Benzo Addiction Treatment and Detox

Getting past dependence or addiction to benzodiazepines requires more than a spur-of-the-moment decision or a stated desire to become drug free. It requires benzo detox first, followed by professional drug rehab to ensure the most successful treatment outcome.

How Is Benzo Addiction Treated?

Treatment for benzo addiction is best accomplished by going to an accredited drug and alcohol rehab center specializing in benzo addiction treatment. Benzo treatment options include detox, residential or inpatient treatment and outpatient treatment.

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Benzo Addiction Detox

The process for benzo addiction detox is best accomplished while under 24-hour medical supervision and a professional drug and alcohol detox and treatment facility. Among the detox issues someone coming off benzo dependence and/or addiction may experience are depression, anxiety, trouble sleeping, poor concentration, and other unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.

More severe and potentially dangerous benzo withdrawal symptoms can occur if the individual suddenly stops taking benzos. These can range from uncomfortable to life-threatening side effects, including panic attacks and seizures. Many individuals are so reluctant to go through the withdrawal symptoms that they revert back to using benzos just to stop them. During supervised medical benzo addiction detox, however, unpleasant withdrawal symptoms can be safely and effectively managed, and medications may be prescribed to help the person cope with the anxiety, depression, sleeplessness and other unpleasant issues accompanying detox.

Residential Benzo Addiction Treatment

Inpatient or residential treatment for benzo addiction makes the benzo detox process more manageable, especially in the case of polydrug use, such as addiction to alcohol, opiates and benzodiazepines. Among the advantages of residential treatment over other benzo addiction treatment options are:

• • a stable, drug-free environment
  • 24-hour medical supervision that includes supervised medication management
  • and behavioral therapy that helps with the overall recovery process.

Outpatient Benzo Addiction Treatment

On the other hand, depending on how severe the benzo addiction is, outpatient treatment may be appropriate following inpatient benzo detox. Counseling and access to various therapies should be part of any outpatient treatment program for benzodiazepine addiction.

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Why Should You Treat Benzo Addiction?

Benzodiazepines are powerful depressant drugs. Trying to wean off them without medical supervision during benzo withdrawal treatment is not recommended and can be life-threatening. That’s because of potentially serious benzo withdrawal, which untrained individuals are ill-equipped to handle. The most serious withdrawal symptoms can include tremors, hallucinations, psychosis, and seizures, especially if someone addicted to benzos tries to abruptly discontinue use. In benzo withdrawal treatment conducted by medical professionals trained to provide the best treatment for benzo addiction, the individual can be safely weaned from the drug.

When benzo addiction is simultaneous with addiction to opiates and/or alcohol, the combination is especially dangerous and requires emergency medical care that includes special benzo detox and treatment options. As depressants, benzos, alcohol and opiates can result in a person becoming overly sedated. The result may be plummeting or dangerously slow heartbeat and breathing rate that ends in coma or death through benzo overdose. A 2015 study of individuals in North Carolina co-prescribed opiates and benzodiazepines found the overdose death rate 10 times higher than among those taking opiates alone.

Yet, beyond supervised medical detox, treatment for benzo addiction is preferred for more favorable long-term outcomes. It’s not enough to get benzos out of the system, since the craving and changes to brain structure have already been firmly fixed. Effective benzo treatment and benzo detox include psychiatric counseling, learning ways to cope with cravings and urges, understanding what addiction is, identifying triggers to use, crafting workable coping mechanisms, undergoing evidence-based therapies, and participation in support groups.

Without formal benzodiazepine addiction treatment following benzo detox, relapse is a very real risk. In fact, although one study found that 49 percent of benzo users were successfully able to quit and be abstinent during the two-year study period, 51 percent relapsed following a median abstinence period of 243 days. High-dose benzo users had the highest risk of relapse.

Why Is Quitting Benzos on Your Own so Difficult?

High Relapse Rate

Such a high relapse rate indicates how hard it is to overcome addiction to benzodiazepines, even with treatment. Trying to go it alone is an almost insurmountable task. Benzo treatment in a clinical setting allows your body to taper off the drug under medical supervision, with the right amount of decrease over time.

Dangers of Withdrawal

The effects of withdrawal can be severe and even life-threatening, depending on the benzo dosage and how long you’ve been taking the drug. A benzodiazepine rehab center has trained medical professionals who can alleviate these symptoms. For example, a rehab physician can prescribe non-addictive medications to alleviate the distress of withdrawal. Appropriate drugs can also be prescribed to treat any anxiety or insomnia previously treated with benzos.

Desensitization to Dependence

A surprising number of people have the misconception that benzos are safer than they are, partly because they’re so widely prescribed. Knowing that so many people are taking the drug can desensitize users to the dangers of dependence on benzodiazepines. A person may believe they’re able to overcome the addiction on their own or that seeking help shows weakness. Both of these beliefs are false.

