Benzodiazepine Abuse: Effects, Addiction & Treatment

Benzodiazepines are a popular class of prescription drugs used to treat anxiety, relieve muscle spasms, and sedate the body.¹ While benzodiazepines can be effective when used in the proper dosage, the relaxing effects of the medication have made it a common drug to misuse.

Misusing benzodiazepines can lead to an addiction, which can have serious ramifications on your health, relationships, work, and overall life. A benzodiazepine rehab can help you safely go through the addiction treatment process while learning life skills to overcome your benzodiazepine use disorder and achieve long-term sobriety. 

What Are Benzodiazepines?  

Benzodiazepines are a type of sedative medication. They’re used to slow down the mind and nervous system to treat specific conditions.² Some well-known benzodiazepines include Xanax®, Valium®, Halcion®, Klonopin®, and Ativan®.¹ 

Benzodiazepines provide a relaxing effect for people struggling with anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder. They are also essential for calming the brain for certain neurological conditions, like epilepsy. These relaxing properties are also used to relieve muscle spasms and muscle tension and help people suffering from insomnia. 

A person can be prescribed a lower-strength, long-acting benzodiazepine for chronic conditions, while someone in an emergency situation (like having a seizure) can be administered a higher dosage of the medication.¹ 

Different Types of Benzodiazepines 

There are more than 50 different benzodiazepines on the market today.³ People are often familiar with the brand names of the most popular medications, which include: 

• Alprazolam (Xanax®)
• Lorazepam (Ativan®)
• Chlordiazepoxide (Librium®)
• Diazepam (Valium®)
• Clorazepate (Tranxene®)
• Halazepam (Paxipam®)
• Oxazepam (Serax®) 
• Prazepam (Centrax®) 
• Quazepam (Doral®) 

Benzodiazepine drugs are controlled substances, meaning you need a prescription to get them. This is because they can have dangerous side effects, especially when misused.² 

Effects of Benzodiazepines  

Every second of every day, your nervous system is sending out signals to the nerves throughout your body. These signals do everything from tell your heart to pump to instruct your arm to move. Neurotransmitters are the chemical messengers that carry these signals from one part of your body to another.⁴ 

When you take a benzodiazepine, the drug tells your brain to release a specific neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).² This neurotransmitter has one job: to slow down your nervous system. 

This means that when you take a benzodiazepine, you often experience a calming effect. You may also experience: 

• Reduced stress
• Euphoria
• Reduced anxiety

However, some people may experience adverse effects from taking benzodiazepine drugs, especially when they take more than the prescribed amount or mix the medication with other substances. Benzodiazepine side effects can include:⁵

• Impaired thinking and memory loss
• Drowsiness, sleepiness, and fatigue
• Depression
• Confusion
• Feeling of isolation
• Headache
• Dry mouth
• Slurred speech or stuttering
• Double or blurred vision
• Impaired coordination, dizziness, and tremors
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Loss of appetite and nausea 

Risk of Benzodiazepine Overdose 

Benzodiazepines should always be taken according to your prescribing doctor’s orders. When they’re not, there is an increased risk of benzodiazepine overdose. 

A benzodiazepine overdose occurs when someone has taken a large amount of the drug at once, or they’ve mixed the medication with another substance. Benzodiazepines are especially dangerous to mix with other benzodiazepines, alcohol, or opioid pain medications (such as oxycodone or hydrocodone), as they can intensify the effects and increase the risk of overdose.²

If you think a friend or family member may be experiencing an overdose, there are some signs to look out for. Benzodiazepine overdose symptoms include:⁵ 

• Aggression and mood swings
• Slow, shallow breathing
• Intense sleepiness or slow responsiveness
• Jitteriness or excitability
• Losing consciousness

If you think someone could be overdosing, immediately call 911 and stay with them until paramedics arrive. 

Benzodiazepine Dependence & Addiction 

When you’ve been taking a medication for a long period of time, your body may have a biological response and develop a physical dependence to it.⁶ 

Some people that become physically dependent may find that their benzodiazepine doesn’t feel as strong as it did when they first started taking it, which may lead them to take more than prescribed. When someone begins taking more than prescribed or misusing their prescription it can lead to benzodiazepine addiction. 

Dependence and addiction can look similar, but there is a very important difference — the negative consequences on one’s life from the drug.⁶ When someone with a benzodiazepine dependence sees that the drug is having negative effects on their work or relationships, they’ll talk to their doctor about making a change. 

Someone with a benzodiazepine addiction feels unable or unwilling to stop the usage of their benzodiazepine, despite how much harm it causes in their life. 

