What Are Benzodiazepines? Areas Of Application And Consequences

Benzodiazepines live on our bedside tables and in our bags. They are pills for the pain of life, the guarantee that insomnia will not creep in on us and that the monster of anxiety will stay asleep. They are mixed together by the huge pharmaceutical companies in an almost magical way, but they are also very addictive.

In the great movie, “August: Osage County,” they said that women generally solve their problems with pills, while men do it with alcohol. In the film, we see Meryl Streep who shows us in a powerful way what consistent, uncontrolled consumption of benzodiazepines can look like.

Sleeping pills put pressure on people by doctors as an easy, quick and inexpensive way to alleviate the existential disorder of their patients.

The film paints a very gloomy but truthful picture. One that is all too common: people who are addicted to a legal drug prescribed by their doctors. Patients who need higher doses every day to feel good. Or even old women who have been taking their “little” sleeping pill for decades, and now they are suffering through a lower quality of life than they deserve.

There is a lot of darkness surrounding hypnosis and their supposed purpose to make our lives more manageable when they are difficult. Whether they are real or imaginary.

No one doubts their effectiveness in the short term, because they work. But as we already know, anxiety and depression can last for an extremely long time. This is where the risk lies. This is where addiction and side effects emerge that we really can no longer ignore.

What are benzodiazepines?

Many people will not recognize the word “benzodiazepines” at all. But if we say Orfidal, Tranxilium, Lorazepam, Lexatin, Valium or Trankimazine, things change. Because a large portion of the population has taken them for some reason, or at least they have a  family member, friend or colleague who needs them every day.

Okay, but… what exactly are benzodiazepines?

• Benzodiazepines act as sedatives (they lower bodily functions).
• They are also psychotropic drugs that have an effect on the central nervous system. That is, their effects are not just limited to soothing us or making us relax. They are anticonvulsants, amnesicants and muscle relaxants.

• They work by increasing the effect of a brain chemical called GABA ( gamma-amino-butyric acid ).
• GABA is a brain-inhibiting substance that is made in the cerebellum, basal ganglia and many parts of the spinal cord. The function is to relax and reduce the activity of our neurons.

As an additional note, it is worth adding the fact that benzodiazepines entered the pharmaceutical market in the 60’s as a substitute for barbiturates. Since then, and with the launch of the pharmaceutical company ROCHE in 1963, the manufacturer of the well-known drug Valium (diazepam) , benzodiazepines have become the most consumed prescription “drug” of all time.

Consumption of less mood-altering substances, such as sedatives, has increased by 20% worldwide this year.

Uses for and types of benzodiazepines

We use benzodiazepines to treat panic or generalized anxiety disorders. We use them for insomnia, alcohol withdrawal, epilepsy, affective disorders, after surgery, and even to relieve withdrawal symptoms from other drugs.

Also, as shown by various studies, such as the one conducted at the Department of Health Sciences at the University of San Jorge, Zaragoza (Spain), benzodiazepines are being prescribed more and more in retirement communities.

It is an important fact that makes specialists ask themselves whether the clinical benefits of these drugs make up for their negative side effects.

On the other hand, it is worth repeating that there are medications that you can only take with a prescription from your doctor. And whether they can be taken with antidepressants or antipsychotics or not, there will always be a specialist prescribing them and controlling the dose.

Types of benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines are classified based on their half-life in our bodies. Let us now take a closer look at them.

Long-lasting duration, between 40 and 200 hours.

• Clobazam.
• Chlorazepate.
• Chlordiazepoxide.
• Diazepam.
• Flurazepam.
• Medazepam.
• Phenazepam.
• Clotiazepam.
• Prazepam.

Medium duration, between 20 and 40 hours.

• Clonazepam
• Bromazepam.
• Flunitrazepam.
• Nitrazepam.

Short duration, between 5 and 20 hours.

• Alprazolam.
• Lormetazepam.
• Lorazepam.
• Oxazepam.

Reduced duration, between 1 and 5 hours.

• Brotizolam.
• Midazolam

Effects associated with benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines are effective. They never fail, they give us uninterrupted rest, alleviate the desperate suffering after a breakup, and will even help us make our working days more manageable.

But everything in life has a price, and with this drug, it is sometimes like entering into a covenant with the devil. We should not use them for more than 4 to 6 weeks. Otherwise, there is a good chance that we will start to form an addiction.

However, life continues to hurt us, problems continue to drag us down, insomnia continues to visit us, and anxiety continues to consume us. We ask our doctor for help and since they have nothing else to offer, they give in. Then begins the slow and devastating addiction.