Terribly Addictive

Benzodiazepines are among the most powerfully addictive drugs, as difficult to quit without help as cocaine (a stimulant) and heroin (an opioid). In the initial stages of benzo withdrawal, it’s vital for a person to be away from the stresses and triggers present in their everyday environment. That’s why residential treatment for benzo addiction is the best therapeutic option for quitting permanently.

Specificity of Effective Treatment

Unfortunately, drug addiction relapse is “not only possible but also likely,” especially without 24-hour medical supervision. There’s no one-size-fits-all treatment for benzo addiction, as each person has a unique physiology and medical history. Many people who try to quit on their own without the resources of inpatient treatment end up in a cycle of withdrawal and relapse.

Medical & Mental Therapy Needed

The first steps in detoxing from benzo addiction are a complete medical assessment and a decision about any recovery medications that may be appropriate. Once a patient is stabilized and tolerating withdrawal sufficiently, psychological therapy is added to the regimen. FHE Health provides individual and group counseling to assist with safely moving through the stages of recovery.

Environmental Stressors

Even the best residential detox program is only the first step in benzo addiction treatment. Psychological counseling is an important tool to help patients continue to recover. It begins during the initial treatment for benzo addiction and continues on an outpatient basis. Involving friends and family in counseling sessions helps the person who’s recovering avoid environmental stressors and influences that could lead to a relapse.

How Long Is Benzo Addiction Treatment?

Most people contemplating treatment for benzo addiction want the best benzo treatment that they can receive, and a favorable outcome in the least amount of time. How long benzo addiction treatment lasts, however, is not set in stone. Benzo detox duration depends on several factors. Among them are how long the person has been using benzos, the dose of benzos they’re taking, their current circumstances, and general health.

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What Therapies Are Used in Treating Benzodiazepine Addiction?

While many therapies are available to treat various types of addiction, and most can be tailored and are useful in treating almost all addictions, some are particularly helpful when they’re used as part of benzo treatment. Behavioral therapies specifically used for treating benzodiazepine addiction include:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
• Contingency management therapy (CMT)
• Couples therapy
• Family therapy

Therapy has several benefits, particularly when it is received in residential treatment. Therapy helps in identifying triggers to use, for example. Indeed, one of the goals of benzo addiction treatment is learning to avoid triggers and finding healthy coping styles to overcome stressors and urges. Therapy also is instrumental in learning to manage emotions and stressful situations without resorting to drugs.

Furthermore, counseling received during therapy helps with relationship building, and also with functioning at work, home, school, and other environments.

What Are Medical Treatments for Benzodiazepine Addiction?

There are no medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat benzo addiction. Evidence-based medical treatment that is most commonly used involves a gradual medication taper. The taper schedule is carefully constructed based on the individual’s unique benzodiazepine use, dose, and other relevant factors. One medication that may be used in some cases is a longer-acting benzodiazepine, such as clonazepam (Klonopin), as a replacement for a shorter-acting benzo like Xanax. Part of the weaning and tapering, then, eventually involves slowly tapering off the longer-acting benzo.

In addition, since about 50 percent of benzo withdrawal symptoms stem from sleep deprivation, sleep medications may be considered to help combat sleeplessness. And diazepam (Valium) may be used to help manage some of the more troubling benzo withdrawal symptoms.

In the event that post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) occurs, the withdrawal process can be very rough, sometimes lasting for months. This requires medical supervision to ensure a safe and pain-free withdrawal. It is not a quick withdrawal, by any means. PAWS is a serious consequence of benzo addiction and includes symptoms such as sleeplessness, no appetite, weight loss, heightened senses, a feeling of crawling out of the skin, unreasonable fears, circular thoughts, and more. The focus should be on feeling good and getting better through the best treatment for benzo addiction.

What Are Holistic Treatments for Benzodiazepine Use?

In addition to using evidence-based therapies and medical treatment for benzo addiction treatment, holistic therapies and treatment modalities are highly recommended to help make the transition from detox and through treatment more comfortable, reduce stress, assist with concentration and focus, and encourage adoption of healthier lifestyle habits.

Massage, meditation, yoga and other holistic treatment methods are among the best practices utilized by the best benzo addiction treatment facilities. Indeed, they’re more likely to be offered at these facilities as part of a comprehensive addiction treatment program.

Massage

Massage therapy, while not a direct benzo addiction treatment, has low risk when performed by a trained professional, and has several benefits. The treatment itself is soothing, helps minimize the stress surrounding some of the issues involved in drug use and addiction, reduces pain sensation and intensity, and promotes a mindset more conducive to healing.

