Introduction
This is the third part of the series I’m doing where I go over the various medications that are used to “treat” people for mental health problems. This time around, I will take a closer look at benzodiazepines and the effect it has on the brain and body. Generally, people take benzodiazepines for anxiety and sleep problems, so that is what I’m going to look at.
I want to mention that as humans, all of us will experience some type of anxiety and sleep problems in our lives. It’s inevitable. Those long nights you have to spend at work or taking care of your child add up. Also, the days we choose to stay up all night because we don’t want to go to bed counts as well.
It’s important to mention the moments in our lives where we feel anxious. Going after your dreams and making the most out of life is an anxious ride. It’s full of uncertainty and that’s what keeps us on our toes. However, a lot of people don’t like that uncertainty feeling. With that being said, some people don’t know what to do to deal with that feeling.
That is where benzodiazepines come into play. So let’s take a closer look at what benzodiazepines do for the brain and how they may or may not help us.
The Role of Benzodiazepines In The Brain
Benzodiazepines work by slowing down the functions in the body, which means that it acts as a sedative. The effect of benzodiazepines is mainly on GABA, which is a chemical in the brain. GABA (Gamma Amino Butyric Acid) works by reducing brain activity in certain areas that are fairly important.
That brain activity includes clear thinking, memory, emotions, and other functions that deal with daily living. Since these brain activities are being reduced, it is clear to say that they are being impaired when taking these medications.
Comparing the previous article I made on antidepressants, benzodiazepines impair more than one brain function. Also, it is important to note that the effects of benzodiazepines are instant. The effects of benzodiazepines occur right when you take them for the first time. This is one of the reasons why people like it so much. There is no time to waste as you know the effect will happen.
A Closer Look At The Brain Function That’s Affected By The Effects of Benzodiazepines
You may be wondering, “why would anyone take these pills if it reduces brain activity for important functions?” That is a great question to ask and the answer is fairly simple.
If your brain can think less and keep your mind wandering off of things, then it would relieve anxiety and help you sleep better. There would be no overthinking and contemplating about the uncertainties of life. In addition, nothing would keep you up all night, which allows you to fall right to bed.
All of this is true and indeed these benzodiazepines work for all of that. However, there are better ways to deal with anxiety and even sleep problems. Most of that has to do with a better sleep schedule and managing stressors in your life. However, before we get to that point, I want to go over what happens when you take these pills for an extended period of time.
Damaging Effects of The Use of Benzodiazepines
To start this section, I would like to include some statistics regarding benzodiazepines, so you have some information about them.
- More than 1 in 8 adults use benzodiazepines each year
- Benzodiazepine prescriptions and overdose mortality have increased in the U.S
- Benzodiazepines were involved in 30% of prescription drug overdose deaths in 2013
- The overdose death rate increased by four times between 1999-2010
- Around 13% of adults in the U.S. use benzodiazepines in 2016
- Around 17% of benzodiazepine users misused them
Now before we go into more detail about the damaging effects, I want to discuss the overdoses regarding these medications.
The majority of people on benzodiazepines are also on other prescription medication, especially opioids. Opioids are known for being highly addictive, which is a bad sign for people using it. If you don’t know, benzodiazepine usage increases with age. Therefore, mostly older adults are becoming addicted to these medications, which isn’t a good thing.
Studies Regarding The Effects of Benzodiazepines
According to a systematic review of benzodiazepines, individuals prescribed opioids are more likely to be prescribed a benzodiazepine. With this in mind, it makes sense as to why there are a lot of problems with this combination. The previous statistic regarding overdose death rates described benzodiazepines being responsible for 30% of deaths. Well, according to that same report, opioids accounted for 70% of overdose deaths.
According to another systematic review of the effects of benzodiazepines, anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, and social avoidance are among the adverse effects of benzodiazepines. If you recall earlier, I stated that benzodiazepines are taken for anxiety and sleep problems. However, with continued use, the medication makes those problems far worse while adding additional issues.
Another finding from this review states that there are many different cognitive impairments that continue with persistent use. All of these cognitive impairments involve learning and memory.
After putting some of the pieces together, you can see that older people use benzodiazepines more. You also see that the medication has a negative effect on learning and memory.
If you combine those two pieces of information together, you can see that benzodiazepines increase the risk of dementia and other memory related problems.
