Sedative use disorder is when someone using sedative drugs can no longer control their usage. Rather than taking them according to a prescription or drug plan, they get addicted to the sedatives and start using them uncontrollably. Sedative use disorder is often referred to as a sedative addiction.
People who have a sedative use disorder will take sedatives even though it’s damaging to their bodies. Sedatives are usually prescribed to help people cope with depression, anxiety, stress, panic disorders, and sleep disorders. However, people can also obtain sedatives illegally and get addicted to them. It’s important to seek treatment for a sedative use disorder, as prolonged addiction can lead to illness, injury, or death.
People addicted to sedatives will display mental, psychological, and physical symptoms.
Psychological and Mental Symptoms
Physical Symptoms
You can experience these symptoms while you’re taking sedatives or as a result of going through withdrawal. Either way, you should seek medical attention, as these symptoms could lead to heart problems, a coma, or death if you’re overdosing.
Additionally, your symptoms will be more or less intense depending on how long you’ve been taking sedatives, which sedatives you’re taking, and how high of a dose you took.
A sedative use disorder is always the result of getting addicted to sedatives. However, there are several ways in which you can get addicted, and not all of them are your choice.
A leading cause of sedative use disorder is people who accidentally get addicted to them. This happens when a doctor prescribes sedatives to treat anxiety, sleep disorders, panic disorders, and other medical conditions.
In the medical field, sedatives are often prescribed to treat anxiety. As a result, many people will self-diagnose and start taking illegal sedatives. People who do this are more likely to get addicted to sedatives than those with a prescription.
If everyone around you growing up took sedatives, there’s a higher chance that you’ll also develop a sedative use disorder. Peer pressure and seeing drug addiction as normal will play a big factor in whether or not you get addicted.
In most cases, doctors can diagnose a sedative use disorder based on the patient’s history and symptoms. If they’re displaying addiction or withdrawal symptoms and have a history of taking sedatives, sedative use disorder is almost certain. To confirm their suspicions, a doctor may also take a blood or urine sample to check for sedatives.
Treatment and management for a sedative use disorder are similar to treatment and management for other forms of drug addiction. The process starts with the addicted individual admitting they have a problem and need help to recover. They will then go through a brutal withdrawal process where their body expels all remnants of the drug from their system. This process can take several days or weeks, depending on the severity of the addiction.
After withdrawal, it’s important to receive ongoing counselling from a mental health professional and support from friends and family. These forms of ongoing treatment and management reduce the chances of relapsing to drugs in the future.