Antianxiety and sedative drugs

[Renato]

Antianxiety and sedative drugs are prescription drugs used to relieve anxiety and/or help with sleep, but their use can result in dependency and a substance use disorder.

Using prescription drugs to relieve anxiety or help with sleeping can cause dependence.
An overdose can cause drowsiness, confusion, and slowed respiration.
Stopping a drug after using it for a long time causes anxiety, irritability, and sleep problems.
If people become dependent on a drug, they are gradually weaned off the drug by reducing the dose.

Prescription drugs used to treat anxiety (antianxiety drugs) and induce sleep (sedatives, or sleep aids) can cause dependence. These drugs include benzodiazepines (such as diazepam and lorazepam ), barbiturates, zolpidem , eszopiclone , and others. Each works in a different way, and each has a different potential for dependency and tolerance. People who develop symptoms when they stop taking a substance are considered to be dependent on it. People who continue to use a substance even though they have problems caused by its use are considered to have a substance use disorder.
Severe or life-threatening symptoms are less likely with benzodiazepines than with barbiturates because for benzodiazepines, the difference between prescribed doses and dangerous doses (called the margin of safety) is large. People can take relatively large amounts of benzodiazepines without dying.
Most people dependent on antianxiety drugs and sedatives started out taking them for a medical reason. Dependency can develop within as little as 2 weeks of continual use.
(See also Drug Use and Abuse.)