Common symptoms of withdrawal from these drugs can include:

• Drowsiness
• Fidgeting (such as foot tapping)
• Irritability
• Mood swings
• Depression
• Hallucinations (in extreme cases)

If you were prescribed benzodiazepines by a medical profession, it’s important to ask how to avoid benzodiazepine misuse. These drugs can be an effective treatment for sleep disorders, substance abuse, and situations where there needs to be a sedative effect. But it’s also very easy to misuse benzos, so it’s important to be careful.

Can Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Symptoms Be Treated?

Unfortunately, there’s no magic pill or potion that can speed up the withdrawal process during substance use treatment. The only thing that can make the pain and suffering from these drugs go away is time. Eventually, the symptoms lessen and fade completely as you go through addiction recovery.

However, some vitamins and supplements can make benzo withdrawal much worse. People who go through withdrawal should avoid vitamins such as:

• Vitamin B
• Vitamin D
• Chamomile
• Magnesium
• Phenibut

They should also avoid foods such as salmon, honey, sugar substitutes, and foods that contain caffeine to avoid adverse effects. These foods may cause a spike in withdrawal symptoms.

Depression is considered one of the most dangerous withdrawal symptoms for benzodiazepine dependence. It’s important to take steps to prevent relapse that don’t involve potentially hazardous medications (including the use of other drugs).

Do Not Gradually Reduce Use or Resume Benzodiazepine Prescriptions

Tapering is when people take smaller doses to step down from the drug over a period of time. Reinstating refers to using the drug again when the symptoms get out of control. There’s a prevailing myth that overcoming benzodiazepine addiction is easier when people institute gradual dose reduction, or reinstate benzodiazepine use temporarily.

This advice is bad, because tapering or reinstating benzos can lead to an effect called “benzo kindling.” This process causes withdrawal symptoms to feel even harsher when the person undergoes withdrawal the next time. For people with mental disorders such as depression, this can be an especially dangerous aspect of benzodiazepine abuse.

If people are off of benzos for more than four weeks, it’s advised that they avoid taking them ever again. As with other forms of drug abuse, it’s worth noting that individuals can become more tolerant of the drug over time. This tolerance can keep them from achieving desired effects from the same amount of the drug they previously took. Considering the widespread availability of benzodiazepines, this can easily lead someone to significantly increase their intake to fatal ends.

When you decide to undergo medical detox for benzodiazepines, whether or not you are attending treatment, be sure to tell family members and friends what they can expect from the process. They may think they’re being helpful in suggesting you resume benzodiazepine use to alleviate symptoms. But this is in fact the opposite of what will help.