I have been using Xanax daily for about 5 months. I don;t know how much I am even taking because I get them in the form of a bar which is divided by little lines which then has the number “9″ on one section, then “4″ on the next and then “2″ on the next then the letters “GG” on the lst section. It is one whole bar though long as maybe a half inch and rectangular in shape. I used to be prescribed these very small football shaped ones and I don’t remember the dose on those as it was years ago. I took them only for one month and then stopped and never felt they really had an affect on me. Then, this past year my social anxiety got really really bad all of the sudden as well as anxiety attacks that would happen all of the sudden in the middle of the night. They’d wake me up! Anyway, I no longer have insurance so I found someone to get them from “a friend” and he only has them in this bar form. The gist of it is, it is not only expensive but I know I am now very addicted and am worried about that although, my social anxiety is pretty bad and then the random anxiety attacks which seem to be triggered by nothing at all even when I am alone are upsetting too. I would like to be treated by a doctor for this but cannot at this time. Even if I had insurance what would I say at my first appt with my doc? “Hey I’m addicted to benzo’s but I really do need them because I cannot be in a social situation without being all wierd and even a bit freaked about it so yeah, I wanna stop taking the Xanax because I am worried about the addiction but on the other hand, can you write me a prescription just so I can feel ‘normal’ “? What can I do to wean myself off since a doctor is not an option for me now and are there any natural substances that can help me work through the withdrawls AND help me feel normal in a social situation> PLease do not suggest alcohol. I am a lunatic (yet alot of fun ) when I am on that and I do NOT want to become an alcoholic. Let me lastly add that I DO have friends but as of the past year, have not wanted to go out with them at all. I actually dread it and flake all the time now because I know I’d have to be loopy to do it and that just sucks. Can someone please help and also tell me what I can expect with the withdrawl symptoms? I tried stopping tonight (I usually take half a bar a day just to feel normal) and so I skipped it and became agitated and antsy and just uncomfortable as hell. I can’t describe it but it sucked. Any help anyone can offer would be MUCH appreciated. Thank you thank you thank you!
I recently started a prescription for a low dose of Xanax, basically for anxiety and depression related symptoms. Man, this stuff really helps me out. I am able to function so much better on so many levels and really the only draw back is that it makes me sleepy.
Let me just say that I used to work in a pharmacy, and I understand the addictive properties of this drug and how people can and will abuse it. Even though my doctor understands that this is not going on, she told me today that they don’t like to continue Xanax for more than a couple of months and she also reffered me to a psychiatrist. I’m just wondering what the big fear of “more than a couple of months” is if it’s a) obviously working and working well and b) I’m exhibiting no signs of abuse etc. and keeping up with all my scheduled appointments? Now I know hydrocodone was a big deal because I learned in the pharmacy it’s basically like synthetic heroin or an opiate. I wasn’t of the understanding that Xanax was like that or had any properties like that and that people basically just abused it with alcohol or took like a whole bunch at a time. Am I missing something that I don’t know about this drug?
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1. The chances of your being involved in an auto collision, during your lifetime, in which someone is injured or killed are close to:
A. 1 in 75
B. 1 in 250
C. 1 in 1,000
2. Nearly ________ teens in the nation have used illegal drugs in the past 30 days.
A. ONE IN TWO
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Alcohol affects people differently, depending on their size, sex, body build, and metabolism. General effects are a feeling of warmth, flushed skin, impaired judgment, decreased inhibitions, muscular in coordination, slurred speech, and memory and comprehension loss. In states of extreme intoxication, vomiting is likely to occur, possibly accompanied by incontinence, poor respiration, a fall in blood pressure, and in cases of severe alcohol poisoning, coma and death.
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A chronic liver disease caused by excessive alcohol consumption is known as:
Cardiac sympathy
Cirrhosis
Pancreatitis
Parkinson’s
What passes the ingested alcohol from the mother to the baby?
amniotic fluid
uterus
ovaries
placenta
Mandatory license plate revocation is ineffective against drunk driving.
true
false
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drug addiction and drug abuse, chronic or habitual use of any chemical substance to alter states of body or mind for other than medically warranted purposes. Traditional definitions of addiction, with their criteria of physical dependence and withdrawal (and often an underlying tenor of depravity and sin) have been modified with increased understanding; with the introduction of new drugs, such as cocaine, that are psychologically or neuropsychologically addicting; and with the realization that its stereotypical application to opiate-drug users was invalid because many of them remain occasional users with no physical dependence. Addiction is more often now defined by the continuing, compulsive nature of the drug use despite physical and/or psychological harm to the user and society and includes both licit and illicit drugs, and the term “substance abuse” is now frequently used because of the broad range of substances (including alcohol and inhalants) that can fit the addictive profile. Psychological dependence is the subjective feeling that the user needs the drug to maintain a feeling of well-being; physical dependence is characterized by tolerance (the need for increasingly larger doses in order to achieve the initial effect) and withdrawal symptoms when the user is abstinent.
