Top psychiatrist warns addictive anti-anxiety meds are being dished out like opioids were in the 90s – and patients are struggling to quit
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Opioid prescriptions peaked in 2012. But the rate of benzodiazepine prescriptions climbed 67 percent between 1996 and 2013, and more patients are struggling to quit, Dr Anna Lembke of Stanford warns
America is on track for an epidemic of addiction and overdoses from anti-anxiety medication, a top clinician warns.
With the nation’s attention on prescription painkillers, there has been scant conversation about the climbing rate of people being prescribed benzodiazepines, potent drugs like Xanax and Valium designed to alleviate anxiety and panic attacks on a short term basis. Continue reading