Abuse of psychotropic drugs

Prescription drug abuse is a major social and medical problem in Europe and the USA. One of the most commonly abused classes of drugs is the benzodiazepines, a family of drugs with anxiolytic and hypnotic properties, modern tranquilizers (eg zanax). These drugs can cause dependence and withdrawal syndrome when someone takes them daily and in large quantities. It is a form of dependence that is easily excused since it is accompanied by the simplistic thinking “as long as the doctor gives it to me, it’s good…”. However, most of the time the recipient or patient feels the need to manage this situation and that’s when they need the proper guidance and training from an addiction therapist to deal with it effectively.

Psychotropic drugs. Categories

The types of drugs used for mental disorders and diseases are many and the list is constantly expanding. However, the correct information about their action and their possible benefits for the human body is incomplete and often distorted. Let us mention below some categories of these drugs, the most popular ones to which it is good to draw our attention.

The anxiolytics

These drugs are recommended by the doctor in order to reduce the anxiety that can accompany certain mental disorders such as anxiety states, phobias, etc. We can also meet them with the scientific term benzodiazepines. It is important to know two things about taking these medications. The first is that the doctor probably gave them to us for a certain period of time, during which it is good to receive not only pharmacological but also psychotherapeutic support for our problem in order to identify or even eliminate the sources of our anxiety. Only then can these drugs be gradually discontinued.

The second is that the reckless use of these drugs can lead to addiction and dependence on them, so in the case of their abrupt discontinuation we may experience some symptoms that we should be aware of.

Antidepressants

These drugs, as their name implies, are used to treat depression, one of the most popular difficult mental conditions that many people experience today. Antidepressants are not used by the body so they cannot create dependence. They can improve the negative feeling caused by a multitude of thoughts and give the sufferer time to work out his mental state with the help of a psychotherapist. They are not drugs that we can consume immediately “to get high”. By receiving psychotherapeutic help we will be able to activate natural ways beyond drugs to improve our mood.

ATTENTION: People who have been taking antidepressants for a long time and feel the need to stop taking them because they believe that the psychological reasons for taking them no longer exist in their lives, are overwhelmed by fear, guilt and uncertainty. They constantly think that if they stop the medicine they will harm themselves. For this reason they need encouragement and responsible guidance from an expert.

The antipsychotics

These drugs are administered in serious mental illnesses and if a diagnosis has been made, such as schizophrenia, psychosis, etc. Psychotherapeutic help in these cases is important and contributes to improving the behavior of the sufferer, however, it cannot aim to stop taking the drug medicine.

In general, we must keep in mind on the one hand that drugs can help to deal with a mental state if used correctly and, on the other hand, we must not forget that the forces to change our mental state are silent within us and what is needed is to give them a voice.