Definitions of drug abuse and addiction are subjective and infused with the political and moral values of the society or culture. For example, the stimulant caffeine in coffee and tea is a drug used by millions of people, but because of its relatively mild stimulatory effects and because caffeine does not generally trigger antisocial behavior in users, the drinking of coffee and tea, despite the fact that caffeine is physically addictive, is not generally considered drug abuse. Even narcotics addiction is seen only as drug abuse in certain social contexts. In India opium has been used for centuries without becoming unduly corrosive to the social fabric.
The United States has the highest substance abuse rate of any industrialized nation. Government statistics (1997) show that 36% of the United States population has tried marijuana, cocaine, or other illicit drugs. By comparison, 71% of the population has smoked cigarettes and 82% has tried alcoholic beverages. Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug.
We are talking about alcohol abuse when a person turns an occasional drink into a habit, disregarding the frequency and the quantity. This seriously damages professional life and relationships or provokes problems with the law. Alcohol abuse is the first step to addiction. It is different for different persons, because every organism has its own ways to assimilate and deal with alcohol. The same quantity that does nothing to a person may represent abuse for another – 30% of the US adults face this problem.
The absence of self-control, the necessity to drink, addiction at physical level and development of a certain tolerance, are symptoms that characterize alcoholism. The alcohol dependence symptom has nothing to do with the kind of drinks, or to the period of constantly drinking, not even to the quantity, but it depends on a necessity that gets out of control.
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My own Drug and Alcohol Abuse took me into the world of Depression and Alcohol withdrawal symptoms and treatment. Something I cannot recommend. The phrases ‘Dead Man Walking’ and ‘At the End of the Road’ come to mind. Just looking at my Blog’s photos should scare the daylights out of you. Even I sometimes have to remind myself that shell of a man was me.
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The relationship within our ‘self’ of body, mind and emotions shapes our ability to relate to other people, and to the spiritual power in the universe.
Depression, addictions, compulsive behaviour and low self-esteem are but symptoms, signs of a broken relationship within our ‘self’. They are symptoms of a ‘wounded spirituality’.
When this connection between our body, mind and emotions is broken, our ability, our ‘response-ability’, to respond healthily to life’s circumstances is limited.
In recovery our task is to identify and undo the broken parts of ourselves and learn to respond positively and creatively – to say YES to life in a way which enables serenity to grow and be maintained.
Some of these symptoms are;
• Alcoholism / drug addiction / compulsive gambling
• Eating disorders (overeating, bulimia, anorexia)
• Perfectionism and overachieving
• Workaholism
• Co-dependency
• Depression / shame / guilt / blaming others / denial / self-centredness / grandiosity / sensitivity / immaturity / low self-esteem / inhibitions
• Religious addiction
• Sex addiction
• Relapse, switched addictions, multiple addictions
• Controlism
• Moneyism
In order to heal our spirituality, it is helpful to discover what we believe; what we think about the Higher Power, the self, other people, the world and life or even what we do about these issues without thinking about them – reactions. Then we need to find how those beliefs may have contributed to the breakdown of the mental-emotional-physical relationship within ourselves. Where did we learn these spiritually dysfunctional ideas?
SOURCES OF WOUNDED SPIRITUALITY
If the above behaviours and states of mind are some of the signs of a wounded spirituality, just where and how did we get wounded?
We should remember that our new spirituality excludes blaming. These sources of wounding are only used to help us identify our dysfunctional beliefs. Some of the sources of injury are;
• Dysfunctional families
• Addictive/alcoholic families
• Overprotective, underprotective or interrupted parenting
• Unhealthy messages and beliefs about God and religion
• Negative, shaming messages about expressions of feelings
• Taboos about sex; negative messages about sex, sexuality or the body
• Lack of freedom to ask questions, evaluate information
• Lack of freedom to be ourselves, or an inner conflict about what we think that we should be doing and what is ‘expected’ of us
• Invasions of privacy
• Physical abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Emotional abuse
• Religious terrorism
Of course, practicing the symptoms of a wounded spirituality (alcoholism, addiction, low self-esteem & etc) can enable the spirit to be damaged even more. I am sure most alcoholics & addicts know how their own behaviour became worse over the years, as the drinking or drugging got worse.
Thus, once started and if not ‘arrested’ by recovering a healthy spirit, we may walk into the gates of “insanity or death.” We may have arrived at a state of “pitiful and incomprehensible demoralisation.”
See also;
http://recoveryissexy.com/our-wounded-spirits/
http://recoveryissexy.com/alcoholic-family-roles/
Copyright 2007
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It seems to me the only drugs that cause painful (and even fatal) physical withdrawal symptoms are downers / depressants (alcohol, barbiturates, opiates).
The uppers cause a psychological craving, not not a physical addiction (cocaine and crack, amphetamines, meth).
I suppose nicotine is a stimulant, and while quitting smoking is hard (I am a smoker),the withdraws don’t come close to the withdraw from downers.
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