Attitudes about Benzos

 

Blog 3, Benzodiazepines, Attitudes of the Culture

Karissa Lemire, 9/16/2020

Xanax, clozapine, and valium are prescription benzodiazepines used to treat generalized anxiety disorder. Many people in the United States suffer from anxiety, so much so that it is the number one diagnosed mental condition in the US. It is reported that 40 million adults suffer from some form of anxiety (Garrison, 2018). Last week we discussed how the current pandemic is adding to the anxiety levels of people, so this number is increasing, and people are using benzodiazepines at higher rates. But how do our attitudes add to benzo usage?

The above image was shared on a popular Facebook group page, “Mommy Needs a Xanax”, where members frequently share images such as this as well as funny sayings about the troubles of parenting, being a wife, and juggling it all during uncertain times. It is meant to bring light to a serious situation, women are stressed. Here the women have a safe space to express themselves, but among the expression is a communication of general attitudes people have about anxiety and the medications used to treat it.

Drugs such as xanax are the most prescribed medications in the nation. They are often prescribed to those with active lifestyles and demanding jobs. within the past year, alone physicians have written over 150 million prescriptions for benzodiazepines (Women’s Recovery, 2020). With so many people being prescribed these medications it is not hard to see how casual attitudes about usage could contribute negatively to abuse rates. There are serious dangers associated with benzo usages such as adverse interactions with other substances and the dangers of suddenly stopping the medication. There are also both short-term and long-term effects associated with abusing anti-anxiety medications such as blurred vision, drowsiness, depression, headaches, increased risk of dementia, and many more (Women’s Recovery, 2020). The seriousness of these risks is not so casually discussed. A quick google search of the words “Mommy needs a xanax” will direct one to a plethora of blogging mothers venting their parental stresses and disclosing their anti-anxiety medication usage.

Here are just a few for example:

http://www.thecrazymamadrama.com/2012/07/mommy-needs-a-xanax.html

https://www.workingmother.com/blogs/working-mommy039s-manual/it039s-hap-happiest-time-year-so-why-do-i-need-xanax

Discussing xanax usage helps end the stigma associated with mental conditions such as anxiety and general attitudes about the drug are mostly positive. We can gain an understanding of physicians’ attitudes on benzo usage by the number of prescriptions they prescribe. Prescriptions written have increased by 67% between 2002 and 2015 and this growth rate is not slowing down any time soon (Garrison, 2018). We can also understand women’s attitudes on the medications by the content they share online. Most women, such as the mother discussing her wish for ‘two .. or ten” xananx to help her deal with her daughter Ella, casually discuss the drug as if it were a quick solution to everyday stressors of raising children (Arellano, 2012). This idea is not healthy. Those taking benzodiazepine medications are not doing so because they have difficulty managing their stress, but rather because they have serious anxiety conditions. Encouraging the use of this drug is embedded in our American culture at this point. We all want a quick fix for dealing with our problems, but this quick fix is not without serious health risks, both for the individual and society. Further education about the use of benzodiazepine medications in the media and online would be beneficial towards changing these views.

References

Arellano, B. (2012). Mommy Needs a Xanax [Blog]. Retrieved from http://www.thecrazymamadrama.com/2012/07/mommy-needs-a-xanax.html.

Corning, N. (2012). It's the Hap-Happiest Time of The Year - So Why do I Need a Xanax [Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.workingmother.com/blogs/working-mommy039s-manual/it039s-hap-happiest-time-year-so-why-do-i-need-xanax.

Facebook. (2020). Mommy needs a xanax [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Personal-Blog/Mommy-Needs-a-Xanax-447190212026186/.

Garrison, A. (2018). Antianxiety drugs — often more deadly than opioids — are fueling the next drug crisis in US. CNBC. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/02/antianxiety-drugs-fuel-the-next-deadly-drug-crisis-in-us.html.

Women's Recovery. (2020). Benzodiazepine Addiction and Abuse Among Women. Women's Recovery. Retrieved from https://www.womensrecovery.com/colorado-substance-abuse-treatment-center/colorado-benzo-addiction-treatment-program/.