Xanax has become one of the most prolific drugs in our society. I complained once to a medical (ear) doctor about stress and she asked me if I would like a prescription for Xanax. I told her as a medical doctor without any training in behavioral or emotional issues she was unqualified to recommend it let alone prescribe it. The public does not seem to know the dangers of this drug.
It is prescribed to treat anxiety. Anxiety is not a disorder anymore it is a symptom of modern living. It does not require a drug to treat it, it requires coaching and training in new coping strategies and mechanisms. Once someone tries it during an episode of anxiety they get results; the drug works very effectively. At that first moment, the brain recognizes the remedy and records the fact that it no longer needs to try to deal with stress organically, instead it only needs to give you the impulse to take the drug; like a hamster in a cage hitting a lever for water or food. Xanax is one of the most addictive drugs available and the withdrawals can even be lethal; not even heroin withdrawals are lethal. If someone stops taking Xanax the withdrawal symptoms are intense anxiety and nausea. The person is then convinced that, indeed, the Xanax is truly needed since without it they experience anxiety. It is a self-perpetuating situation now.
Xanax is widely abused by kids in our community. The symptoms are obvious: disjointed speech, slurring words, “out-of-it” behavior, inability to articulate ideas or stay on topic. Xanax is cheap and is often also used to enhance the buzz from alcohol, pot and other pills like Norco’s or Oxy’s. Many families are fooled into believing that their kids “need” it and are only taking it as prescribed. I see dozens of cases where “prescribed” amounts are way too much.
Our community has a serious problem with pills in general. Xanax is in too many homes and too widely prescribed. We cannot rely on our medical community to keep us safe, they lack the incentive and the awareness of the harm these drugs really do. Please feel free to call to learn more and do not underestimate the danger in your kid’s (or your) life due to this or other “meds.”
Scott Spackey is a State Certified Addiction Counselor, Life-Coach, Hypnotherapist, and Interventionist. For more information, please call 661-299-1966, email: Scott@Life-Mind.com and visit www.LIFE-MIND.com.