XANAX, ATIVAN, KLONOPIN, AND VALIUM: If taking or struggling to come off, please watch!

In this video I discuss the potential issues that can occur for those taking and or coming off of Xanax (alprazolam), Klonopin (Clonazepam), Ativan (Lorazepam), Valium (Diazepam) and Librium (chlordiazepoxide). These drugs all fall under the class of medications called benzodiazepines. I also discuss a recent statistic by the US National Center for Health Statistics that indicate that 66 million doctor visits per year in the United States result in the prescription of a benzodiazepine. Addition: I have had a couple of people reach out with the great point that this list of benzodiazepines that I list above is, by no means, an exhaustive list. These tend to be the most widely prescribed in the United States, but thank you -- its a wonderful point and I certainly want people to be aware that there are many others that fit in this class of drugs including these generic names (temazepam, oxazepam, triazolam, flurazepam, clorazepate, midazolam, estazolam, nitrazepam, bromazepam, quazepam, loprazolam, medazepam, phenazepam, flunitrazepam.....I am hoping I have captured most, if not all of them.). Suffice to say, there are many more out there than the five I mention in this video. Thanks again for the comments, I always appreciate any and all feedback! TWO IMPORTANT CLARIFICATIONS: 1) I mention in the video that I feel, as a clinician, I was a part of the problem, now want to be a part of the solution, and that in being part of the problem neither I nor the people around me were asking our clients if they had just started a benzo or recently come off one. It is NOT that we weren’t taking a valid medication history and finding out both what meds they were currently taking and had been on in the past, it was that in hearing that perhaps they had stopped taking their Xanax, Klonopin, Ativan, Valium, or Librium a few months back – we weren’t connecting the dots or making the connection that either being on or coming off these medications might be contributing to their worsening depression/anxiety, development of agoraphobia or paranoia, or host of other mental and physical symptoms. I wanted to make it clear that while the assessment and history taking was thorough, the knowledge and understanding that this class of medications and their discontinuation could be a contributing factor to mental health diagnoses was, and still is, often not being addressed or funneled into the clinical formulation. 2) I mention in 2018 it was reported there were over 90 million scripts for benzos filled in the US, and then in 2020 it was stated that 66 million doctor visits per year resulted in a benzo script. I had someone see this and tell me they assumed that meant the numbers had decreased. That is far from the case. In the 2018 reference it was looking at numbers from 3-5 years prior, and it was most likely a monthly script that was filled generating that number. So, if you take 90 million total scripts and divide by 12 you come up with about 7.5 million Americans getting a monthly script filled for their benzo each year. In the 2020 article I reference it was looking at data between 2014 to 2016 (I'll include the link below) so these were PRE-COVID numbers! It referred to about 66 million doctor visits per year resulting in a benzo script. Most people, especially folks who are getting their benzos from a non-psychiatrist (which is the majority) are not seeing their GPs’, OB-GYN’s, Internists, Gastro docs, etc. each month to get that script filled. They may have had to go in to be seen (or by televisit during Covid) every 3 to 6 months to get a renewal. So, with the numbers discussed in 2018 and in 2020, there is a large increase and we still don't have numbers that reflect the possible increase in benzo scripts written during the pandemic. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nh... Here's an important link:    • Benzodiazepines:  The Hidden Epidemic...   If you are not comfortable commenting below publicly, as always you are welcome to email me at [email protected] or on my Instagram at Jenniferswanphd. I am not practicing at this time or taking on any new clients, but you are welcome to email me to share your story or to let me know of a topic you feel might be of relevance or interest for a future video. Disclaimer: While I am a mental health clinician, this video and all others on my channel, are meant as informational and educational purposes only. They are not meant to diagnose, offer clinical/medical recommendations or to be used in substitution for seeking out your own individual clinical/medical help and/or intervention.