What Is the Strongest Benzodiazepine for Anxiety?
Benzodiazepines, are a class of psychoactive drugs used for things like anxiety and seizures. What is the strongest one for anxiety?
One of the most prescribed medications and one of the most addictive on the market are benzodiazepines. While it is prescribed for several things, like seizures and sleep disorders, it is most commonly prescribed to treat anxiety disorders. Benzodiazepines, or benzos, are mostly used for their tranquilizing and anti-anxiety effects, but they are also abused for the same reason. 
What is Anxiety?
Experiencing a little bit of anxiety throughout your life is normal. For example, it is normal to feel anxious during a job interview or a school/work presentation. However, people who suffer from anxiety disorders often have debilitating symptoms that are often intense, persistent, and excessive. They often have anxiety over the mundane and fear everyday situations. This can result in severe anxiety attacks resulting in utter fear and panic within minutes that disrupt a person’s everyday life. In addition, the symptoms can be very difficult to control and predict.
How Does Benzodiazepine Work for Anxiety
Benzos do their job by affecting the gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, receptors within the brain. GABA is a neurotransmitter that works by sending messages throughout the spinal cord and the brain. When benzos are taken, it inhibits or slows down those messages from being sent and relaxes your system. Benzos are very fast acting and relieve symptoms of anxiety in a very short amount of time. Unfortunately, this also means they are typically only prescribed for the short term and used in emergent situations. That is why they are so helpful when anxiety or panic attacks arise because they can calm you don’t and stop it within minutes.
The Strongest Benzo for Anxiety
Like any other medication on the market, benzos are created for different levels of potency and efficiency. The more potent the benzo is, the faster and stronger its effects will be on your body. The stronger, the better, the better, although it does not come without its dangers when it comes to severe anxiety disorders. Depending on your needs, two benzos would arguably be the strongest but act slightly differently on the body. Klonopin is a high potency and long-acting benzo. Xanax is also a high potency but a short-acting benzodiazepine. Klonopin may be more typically prescribed for everyday use to prevent anxiety from happening. Xanax is more likely to be prescribed short-term and used as needed. It is best when an anxiety attack does occur to get rid of the symptoms.
The Risks of Dependence After Benzo Use
The biggest risk associated with benzos is dependence, abuse, and addiction. Some people may develop a dependence without doing it on purpose. Over time, your body becomes adjusted to having it in your system. This may cause you to take higher doses to achieve the same effect. Other people abuse and become addicted to benzos in order to feel high. According to NIH:
Among past-year benzodiazepine misusers, 46.3% reported that the motivation for their most recent misuse was to relax or relieve tension, followed by helping with sleep (22.4%). About 5.7% reported “experimentation” as their main motivation for misuse, and 11.8% reported using them to “get high” or because of being “hooked”.
These numbers are very high and alarming, but no matter why you have become dependent upon benzodiazepines, there is help available to get you off of them.
Find Professional Help For Benzo Abuse at Evoke Waltham
If you need to find treatment, we are here to assist you. Don’t hesitate to call us today to talk about your options and find a way to get your life back on track. Simply contact us over the phone or directly through our website to learn more. We look forward to speaking with you and offering you hope and a way out. Recovery is always possible, no matter how bad things have gotten or how impossible overcoming substance abuse might seem right now.