Possible Side Effects of Benzodiazepines
Before I dive deep into the side effects of benzodiazepines, I want to touch a little more about benzodiazepines itself. As you know, the pills are addictive and that they are supposed to be used for the short-term. This is like any other form of prescription medication. However, the tolerance for benzodiazepines is really high. This means that the standard dosage that someone is taking isn’t going to work for much longer.
The effect of that dosage wears off meaning that you have to receive a higher dosage for the desired effect you’re looking for. However, the higher dosage means more adverse effects to occur. Now. what are these adverse effects to look out for?
The adverse effects of benzodiazepines include
- Memory Problems
- Dry Mouth
- Blurred Vision
- Slurred Speech
- Light-Headedness
- Confusion
- Drowsiness
- Low Blood Pressure
- Problems W/ Eyesight
- Tremors
- Increased Anxiety
- Aggressive Behavior
- Depression
- Suicidal Thoughts
- Etc.
There are plenty of more side effects, but these are just some of the most important ones. As you can see, the medication is designed to fix one or two issues involving sleep and anxiety. However, medication can bring hundreds of different problems. Some of the problems are in fact the same issues that you’re taking the pills for.
Like I mentioned in my article on antidepressants, benzodiazepines can create more issues that lead to more mental health problems. This can potentially lead to more medications being prescribed. That creates a vicious cycle where the person is taking more medication than they expected to.
Alternative Solutions for Benzodiazepines
As I’ve stated in many different blog posts, medications don’t get to the root cause of mental health problems. These psychiatric medications block and mitigate the symptoms one may experience with a particular mental illness. For the topic of anxiety and sleep problems, the root cause of it remains the same; some form of unresolved trauma.
The person cannot sleep at night because they are constantly thinking about what happened to them and why they cannot get away from it. Everyday stressors can build-up that can bring back an emotional flashback from the past that still affects you to this day.
With this being said, the alternatives for benzodiazepines are very similar to the ones for antidepressants. Alternatives for benzodiazepines are journaling, establishing a healthy diet, performing daily exercise, and relaxation techniques.
Journaling
For obvious reasons, journaling or some form of self-reflection is key when dealing with unresolved trauma and anxiety. With self-reflection, you can pinpoint exactly what it is that’s causing that anxiety and work towards a healthy solution. When you work on that anxiety, it relieves the stress that you’re feeling. That relief of stress helps you sleep better at night.
Healthy Diet & Exercise
Now, I’m not talking about excessive exercise and having the perfect diet. This section is about eating better quality, nutrient-dense foods, and moving your body more. It is well known that physical exercise and eating right results in better mental health. When your body feels better, your mind also feels better.
Relaxation Techniques
Relaxation Techniques such as yoga, deep breathing exercises, and mindfulness can be effective in reducing anxiety and stress levels. Some people even find meditating before going to bed helpful in having a good night’s rest. My favorite relaxation technique is the 54321 Grounding Technique because it is quick and effective.
How to do the 54321 Grounding Technique
- Start off by taking a few deep breaths to relieve some tension or stress
- Then, you will find 5 things that you can see
- After that, you will find 4 things that you can feel
- Next, you will find 3 things that you can hear
- Soon after, you will find 2 things that you can smell
- Lastly, you will find 1 thing that you can taste
Once that is completed, you are all done with the exercise. This is used especially during panic attacks because it keeps your mind centered and focused on one thing. It’s a great way to stop overthinking and even begin to self-reflect if needed.
Conclusion
In conclusion, do I think that benzodiazepines are more harmful or beneficial to our overall health? I believe that benzodiazepines do more harm than good since there are other alternatives that have fewer drawbacks. Yes, this medication works instantly and can help people, but only in the short-term. However, even in the short-term people can still experience adverse effects from benzodiazepines.
In addition to my previous article, do I think that benzodiazepines are more or less harmful than antidepressants? Since benzodiazepines affect key brain areas such as learning and memory, I believe that it is more harmful than antidepressants. Benzodiazepines are more common and addictive than antidepressants. Also, the overdose death rates are significantly higher because they are often paired with opioids.
Before you decide to take benzodiazepines, make sure that you’re aware of the health risks and possible side effects. If you’re already taking this medication and want to get off of it, find a suitable professional that can help you withdrawal from them. You’d be surprised by this, but most professionals do not accurately help patients with withdrawal. Most of the time, these professionals withdrawal too much of the medication at the start instead of taking it one step at a time.
