatment programs at both of our Soba Texas and Soba Mesa rehab centers that help people overcome addiction. We provide a unique luxury program that combines traditional addiction treatment with modern therapies to assist clients in overcoming substance abuse for good. If you are interested in learning more about how our program can help you overcome the chains of addiction, contact us today!

Top Ten Ways to Kick Cocaine

Kicking the cocaine habit is difficult due to the mental and physical effects it has on the body. You need both medical and psychological help to get you through the withdrawal effects of this drug. When it comes to quitting, though, you are not alone. Evaluate these ten ways to see which can help you the most to kick coke to the curb. You may need to try several to get over your addiction.

1. Stopping Cold Turkey or Detoxing

Generally, stopping cold turkey is the least preferable way to quit cocaine because doing so can cause serious side effects. These side effects can include severe drowsiness, agitation, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, depression, and paranoia. The mental effects of stopping coke may be serious enough to require a doctor’s intervention to keep you from hurting yourself.

If you want to stop cold turkey, consider checking yourself into a medically supervised detox facility. The doctors and nurses on hand will ensure that you get the support you need as your body goes through withdrawal.

3. Social Support Groups

While you go through withdrawal, you will need help to work through the emotions that emerge during quitting. Talking about your feelings and experiences with others who are going through the same steps may help you to power through the withdrawal stages and after.

3. Find Replacements for Cocaine

Because substance abuse no longer holds your life hostage, you will have more time on your hands. Unless you find something to fill that time with, you may go back to using drugs. Take the time during recovery to try out new hobbies, such as playing an instrument, knitting, or volunteering. Working with your hands can distract you when you experience cravings.

4. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psychological technique that helps patients to change how they respond to specific situations. For addiction treatment, if you used cocaine in certain situations, by going through CBT, you will learn to do other things than turn to drugs. If you choose a formal counseling program or therapist, most use this therapeutic technique. Even 12-step programs integrate elements of CBT into their methods.

5. Motivational Incentives

For some people, motivation helps. Create rewards for yourself that correspond to times without coke. For example, you may use the money saved on drugs to buy yourself a new video game or jacket if you go for a week without using drugs. You may also increase the incentives to encourage yourself to extend the length of time you go cocaine-free. Perhaps you invest in the down payment for a new car after lasting a year of living cleanly.

6. Balance Your Life

Your life will get turned upside down when you stop using cocaine. The parties you once went to will no longer be options for you because you may feel too tempted to use drugs again. Part of getting over substance abuse is discovering how to keep yourself balanced.

Get regular exercise, develop good sleep habits, and eat a healthy diet. These activities will keep your body and mind healthy. They will also replace some of the time you once devoted in your schedule to drug use. If you used coke to improve your mood or energy levels, healthier living will replace it to give you more energy.

7. Unfriend Some People

Carefully examine your life, and if you have friends who encouraged you in your addiction, break ties with them. People who push you toward self-destructive behaviors, like substance abuse, are not friends.

To keep yourself from feeling lonely, look for activities in your area that do not require drugs where you can make friends. Sign up for a softball league, visit a house of worship, or volunteer your time. Making friends outside drug-use activities can make quitting easier.

8. Identify and Eliminate Triggers

Triggering events, feelings, locations, and people can be difficult to avoid, especially if you retain your old routine while trying to quit. You need to assess your life and identify times when you would use coke. If you only used it as a party drug, you should avoid going to parties for a while. For some people, the trigger may have been stress in their life. Getting more exercise or meditation to reduce stress can help remove that trigger. Talk to your therapist about possible triggers and how you can get those out of your life.

9. Check Into an Intensive Treatment Facility

If you have a serious addiction, check yourself into a substance abuse treatment facility. Though in 2013, only 6% of people in rehab centers had a cocaine addiction, 68% of those use more than one drug.

The advantage of professional treatment facilities is the access you have to a variety of services, such as CBT, intensive individual therapy, family therapy, psychodynamic group therapy, and more. At addiction recovery facilities, you can detox from coke, begin therapy, and discover ways to stay drug-free for life.

10.  Keep Trying

Unfortunately, those who recover from reliance on coke may experience a relapse. In fact, between 40% and 60% of those who recover once will relapse. Don’t let this discourage you because it reflects the recurrence rate of serious medical issues like asthma or high blood pressure, which can have a recurrence of 50% to 70%.