Signs of Benzodiazepine Addiction 

If you think you or a loved one may have developed a benzodiazepine addiction, there are a few signs to look for. Signs of a benzodiazepine use disorder can include:⁷

• Continuing to take benzodiazepine longer than prescribed
• Taking more than your prescribed amount
• Feeling a strong urge to continue taking benzodiazepine
• Going through great efforts to obtain benzodiazepines
• Attempting to stop taking benzodiazepines, but being unable to manage your use
• Not fulfilling duties at home or work due to your benzodiazepine usage
• Choosing to spend your time using/feeling the effects of benzodiazepines rather than spending time with people or on activities you once enjoyed
• Continuing to use benzodiazepines even when you know the amount/frequency of usage is dangerous for your health
• Experiencing new mental health conditions you hadn’t prior to misusing benzodiazepines
• Experiencing existing mental health conditions getting worse due to your benzodiazepine use
• Experiencing withdrawal symptoms which are relieved when you take more benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepine Withdrawal & Detox 

Benzodiazepine withdrawal can be uncomfortable, painful, and can lead to dangerous complications. This means that many people who try to stop or decrease their benzodiazepine usage on their own quickly turn back to the drug to assuage the distressing withdrawal symptoms. Common benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms include:⁸

• Sweating
• Dry heaving and nausea
• Difficulty concentrating
• Palpitations
• Muscular pain and stiffness
• Headache
• Sleep disturbance
• Irritability
• Heightened anxiety
• Panic attacks
• Shaking

If someone has been taking high doses of benzodiazepines, they could also experience more serious complications like seizures and psychotic reactions. 

Because of the potentially life-threatening nature of stopping benzodiazepines, it’s recommended to go through the process in a medically supervised treatment program. A medical detox program can keep you safe as you get the benzodiazepines out of your system. Additionally, a medication-assisted treatment (MAT) program can help relieve some of the discomfort from the withdrawal symptoms so you can put your focus on addressing and treating the underlying issues driving your addiction.

How is Benzodiazepine Addiction Treated? 

After completing a medical detox (which often takes between three to seven days), a person struggling with a benzodiazepine addiction would typically attend a treatment program. This program could be an inpatient program, partial hospitalization program (PHP), intensive outpatient program (IOP), or standard outpatient program, depending on the person’s needs. 

If a person enters our benzodiazepine treatment at Empowered Recovery Center, our clinical team will get to know the patient and customize a treatment plan, including specialized addiction therapies that will focus on helping the patient develop new coping mechanisms and life skills. This is achieved through a number of therapies, including individual, group, and family, as well as different modalities like trauma therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). 

While in benzodiazepine treatment, the patient will work with the program’s clinical team to develop new coping mechanisms so they can achieve long-term sobriety. 

Benzodiazepine Rehab in Kansas City 

When looking for a benzodiazepine rehab for you or your loved one, you want to choose a program with a strong track record in helping people embrace and sustain long-lasting recovery. At Empowered Recovery Center in Kansas City, our experienced staff is capable and committed to helping you move into that next phase of your life. 

To understand what it looks like to be admitted to one of our programs, reach out to our admissions team. They’ll be able to tell you the ins and outs of our treatment center, including what the admissions process looks like, and help you find the right program for your needs. 

Are you using your insurance to cover your treatment? Our admissions team can not only explain how our program works with insurance, but they can also verify your insurance benefits, so you have specific information about what your plan will cover. They can also speak about other payment options, like paying by check or credit card or setting up a payment plan. 

If you’re ready to get the help you need for your benzodiazepine addiction, don’t put it off any longer. At Empowered Recovery Center, we’ll help you move forward in your recovery.

References 

1. United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Benzodiazepines. (n.d.). DEA. Retrieved March 25, 2025, from https://www.dea.gov/factsheets/benzodiazepines
2. Professional, C. C. M. (2025, March 19). Benzodiazepines (Benzos). Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved March 24, 2025, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24570-benzodiazepines-benzos
3. Kang, M., Galuska, M. A., & Ghassemzadeh, S. (2023, June 26). Benzodiazepine toxicity. StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf. Retrieved March 24, 2025, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482238/
4. Professional, C. C. M. (2025b, March 19). Neurotransmitters. Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved March 24, 2025, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22513-neurotransmitters
5. Benzodiazepines – alcohol and drug foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2025, from https://adf.org.au/drug-facts/benzodiazepines/
6. Szalavitz, M., Rigg, K. K., & Wakeman, S. E. (2021). Drug dependence is not addiction—and it matters. Annals of Medicine, 53(1), 1989–1992. Retrieved March 24, 2025, from https://doi.org/10.1080/07853890.2021.1995623
7. Substance Use Disorder (SUD). (2024, November 19). Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved March 24, 2025, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/16652-drug-addiction-substance-use-disorder-sud
8. Pétursson, H. (1994). The benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome. Addiction, 89(11), 1455–1459. Retrieved March 24, 2025, from https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.1994.tb03743.x