Benzodiazepine Intervention

Intervention on an Alcoholic Who Uses Benzos

The classic stereotype of an alcoholic-benzo addict would be the wife who has a few glasses of wine and a valium each night. Essentially, an alcoholic-benzo addict is someone who is an alcoholic but also combines benzo’s with alcohol for two reasons.

The first is for an increase in the effect of alcohol. Combining a neural suppressor (benzo’s) and a central nervous system depressant (alcohol) has a shotgun effect on the nervous system and exponentially increases the effect. Of course, the danger of combining different classes of drugs also exponentially increases the danger.

The second reason for one combines alcohol and benzo’s is as a way to handle the associated anxiety common to alcoholics. As a result of heavy drinking, many alcoholics begin to develop impaired sleep patterns, restlessness, and anxiety. Many seek counseling for the anxiety but are reluctant to acknowledge or admit the severity of the drinking to a therapist. As a result, they are prescribed benzo’s when in actuality, the solution lies in handling and eliminating the drinking problem.. This type of benzo intervention is more common than that of a “pure” benzo addict.

Intervention on a Methadone User Who Also Uses Benzos

A methadone-benzo addict is someone who, prior to methadone, abused other opiate-based drugs, including Heroin. As an attempt to handle the opiate addiction, they are then prescribed methadone. Essentially, the effect of methadone on an opiate user is to block the effects of opiates on the system, while at the same time providing a “high”. Because it is an opiate blocker, it is extremely difficult to “get high” on opiates while taking methadone. As a result, many methadone users than take benzos in addition to the methadone for an increased “high” or effect. Performing a benzo intervention on a methadone-benzo addict is more difficult because of the methadone involved. The methadone itself is the primary problem and in essence, must be confronted more heavily than the benzos.

Polysubstance-Benzo Addict

A polysubstance-benzo addict is someone who has become addicted to benzo’s due to the frequency of use but also takes many different substances. For example, someone who on a daily basis takes Xanax or Valium, but also “parties” with alcohol, cocaine or opiates. In other words, it would be hard to describe him as “benzo addict” because he abuses a large variety of substances and very likely may be addicted many of them.

The Benzo Intervention Itself

Essentially the primary difficulty in performing a benzo intervention is timing and response. For most benzo addict’s have a higher degree of associated anxiety due to the abuse of the drug and, as a result, can be very reactionary. Their ability to handle the stress of an intervention is much less than that of others, and the interventionist must use a higher degree of understanding and care. Essentially, if the benzo addict is currently under a large amount of benzo’s, the intervention will go much more smoothly than if he currently isn’t under the effects of the drug. A benzo addict without their drug can experience panic attacks, desire to flee, and a high degree of nervousness during the intervention. All of these things must be taken into consideration when performing a benzo intervention.