Even though they have been the drug of choice for past generations, you don’t usually think of tranquilizers these days when you are considering the chemical dependency and drug or alcohol abuse epidemic happening in this country. We mostly hear more about alcohol addiction, and opioid addiction but people are still struggling with tranquilizer addiction among other intoxicating substances. Tranquilizers were especially popular in the 1950’s and many people found themselves addicted due to their widespread availability. These days, like opioids, people may be getting their first taste of tranquilizers via prescription medication. The heartbreaker is that major tranquilizers are used as antipsychotic medication to treat people with mental illness, a group of people far more likely to become chemically dependant on a mind altering medications. If you are reading this article and you are abusing prescription or illicit tranquilizers you can get help. First Step’s residential detox and South Florida rehab centers have programs that can help you get free from chemical dependency and can teach you the building blocks of a health and sober life.
What Are The Effects of Tranquilizers?
Tranquilizers are used to relax the body’s systems. They accomplish providing their taker with a sense of calm by slowing down physical and mental function. The chemical substance can help offer the taker a desperately needed sense of calm and, through that calm, a relief from anxiety. Depending on the form of tranquilizer and the strength of the dose, the drug may even induce sleep.
Commonly Used Tranquilizers
- Butalbital
- Talbutal
- Estazolam
- Temazepam
- Diazepam
- Mephobarbital
- Lorazepam
- Allobarbital
- Acepromazine
Withdrawal From Tranquilizers
Like any chemical dependency, it is clinically dangerous for a person addicted to tranquilizers to go through detoxification without a qualified medical staff monitoring their progress through detox and the safety and wellbeing of both their physical and psychological well being. The side effects of tranquilizer withdrawal can vary depending on the length of time a patient took the drug, as well as the dose they were administering to themselves.
Withdrawal Symptoms May Include
- Unsteady coordination
- Slowing down of the respiratory system
- Loss of consciousness
- Muscle aches and pain
- Seizure
- Blurred Vision
- Slurred Speech
- Hallucinations
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Low Energy
- Agitation
Tranquilizers can be very dangerous because as the person addicted to them, you are looking for an effect of relaxation or calm, but as your tolerance builds, and you need more and more of the drug to feel the effects desired, your mental and physical systems take an even bigger hit. As someone takes more and more of the substance it can eventually slow down the Call us now at 1st Step Behavioral Health and find out about our substance abuse treatment in Florida.