Common physical side effects of benzodiazepine dependence

• Drowsiness.
• Dizziness.
• Confusion.
• Loss of balance (especially in the elderly).
• Problems talking.
• Muscle weakness.
• Constipation.
• Nausea.
• Dry mouth.
• Unclear vision.

Progressive effects on memory associated with benzodiazepine consumption

Benzodiazepines have significantly reduced our ability to absorb new information. And, in addition, prolonged use leads to obvious difficulties in cognitive processes. It is difficult for us to concentrate, solve problems, derive information, put together ideas…

Paradoxical effects

A “paradoxical reaction to medication” is the appearance of an outcome that is the opposite of what is intended. There are many patients who, after taking benzodiazepines for a few months or years, begin to feel some or many of these symptoms:

• Increase in anxiety.
• Feelings of anger or rage.
• Agitation.
• Melancholy.
• Depersonalization (a sense of indifference to their surroundings).
• Depression.
• Derealization (the feeling that the surroundings are not real).
• Hallucinations.
• Nightmares.
• Changes in personality.
• Psychosis.
• Restlessness.
• Suicidal behaviors or thoughts.

Benzodiazepines in people over 60 years of age

Nurses usually prescribe short-term benzodiazepines to treat insomnia in people over 60 years of age. It is a common practice, which aims to improve the quality of sleep, with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of life. However, there are many studies that warn against the various risks associated with long-term consumption of these drugs in elderly patients:

• Changes in cognition and memory.
• Increased risk of falling and the consequences that come with it (such as a fracture of the hips).
• Higher probability of car accidents.
• The use of benzodiazepines may also be an early indicator of the development of dementia.

All this gives us a very clear conclusion to reflect on. The unjustified, long-term use of these drugs should be seen as a health problem.

Laura and the story of a prescription addiction from the doctor

Laura is 39 years old, has children aged 3 and 8, and works for a PR company. It is a good job, with a lot of pressure, goals to achieve, and a company that will get out on the market. There are days when it is very difficult to do everything: to be a mother, a successful creative person, all while dealing with anxiety.

A few weeks ago, she had to be hospitalized due to intense withdrawal symptoms. It all started with a buzzing feeling in her ears. She could not focus on anything else, only the persistent tinnitus ( tinnitus ). Then came the tingling in her arms and feet, the feeling of her mouth burning, and the awful sensitivity to light.

It changed her mood, all of a sudden. That was when her children began to be afraid of her. That was when the world began to go out of balance and life came out of sync. Nothing fit in her mind and all she felt was the desire to hide in a place where she could disappear, wither away and dissolve into nothingness.

When she realized she was addicted to benzodiazepines, she could not believe it. It is extremely difficult to understand the fact that it is possible to develop an addiction to a drug that is prescribed by a doctor. But the processes of anxiety and depression are long, and our time in the doctor’s office is short. Under such circumstances, it can sometimes be complicated to arrange the medication correctly.

Laura and her attempt to stop taking benzodiazepines

Laura tried to get rid of them. But soon she found that it was impossible, because the effects are devastating. Life is not a straight path, but in fact a long, crooked battle uphill. So, sometimes we need help from the little pills. The little pills that take away our pain and make us fall asleep at night.

But benzodiazepine addiction is similar to heroin, and sometimes there is no choice but to go to a treatment center for advanced stages of addiction.

Simple but dangerous, cheap but so expensive

We can not put all the responsibility on our doctors. Because the organization, system, and policies that shape our environments do not call for the personal attention that proper diagnosis and treatment requires.

There are also other factors, such as unemployment, bad jobs, recession, poverty, feelings of loneliness and poor emotional management that can make things worse and push us towards medication.

Finally, we would like to remind people that benzodiazepines are effective in the short term. Beyond that, we need other strategies, other approaches to loosen the knots in our lives: psychotherapy, personal willpower, and authentic, sensible and empathetic support from people around us. We can do it.

Bibliographic references

-Andrés-Trelles, F. (1993)  Pharmacies used in aging: benzodiazepines and other anabolic drugs . Madrid: MacGraw Hill Interamericana.

-Hardman JG, Goodman LS, Gilman A. (1995)  The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics.  Pages. 385-398. New York, MacGraw-Hill.

-Robert Whitaker, (2010) Anatomy of an Epidemic. Crown Publishing Group.

Eugene Rubin, Charles Zorumski, (2015)  How Many People Take Benzodiazepines
Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/demystifying-psychiatry/201505/how-many-people-take-benzodiazepines