Sober living

This is because inconsistent use doesn’t pose the same risk of dependence or withdrawal. For example, say you’re tapering off a dose of 20 milligrams (mg) of diazepam (Valium). A very quick taper would involve reducing the dose by 5 mg (25%) each week. Short-acting benzodiazepines are much more likely to cause rebound symptoms. Tapering off supratherapeutic doses In other words, your body may rely on benzodiazepines to function if you take them frequently and for more than a short period of time. Short-acting benzodiazepines, like triazolam, pass quickly through the body, so you’ll likely experience withdrawal symptoms sooner — sometimes within a matter of hours. These factors don’t guarantee you’ll have severe withdrawal symptoms, but they can increase your vulnerability. So, your doctor may recommend a slower taper schedule as a safety precaution. In addition, over half of the survey respondents said benzodiazepines’ side effects or withdrawal symptoms caused them to consider suicide. If you take benzodiazepines infrequently, such as once a week or once every few weeks to treat panic attacks, you can take them for a longer period of time. What to Know About Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Benzodiazepines are a powerful class of medication used to treat anxiety, insomnia, and panic disorder. Examples of benzodiazepines include alprazolam (Xanax) and diazepam (Valium). Though therapy generally can’t address withdrawal symptoms specifically, it can help improve some symptoms, like anxiety and insomnia. If you experience unpleasant withdrawal symptoms during your taper, your care team can help you explore options to address those symptoms and get relief. The 2022 survey mentioned above also asked respondents to what extent withdrawal symptoms affected their lives. They could rate each problem as nonexistent, mild, moderate, severe, quite severe, or enormous. Short-term symptoms In fact, if you take your medication every other day, you may notice rebound symptoms on the day between doses. It’s incredibly important to follow your doctor’s guidance when you stop taking benzodiazepines. If you stop taking them “cold turkey,” or all at once, you may experience severe, even life threatening, withdrawal symptoms. If you want to stop taking benzodiazepines after consistent long-term use, your doctor can help you gradually taper off your medication. Tapering can help take the edge off withdrawal symptoms like tremors and nausea, though it may not prevent withdrawal symptoms entirely. Rebound symptoms If you experience unpleasant withdrawal symptoms during your taper, your care team can help you explore options to address those symptoms and get relief. If you take an intermediate-acting benzodiazepine, like alprazolam, or a long-acting benzodiazepine, like diazepam, it may take longer for withdrawal symptoms to appear. Tapering can help take the edge off withdrawal symptoms like tremors and nausea, though it may not prevent withdrawal symptoms entirely. In most cases, your doctor will reduce your dosage by 5% to 25% in the first week. Every 1 to 4 weeks after that, they’ll reduce your dose by another 5% to 25% of the original dose. In addition to the immediate health risk, benzodiazepine withdrawal can seriously affect your quality of life. Emerging research also suggests acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) could also have benefits during benzodiazepine withdrawal. This approach helps you learn to tolerate discomfort and distress, instead of avoiding it, and choose to live according to your values. According to the National Center for PTSD, the most beneficial kind of therapy for benzodiazepine withdrawal is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). But when you start removing benzodiazepines from your system, suddenly your clogged neurons become an open freeway with no traffic lanes. All those extra chemicals flood your brain, and the excess activity causes symptoms like anxiety and sweating. They can range in severity, though for some people, they remain mild and manageable. If you’re predisposed to seizures, your risk of having a seizure may also increase during the withdrawal period. This type of therapy can help you challenge and reframe unhelpful beliefs and behaviors and replace them with more productive ones. People tapering off the same original dosage of medication can have drastically different tapering experiences. Consequently, experts recommend you take benzodiazepines for no more than 2 weeks if you use them daily. If you only use them once every few days, you may be able to take them for up to 4 weeks. You may have to pause, slow down, or speed up depending on how your body reacts to withdrawal. Difficult tapers Some supplements, such as valerian and melatonin, might also help you get some relief from your symptoms, but research has found mixed results. You can call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Helpline and get compassionate, confidential support severe benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome from trained crisis counselors. When benzodiazepines attach to your neurons, they invite a bunch of chloride ions inside. These ions change the neuron’s electrical charge, so it has to work much harder to activate and send signals. How to get support for thoughts of suicide