Yoga

Yoga is often recommended as a holistic and complementary benzo addiction treatment option, and for good reason. With its focus on body, soul, and mind as a single entity, yoga for addiction treatment helps to establish reconnection with the body and spirit, promotes self-esteem, balance, and reduction of impulsivity, as well as providing a healthy coping mechanism to control negative thoughts and behaviors by being able to control bodily movement through the yoga breathing and poses.

Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness meditation, and meditation in general, helps the individual in benzo treatment and recovery to maintain a sense of calm and peace, while increasing awareness of self, reducing intrusive thoughts and impulses, and improving overall mental functioning. Furthermore, mindfulness meditation helps to alleviate anxiety and depressive thoughts, according to some research, produces improvement in sleep, reduces stress levels, decreases blood pressure, enhances the immune system, and results in a decrease in subjective pain levels.

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Lifelong Recovery from Benzodiazepine Addiction

For those who’ve suffered the debilitating effects of anxiety, developed benzo addiction and gone through benzo addiction treatment, research points to hopeful outcomes for full recovery from the anxiety disorder. A study by researchers from the University of Toronto found that 72 percent of individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in recovery were free of the disorder for at least one year. They concluded that it is possible to achieve a full recovery from the anxiety disorder, even if it has persisted for many years.

Researchers found that those in recovery from GAD who had at least one strong supporter of their well-being and emotional security in their life were three times more likely to achieve excellent mental health. In addition, those who coped with everyday life difficulties by turning to religious/spiritual beliefs had a 36 percent greater chance of achieving excellent mental health.

Excellent mental health was defined by researchers as:

• Presence of life satisfaction/happiness
• Psychological and social well-being
• No past-year mental illness, including anxiety or depressive disorders, suicidal ideation, and substance abuse

Achieving Excellent Mental Health After Benzo Addiction

The goal of life-long recovery from benzodiazepine addiction, then, is not only possible—it’s achievable with a commitment to benzo detox and treatment for benzo addiction.

FAQs About Benzo Addiction Treatment Programs

Q: Can benzo addiction be treated?

A: Yes, benzo addiction is a treatable condition. The process begins with a medically supervised detox to safely manage withdrawal symptoms. After that, treatment addresses the root causes of the addiction, helping you develop the skills needed for long-term recovery.

Q: Why can’t I try to quit benzos on my own?

A: We can’t stress this enough: please don’t try to quit benzos on your own. Stopping suddenly, or “cold turkey,” can be genuinely dangerous. The withdrawal can cause severe physical and psychological distress, including life-threatening seizures. Our medical detox program at FHE Health is designed to keep you safe and as comfortable as possible through this tough first step. It’s the right way to begin.

Q: What is the difference between inpatient and outpatient treatment?

A: Inpatient addiction treatment is a residential program where you live at the facility. This provides an immersive, highly structured environment, completely removed from external triggers. It’s ideal for those who need intensive, around-the-clock support. Outpatient addiction treatment allows you to live at home while attending scheduled therapy sessions. This model offers more flexibility but requires a higher degree of personal commitment.

Q: How long will treatment take?

A: Key factors that determine the length of care include the severity and duration of the addiction, the presence of co-occurring mental or physical health disorders, and the patient’s progress. The goal is to equip the individual with the necessary skills for sustained recovery, regardless of the time required.

Q: What kind of therapy will I be doing?

A: Treatment uses a variety of proven therapies to address the causes of addiction. A foundational part of this is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which helps you identify and change the thought patterns and behaviors that contribute to substance use. Other common therapies include individual, group, and family counseling, all designed to support your recovery.

Q: Will my insurance cover treatment?

A: Most major insurance plans cover at least a portion of addiction treatment. Our admissions team can perform a free, confidential insurance verification to explain your benefits and any out-of-pocket costs you might face. We also discuss payment plan options if needed.

Q: What if I have a job and a family? Can I really just leave for 30 or 60 days?

A: This is a huge concern for many people. It’s a difficult step, but your health has to come first. We can help you navigate this process. Many employers offer protection through the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which allows you to take unpaid, job-protected leave for medical reasons. Our counselors can also provide guidance on how to talk to your family and employer about your need for treatment. Remember, investing this time now can save your job, your family, and your life down the road.

Q: Will I be forced to talk about things I’m not ready to share?

A: Absolutely not. Therapy is a process, and our goal is to create a safe, judgment-free space. You are in control of what you share. Therapists will encourage you to open up, but they will never force you. Group therapy is about finding common ground and support, and many people find that listening to others helps them feel comfortable sharing their own experiences when they’re ready.

Q: What happens after I leave? I’m worried I’ll relapse as soon as I get back to my stressful life.

A: Recovery doesn’t end when you walk out our doors. An aftercare plan is a crucial part of your treatment. This plan is tailored to you and typically includes referrals to outpatient therapy, support groups, and continued contact with our alumni network. The skills and coping mechanisms you learn in treatment are specifically designed to help you manage real-world stress without turning back to substance use.