Get the professional addiction treatment you need to recover from your problem in a relaxing, luxurious setting. Contact us at SOBA Recovery today for more information on our cocaine and other substance addiction recovery programs.

4 Benefits of Quitting Opioids: An Addiction Needing Caring Treatment

These powerful painkillers are extremely rampant in today’s society and need to be addressed more than the simple facts thrown around for addicts to digest. There has to be an intervention between primary care physician and addiction treatment centers that offer guidance and care for each person suffering from the throes of opioid addiction.

SOBA Recovery Center has a wealth of hope to offer each person who enters their doors in search of addiction treatment for opioids. An initial message of positivity alongside the beautiful facility and surroundings give the addiction specialists a chance to share their healing secrets and tools of recovery.

What happens when the body undergoes detox?

Because succumbing to addiction is a real fact in our world and with the aid of the pharmaceutical industries and vulnerabilities of personas, it’s no wonder that the body has to go through stages of detoxification after the willingness to quit altogether is acknowledged.

When a person ceases taking the drugs the body requires time to recover. However, there are withdrawal symptoms that can occur at any time when long-term opioid usage is stopped altogether or cut back. The following symptoms of detox include:

  • Anxiety
  • Agitation during daily activities
  • Muscle tension, aches, and pains
  • An increase in crying and emotional outbursts
  • Insomnia and difficulty falling asleep
  • Yawning and basic fatigue
  • Sweating
  • Inability to concentrate
  • Runny nose, similar to cold and flu symptoms

While the above noticeable signs of detox are prevalent, there are also symptoms during late-phase withdrawal worth noting, which include persistent goosebumps, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, dilated pupils, nausea, and in extreme cases, violent vomiting. These are not life-threatening signs, yet can cause severe discomfort if not addressed properly by an addiction expert or a physician.

Receiving a comprehensive medical history and background information of each person is vital at SOBA Recovery Center. It is of their utmost concern to listen, offer support, heal with proper tools and alternative therapies that bring about resounding results and successes for patients undergoing the decision to quit opioids.

The 4 benefits of total abandonment of opioid addiction

There are phases to treatment and subsequent recovery during addiction treatment. Group counseling sessions, cognitive and mental treatments, and support, specific detoxification modalities that create a peaceful transition are all highlighted at SOBA in San Antonio, Texas.

The biggest challenge of opioid treatment lies in the overall paradox of how to help those who are suffering from the addiction. Researchers are still flummoxed by what actually goes on in treatment centers and what connections there are with respect to the highest quality of treatment an addict needs to receive. SOBA is aware of the gold standard and abides by every protocol necessary to remedy and heal, no matter the length of stay at their idyllic center.

If the person willing to quit opioids understands the complications from addiction treatment and possible withdrawal symptoms, the wellness benefits are astounding once they pass over the hump of significant brain changes that occur during opioid usage.

Following are the 4 most beneficial rewards of abandoning opioid addiction:

  1. Health – A significant improvement over time begins to appear, as the addict manages their symptoms by making informed choices that support their overall physical and emotional well-being.
  2. Home – Securing stability in their lives by having a roof over their heads is progress and alleviates stress.
  3. Purpose – Participating in society by involving oneself in community activities and daily communications and connections through financial independence and proper income elevate a reason to live.
  4. Community – Maintaining active awareness, friendships, love, and social networks brings about the hope within the person undergoing recovery.

Recovery is a lifelong process of change through which the opioid user improves their health and well-being, living self-directed lives, and striving to reach their full potential. It doesn’t happen overnight, yet the possibilities are endless, something SOBA Recovery Center wholeheartedly believes in. They empower their patients and it shows.

Each dimension and phase of supported recovery is evident during addiction treatment, and the uniqueness of each individualized plan is that it shows just what normalcy looks like for the opioid user.

The key to success lies in feeling hopeful and having support

Having drug-free days is within reach for every person involved in the support and recovery efforts. Whether it be family members or best friends, a network of healing therapies is key to success and wellness. Active listening, jotting down moments of weakness in a diary, remaining busy during vulnerable moments, and steering clear of people who encourage drug usage are meaningful measures to remaining clean and drug-free.

Ask for support! Having consistent strategies outlined by a qualified counselor and physician are primary in receiving the proper support to a full recovery.