Exaggerated fear of addiction on this site

Holy $ht, it seems every other post is about a fear of addiction to tiny doses of benzos, sleep aids, painkillers or even antidepresants.
And, there are all kinds of alarmist warnings posted that, frankly support or promote this to be true.
This site is filled with comments like "I feel like ****** but I don't want to take any meds cause I don't want to get addicted to them"
I simply don't see how all these "warnings" are helpful to people who can really benefit from the positive effect of medication.
I think there's an unbalance here that may be preventing people who otherwise have no alternative other than (temporary) med therapy.

hey.

maybe... it is offered in the attempt to counter some of the emotive promotion of products that is found in advertising and the like.

pros and cons
pros and cons

i do hear what you are saying about how sometimes you get to the point where you really are willing to try ANYTHING for some alleviation of symptoms.

i also hear what you are saying about how sometimes people find real benefits to taking meds - and it isn't even that they have had to hit rock bottom to get there.

but
pros and cons
pros and cons

it is hard to know what a balanced view would consist in.

i guess thats how come its great that lots of different people can post their different opinions - so hopefully people will get a range / diversity of views.

my psychiatrist encourages me to take valium more than i like to... i have it prescribed PRN. got 15 tablets prescribed over a year ago and i've still got around 5 tablets left. i'm wary of addiction because i do have a history of addiction... i'm also aware that a tablet helps me go from 'feel so darned intensely bad and upset and in emotional pain' to 'feel all warm and fuzzy and floaty and kinda pleasant'. there is a slight temptation for me to take more of them but i really try and reverse them for 'episodes'. but my doc keeps saying to me that it really is okay if i take them more often than that. once a week even. or for a whole week even if the week is really a struggle. i lectured him on the dangers of addiction i do believe and we had a bit of an argument about it ;-)

i think meds have a place but just that ,yes they can save lives keep folk stable, but i have not met anyone who liked being on meds and i know many who use them only when they are in crisis, i know many also who refuse to take them. they do have side effects and we are far too complicated to think that swallowing a pill can solve all our dilemmas and problems. i think it right that we are to think that meds alone ,are a cure all

I was on Xanax 17 years with no increase of dosage. Was recently changed to klonopin to better help me sleep. I don't fear becoming addicted because I follow the doc's presciption.--Suzy

I am the person they put all the warnings up for...I get addicted to everything. I have been down the road of illegal drugs, alcohol and then the "legal" drugs like valium and such. I think I just have an addictive personality. The only time my doc will give me anything remotely "good" is if I have to fly on a plane and then in a very small quantity.

I was prompted to make this post for two reasons:
1)I really believe most people (especially on PC) can be legitimately helped by the judicious use of meds but the exaggerated fear of addiction promulgated by ......the media or whatever....is hindering that progress unneccessarily
2)I also really don't believe the often mentioned meds are "addictive".....they may be slightly habit forming but true addiction is much too harsh (and scary) a word
3)I've taken a number of the "suspect" meds for years .....off and on....with no ill effects

I think you raise a very valid point. However, I also think that if you are on any med that can be abused, you should keep an open dialogue with your pdoc and others to keep a perspective about whether the meds are a pro or con.

I go back and forth on the issue. Sometimes I am afraid that I will be medicated for life. Sometimes I wonder if I really need all these drugs. And I talk to my pdoc about my fears. He reminds me about the quality of my life without my meds.

I think I am at a bigger risk for abusing caffeine than Xanax. But it is still good to talk about it.

Hey. I hear what you are saying, and I'm glad you have posted it. I guess our opinions differ though because from my perspective:

1)I really believe most people (especially on PC) can be legitimately helped by psychotherapy, friends (on boards or IRL), and coming to some sort of understanding of what is going on for them. I believe that process is really hindered by the very prevalent assumption that mental disorders are neurological disorders that require medication as intervention.

2)I also think that the harmful effects of medications (some of which are above) while others include side-effects and withdrawal syndromes are typically underemphasised considerably. there is a proliferation of advertising which are little more than emotional appeals which encourage people to take medication without informing them of the potential risks.

3)I've taken a number of medications over the years too. for the most part... i found some benefit to them to helping me get through crisis but they simply weren't tenable long-term. because of the line of work that i'm in i am very sensitive to changes in concentration, focus, mental befuddlement etc and i simply didn't manage to find a medication that assisted me where the side effects were manageable. basically, the harms outweighed the benefits for me.

but you know...

i think that is really cool. it means that people can read what you have to say and what i have to say and reflect a little on their own experiences... read about other peoples experiences with respect to how much meds helped and how much they harmed and have a think about other varieties of intervention... and hopefully they will be better placed to make up their own mind.

i hear you saying that you think there is an over-focus on the harms on this board.

i guess i think... that it is important to counter the advertising propaganda and also important to think critically about the current biomedical model that has become the dominant conception of mental disorder.

I think everybody has a different experience with meds and how they view addiction. For me, I don’t see the media as too harsh on addiction. And, I think sometimes, I am amazed at what some of our own members say. I cringe when I hear/read “I am just going to take a valium [or whatever] and go to bed.” Or things like “yummie, Xanex.”

I do agree, sometimes I get the feeling people worry too much about getting addicted to things like antidepressants, that to me don’t seem as addictive as say benzos.

