Klonopin is a benzodiazepine medication. Doctors prescribe it to treat mental health issues such as anxiety and physical health issues such as seizure disorders. Although Klonopin has a variety of uses, doctors try not to prescribe the drug too often or in large doses. Why? Because ongoing or prolonged use often leads to tolerance, dependence and increases the likelihood and rate of addiction.

Klonopin addiction takes over your life, and as a disease, it is nothing to be ashamed of, but it does require treatment. Treatment will take time, but it may save your life.

Klonopin Addiction Timeframe

Addiction is a disease that progresses over time. You can take a drug like Klonopin for years to manage anxiety or other health symptoms. If taken as prescribed and carefully monitored, its use may not lead to tolerance or dependence or addiction. There are other ways to treat and manage symptoms for which the drug has been prescribed, so it is important to be aware of the impact of the drug on your body and seek medical supervision when concerned to slow down or avoid dependence altogether.

You can take steps to slow or avoid addiction. You can also take part in actions that speed up the process.

The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry explains that even when taken as prescribed, benzodiazepine, “use presents clinical issues such as dependence, rebound anxiety, memory impairment, and discontinuation syndrome.”1

Any substance abuse increases the likelihood of addiction. When misused, Klonopin floods the brain with pleasurable chemicals. You quickly become used to this effect, and it becomes hard to feel pleasure without Klonopin. It soon becomes difficult to feel good even with the drug.

Other mental and physical health changes occur at the same time. These make it difficult to stop taking the drug on your own. They change how you think and feel. This process of tolerance and dependence may take years or only weeks. The more you use, the faster addiction develops and the sooner you will need support for withdrawal and recovery.

Beginning Klonopin Withdrawal

The process of detox is uncomfortable and can be scary or even dangerous, so it’s essential to detox in a safe, supervised environment. The good news? The sooner you begin the withdrawal portion of recovery, the sooner you finish it. You do not want to quit “cold turkey” or on your own.

ABC News explains: “Quitting benzodiazepines abruptly can result in more than 40 withdrawal side effects, including headache, anxiety, tension, depression, insomnia, confusion, dizziness, derealization, and short-term memory loss.”2

These symptoms can cause you to return to Klonopin use even if you’d rather not. If you have professional and personal support during withdrawal, you are less likely to relapse. You will be more comfortable. You will gain the skills needed to weather cravings. Medically supervised detox services ensure your safety and provide a smooth transition from withdrawal to the real work of treatment and establishing a base for sobriety. Withdrawal is just the first step in the timeline of treatment and recovery.

Long-Term Klonopin Addiction Recovery

Addiction recovery is a long-term process. It begins with withdrawal and continues with a variety of treatment methods. These may include one or more forms of therapy. Therapy helps you examine how you think and how those thoughts influence your feelings and actions. This has real and lasting effects on your health.

For example Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a form of therapy often used in addiction treatment, also treats panic and anxiety issues. A study published in the Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Psychiatry found that 13.6% of untreated individuals, “developed panic disorder compared with only 1.8% of those who attended” a CBT workshop.3

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can address both addiction and underlying concerns such as panic disorders or anxiety issues. Addressing all co-occurring concerns at once leads to a more streamlined, effective and lasting recovery experience. Others need therapy that addresses underlying or co-occurring mental health issues. Your unique recovery needs will determine how long treatment takes and what it looks like. Every recovery journey should be personalized and unique.

Begin Your Treatment Timeline

If you’re struggling with a Klonopin issue, we’d like to help. At Black Bear Lodge, we provide comprehensive care for a wide array of recovery and treatment needs. We’d love to design a program just for you. A skilled, experienced clinician will work with you on an individual basis.

We provide individual and group therapies that help you understand your goals, strengths, and hidden talents. With our help, you can build a better, drug-free life. Call 706-914-2327 and talk with us about how treatment works and how you can get started.

Sources

1 Chouinard, Guy. “Issues in the Clinical Use of Benzodiazepines: Potency, Withdrawal, and Rebound.” Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 1 Jan. 2004. Web. Accessed 13 Jun. 2017.

2 Cox, Lauren. “Tranquilizer Detox Withdrawal Can Last Years.” ABC News. 1 Dec. 2008. Web. Accessed 13 Jun. 2017.

3Primary Care Companion to The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. “Benzodiazepines: Revisiting Clinical Issues in Treating Anxiety Disorders.” 2005. Web. Accessed 14 Jun. 2017.