Written by: Dr. Don Wood, PhD, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
If you find yourself misusing Xanax, chances are you experience a sense of shame because of the things you start doing that are inconsistent with your true character, the person you know you are.
It’s common to start stealing, treating friends and relatives with disrespect, and being promiscuous, to name a few. Even though you recognize that these actions don't align with your true self, you find it difficult to stop.
Justin Bieber was at the height of his fame when he found himself struggling. Bieber said that "drugs put a screen between me and what I was doing," adding that "it got pretty dark." Things got so bad that he said his security team came into his room a few times at night "to check my pulse and see if I was still breathing." Eventually, Justin’s pastor Carl Lentz helped by getting him to move into his home in New Jersey for an informal detox. Bieber did and got off the drug.
What makes Xanax so dangerous
Xanax (alprazolam) is a drug that’s prescribed to relieve symptoms of anxiety.
Alprazolam falls under the category of medications known as benzodiazepines. These drugs are strictly available with a prescription due to their classification as central nervous system depressants. What this means is that, in essence, they are slowing down the nervous system.
Prescription use of these medications may result in a range of side effects, including irritability, forgetfulness, feelings of sadness or emptiness, difficulty with coordination, slurred speech, a loss of interest or pleasure, tiredness, and challenges with concentration and sleep. It's important to note that these side effects may occur even when the medication is taken as directed. Xanax, along with other benzodiazepines, is classified as a controlled substance, and they all carry the risk of potential abuse.
The common belief in the medical community is that Xanax on its own isn’t dangerous; however, things can go wrong when it interacts with other drugs or medications.
It’s extremely dangerous when people come into the ER after combining Xanax with opioids or alcohol. Even the Xanax website warns that using alcohol and opioids at the same time as taking Xanax can cause severe drowsiness, breathing problems, coma, and even death. This is not a warning to be taken lightly.
These drugs are only meant to be taken occasionally or on a short-term basis. The risk of abuse or misuse increases when benzodiazepines are taken over an extended duration.
This applies to Xanax as well, which was designed to be used for very short periods of time, such as a day or a few days. Nevertheless, some people extend its use over weeks and months and quickly become addicted to using it. It's noteworthy that the Xanax website explicitly emphasizes its design for the "short-term relief of symptoms of anxiety," underscoring the importance of sticking to the prescribed usage durations.
Can Xanax fix your anxiety?
Whenever someone mentions taking Xanax for anxiety, I ask about their current anxiety levels. In almost every case, they express that their anxiety is quite severe. I then ask them if they feel the medication is truly helping. The most common response is a hesitant "not really," often followed by the concern that things might worsen if they were to stop taking it.
This is precisely why, if Xanax is part of your prescription, it's important to talk with your doctor about gradually reducing or discontinuing its use.
When Xanax is incorporated into a therapeutic approach, individuals use it as a tool to navigate and eventually conquer their anxiety. The aim is not to rely on the medication indefinitely but to facilitate the learning process of handling and managing anxiety over time. Through therapy, individuals develop the skills and tools needed to tolerate stress and discomfort, ultimately gaining the ability to manage anxiety more effectively. If your current experience aligns with this approach, it may be time to explore a more comprehensive strategy. At the Inspired Performance Institute, our goal is to guide individuals away from long-term dependence on benzodiazepines, offering a more effective and sustainable solution.
When Xanax is used in conjunction with therapy, the person is usually using Xanax as a tool to learn how to handle or manage their anxiety. They are being taught to tolerate stress and discomfort. Instead of fixing the problem, millions are taught to manage and cope, to handle anxiety with certain skills and tools. If that’s what your experience looks like, then you need to find a better approach. At the Inspired Performance Institute, we don't want people to be on benzodiazepines for life.
There is a better solution
In order to get permanent relief and a lasting change, you need to fix the root issue
- what’s causing your anxiety in the first place?
Your anxiety is not a sign of a broken mind. It’s just a symptom, it’s a diagnosis they give you. There’s always something else creating the anxiety.
When you’re anxious, you tend to think about what could happen. You go past planning and start predicting. And if the prediction doesn’t come true, it makes the anxiety worse.
Your past experiences, most likely events or trauma that happened to you in your childhood, are what’s making you anxious in the present.
So the problem isn’t anxiety. The problem is rooted in earlier experiences in your life, something that happened to you, that has trained your mind that it needs to protect you by trying to predict what’s going to happen so you can prevent it from happening.
Your anxiety is your mind's way of protecting you from the pain it's predicting, regardless of whether that prediction is true or not
So there’s nothing wrong with you, and there’s nothing wrong with your mind. When you clear the trauma that’s causing the anxiety, when you resolve the root problem, the anxiety you’re feeling will go away.
After going through our program, Prince Fielder, retired ML8 player and a six-time All-Star said:
“Going through TIPP program with Dr. Wood was amazing. I’m calmer, the ideas seem to flow easier, everyday life seems to be a little smoother. Anxiety that I had is just gone. I can’t recommend this enough, it’s an amazing experience”
How to get off Xanax
If you want to stop using Xanax, it's important to do so with help from a medical professional.
While some people have successfully quit on their own, doing so can lead to severe side effects. It's possible to "detox" or go cold turkey, but it’s better to gradually lower the doses of the medication under the supervision of your physician. Simply put, discontinuing Xanax without medical assistance may not be the safest approach.
Once you've successfully stopped using Xanax or benzodiazepines, it's important to take steps to avoid relapse. If you struggle with this then make sure someone goes with you when you need them in a controlled, medically supervised setting, like during a dental procedure or outpatient surgery. This advocate can ensure that
healthcare professionals treating you know about the difficulties you faced with this drug before.
Overall, I urge people to be wary of taking benzodiazepines like Xanax outside of their intended purpose. It’s not something you want to get caught up in for years.
Final note: if you’re dealing with anxiety, we can help. Other solutions just teach you to live, manage, and cope with your challenges. We help you eliminate them and live a better life.
Make the first step towards an anxiety-free life: reach out to me and my team today.
Dr. Don Wood, PhD, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Don Wood, Ph.D., author, speaker, Founder & CEO of the Inspired Performance Institute and creator of the patented TIPP method. TIPP is a cutting-edge method inspired and developed through the newest developments in neuroscience and designed to clear away the effects of disturbing or traumatic events, repurpose old patterns, and set the individual’s mind up for peak performance. In essence, it “REBOOTs” the brain’s stuck thought pattern, making it possible to enhance alpha oscillations with a noninvasive and effective shift in brain wave activity. Author of two top-selling books, Emotional Concussions and You Must Be Out of your Mind.