I am not saying people should not take meds or even addictive meds. I am well medicated—antipsychotic, antidepressant, mood stabilizer and a stimulant. I may be somewhat addicted to the meds, esp the stimulant, but the benefits outweigh the negatives. I need them to function.

Everybody has a different experience—it is up to each individual and their doc or pdoc to decide what is right for them, no matter what the media says.

ive been on valium for yrs and also temazepam
the thing with benzos is they can only get addictive is used in improper way
like when u dont need them
if u stick to when its prescribed and have the need for it reviewed regularly
and if its prn only use it when clinically indicated as in when u feel like u need it for what its being prescribed for

The Xanax I was on & the klonopin I'm now on just make me sleepy & reduce the anxiety so I can sleep. I don't take them during the day, despite anxiety, because I want to live life--not sleep through it. But with my history of mania it is important for me to sleep at night so I take them willingly. I follow my doc's advice & don't take more than prescribed.--Suzy

and you have a medical degree to post such facts?
IF you do boast such a degree, you would know better than to write such nonsense.
obviously, you have not experienced much addiction in your life, nor the lives of those around you.

i beleive this area is for the doctors to reply.
unless someone has requested others input ; by sharing their personal experience with that particular drug.

ALWAYS better to be cautious , ask questions and well educated, prior to taking whatever rx is thrown our way.

Errrr ...

I don't think gtr was posting 'facts'

Just opinion, as did alexandra_k.

There is nothing wrong with making people THINK.

I find your post indicative of not having really read the thread properly - it isn't 'nonsense', it is just providing another perspective.

Hi gtrplayer,
1. I'm not sure that's true, but it's possible.
2. The benzos (ativan, xanax, klonopin, etc.) are known to be addictive.
3. You are very fortunate. Those of us who carry a genetic predisposition to addiction are not so lucky.

Ultimately, I do agree that dialogue is good. Always great to read about others' thoughts and experiences.
Thanks,
Okie

Yeah, not sure where this tone of your post came from. We are all just speaking from our own experience & knowledge. If you have a different opinion, please just post it without attacking someone who has a different opinion.

I HAVE had experiences with addiction in my family--both my mother & father were alcoholics--yet i've been able to safely take "controlled substances" like Xanax, klonopin, Provigil & Concerta as prescribed without any ill effects. They have helped me to have a good quality of life. I was so unhappy, miserable & depressed until I got dxed as bipolar & put on meds.--Suzy

ok, we're finally getting some good discussion here, pro and con...good.
none of my post is represented as 'facts" for gods sakes, just random thoughts, as in "I think there's an unbalance..." and " I simply don't see how...", etc.
unfortunately i have several alcoholics in my family so i am more than familiar with substance abuse.
hell, what's more addictive than alcohol?
i don't pretend to be immune from it, merely making a comment that judicious use of prescribed meds can help a person through crises in his/her life and it seems many people are turning away from the very thing that can possibly help them simply out of a heightened fear of addiction....and i'm questioning this choice.

well...

you make it sound like it is the *very thing* that could help them kind of like *it is the one and only thing* that could help them...

dammit. i'm off to take a valium.

one of those days. sigh.

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gtrplayer said:

hell, what's more addictive than alcohol?
i don't pretend to be immune from it, merely making a comment that judicious use of prescribed meds can help a person through crises in his/her life and it seems many people are turning away from the very thing that can possibly help them simply out of a heightened fear of addiction....and i'm questioning this choice.

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Hmmm .... heroin? :P

Is it just addiction fears re psyc drugs?
Or is it other stuff too?

For a lot of ppl on here it seems cost is prohibitive, plus fear of stigmatisation, etc.

I would suggest there are multiple factors at play in most people's decisions - maybe the 'fear of addiction' is the best 'justification' for some to use in their decision-making ...

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alexandra_k said:

dammit. i'm off to take a valium.

I want a valium (or something similar) and a couple of glasses of wine. WHEEEEEEE.

:>

one of those days. sigh.

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drunksunflower said:
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gtrplayer said:

hell, what's more addictive than alcohol?
i don't pretend to be immune from it, merely making a comment that judicious use of prescribed meds can help a person through crises in his/her life and it seems many people are turning away from the very thing that can possibly help them simply out of a heightened fear of addiction....and i'm questioning this choice.

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Hmmm .... heroin? :P


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i know a man, who has been an alcholic all of his adult life and his daughter became addicted to heroin.......he's still drinking and she's clean........as a therapist, give me a heroin addict over a crack/meth/cocaine addict any day.

i'm just throwing this in for the hell of it and FYI.........

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drunksunflower said:
[

I want a valium (or something similar) and a couple of glasses of wine. WHEEEEEEE.

:>


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Sorry totally misquoted that ...

Im addicted to xanax and happily so. If it keeps me reasonably sane and I have them, why would I want to stop taking them. The dont intterere with my functioning they, they allow me to function. The only reason it is a big deal is becasue docrs dont want to get sued, and becasue the substances are watched closely by the government so doctors are afraid to prescribe.

oh well ... as long as you are not beg borrowing stealing for it ... and it is not harming your body functions ... I guess the good outweighs the bad?

We all have to find what works best for us individually, I guess...My husband was dying, in excrutiating painof lung cancer, had eight months to live, and there was a doctor breaking our chops about prescribing pain meds becasue they are addictive. Ticked me off!!!

that sounds ridiculous.