In this audio guide, a doctor helps you to replace negative thoughts with more positive thinking. If you don’t have time to volunteer, try to do someone a favour every day. It can be something as small as helping someone cross the road or going on a coffee run for colleagues. Evidence shows that people who help others, through activities such as volunteering or community work, often become more resilient. Setting yourself goals and challenges, whether at work or outside, such as learning a new language or a new sport, can help build confidence. The stress response Another way to take control of your stress is to stay on top of your priorities and avoid procrastinating when you aren’t feeling stressed. Putting too much on your plate may increase your stress load and limit the amount of time you can spend on self-care. Consuming too much may worsen anxiety, according to a 2021 review of literature on the subject. Move your body to improve your mood But out of sight doesn’t always mean out of mind, and not resolving things as they arise could clutter your mind with stress. Stress is inevitable throughout your life, but it can be managed to reduce healthy ways of coping with stress the chance it affects you in the long term. If the stressful event is ongoing, your body will release adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), which causes the adrenal glands to release cortisol. Make Time for Leisure Activities Particularly during the pandemic, when the days may seem long and unformed, introducing some structure can help our brains and bodies adjust and reduce stress levels. You can practice guided meditation, guided imagery, mindfulness, visualization and other forms of meditation anywhere at any time. For example, you could meditate when you’re out for a walk, riding the bus to work or waiting at your health care provider’s office. It’s key to seek help if you’re having symptoms of adjustment disorder, a mental health condition that can result from extreme stress. Sometimes stress can come from an obvious source, but sometimes even small daily stresses from work, school, family, and friends can take a toll on your mind and body. Mindfulness meditation is a stress-management technique focusing on the present moment without judgment. These actions may seem to help in the moment, but actually may add to stress in the long run. Breathing techniques can calm your body and your brain in just a few minutes. Developing stress-management techniques for work will improve not only wellbeing, but also productivity. While some stress may produce feelings of mild anxiety or frustration, prolonged stress can also lead to burnout, anxiety disorders, and depression. When the perceived threat is gone, systems are designed to return to normal function via the relaxation response. But in cases of chronic stress, the relaxation response doesn’t occur often enough, and being in a near-constant state of fight-or-flight can cause damage to the body. Healthy Ways to Cope with Stress: 9 Methods According to this model, stress results from an individual’s assessment of the stressor, its threat, and whether they have the necessary cognitive and behavioral resources to manage the stressor. Movement can help your body complete the stress response cycle, allowing you to come back into balance when you stop the activity and rest. A 2021 review of literature points out that several studies have linked excessive smartphone use with increased stress levels and mental health disorders. By Elizabeth Scott, PhDElizabeth Scott, PhD is an author, workshop leader, educator, and award-winning blogger on stress management, positive psychology, relationships, and emotional wellbeing. Empirical studies in Bangladesh, China, France, Greece, the UK, and the USA have found that a large proportion of students suffer from varying degrees of mental disorders20,21,22. Many students experiencing the online delivery model over a long period report suffering from depression, anxiety, distress, and even suicidal thoughts23,24. Interestingly, this academic mental health problem of adolescents is, to some extent, transferred to their parents. The intensity and duration of your stress response will depend on many factors that range from your personality to your support system. During meditation, you focus your attention and quiet the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that can help both your emotional well-being and your overall health. Almost any form of physical activity can act as a stress reliever. Even if you’re not an athlete or you’re out of shape, exercise can still be a good stress reliever. Whether you’re feeling lonely, nervous, sad, or angry, emotion-focused coping skills can help you deal with your feelings in a healthy way. Healthy coping strategies may soothe you, temporarily distract you, or help you tolerate your distress. Developing stress-management techniques for work will improve not only wellbeing, but also productivity. The severity of measurements and associated factors Stress can have a significant impact on both our physical and mental wellbeing. Fortunately, there are several psychological techniques and physiological strategies that can alleviate stress. These detailed, science-based exercises will equip you or your clients with tools to manage stress better and find a healthier balance in their life. Chronic stress can adversely affect an individual’s wellbeing and lead to mental health disorders like anxiety and depression (Hammen, 2005).