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Xanax and the American Housewife

Drug and alcohol addiction has been a spreading and growing problem for some time now. Every year, demographics that had previously stayed above addiction now fall prey to addiction problems. Recently, the American mother is the newest target for the machinations of addiction and substance abuse. The drugs that women are now becoming addicted to include sedatives like Xanax, stimulants like Ritalin, and opioid painkillers like Vicodin and OxyContin to name a few. Opioids are easily the biggest problem of all of them because they kill women so easily. Xanax is the most prevalent, though, and it also kills too. Now more than ever, this Xanax drug is a major problem for American housewives and women in general.

Studies show that more than 18 million women of the ages of 26 and older reported using prescription medications for unintended uses in the year of 2008, the most recent year for which statistics are currently available. However, that was eight years ago. We know the problem hasn’t gotten any better, so it’s probably gotten much worse since then.

If you feel as though you might know someone who is addicted to Xanax, you will probably want to confront them and talk to them about it. First, though, you should ensure that you know exactly what you’re up against before you confront them.

Signs that Someone You Love is Abusing Xanax

Before you can help someone who you feel is abusing Xanax, you need to be sure that they are actually addicted to Xanax and that there is a legitimate substance abuse problem here, and not just something else. Addicts are truly sneaky and secretive people. They do not want people to know that they are abusing drugs. They feel as though if their secrets are let out, they will get in a lot of trouble and people will try to get them to stop abusing drugs, which is very true.

You might be asking, “But don’t addicts want help?” The truth is actually, most of them do not want help. Most of them just want to keep going on using and abusing drugs to their hearts’ content, indefinitely if they can.

An intervention group did some research and came to some pretty interesting discoveries. Apparently, roughly eight or nine addicts out of ten do not feel as though their addiction is a problem. About eight or nine out of ten addicts feel as though they can handle their substance abuse themselves. About eight or nine out of ten addicts feel as though they do not need to go to rehab. About eight or nine out of ten addicts do not want help. About eight or nine out of ten addicts do not want to discuss their addiction or anything about it. About eight or nine out of ten addicts will try to keep their addiction a secret from family members and loved ones.

With statistics like these, the responsibility of finding out if your family member or loved one is actually abusing Xanax or not. To find out, you need to know the signs.

For example, some of the signs and symptoms are:

Anxiety
Insomnia
Seizure/convulsions
Having bloodshot eyes or dilated pupils; using eye drops to try to mask these signs
Skipping class; declining grades; suddenly getting into trouble at school
Missing money, valuables, or prescriptions
Acting uncharacteristically isolated, withdrawn, angry, or depressed
Dropping one group of friends for another; being secretive about the new peer group
Loss of interest in old hobbies; lying about new interests and activities
Demanding more privacy; locking doors; avoiding eye contact; sneaking around
Anxiety or jumpiness
Depression
Shakiness or trembling
Irritability
Sweating
Fatigue
Nausea and vomiting
Loss of appetite
Insomnia
Headaches
Drowsiness
Light-headedness
Sleeping for extended periods of time
Cognitive impairment
Sluggishness
Nausea or vomiting
Dry mouth
Delirium
Slurred speech
Seizures
Vertigo
Impaired coordination
Weakness

This is not even a complete list, but this does show the most common manifestations of Xanax use and abuse. If you see these symptoms in someone you love, then it’s time to confront them and really find out the truth.

Talking to Someone Who is Addicted

This might be one of your greatest fears, confronting someone you know who is abusing Xanax. To be totally honest, though, this is exactly the hardest part. Literally just confronting them first is the hardest part. Once you confront the person and just start talking to them and conversing with them, it gets easier, much, much easier.

You just need to kindly and very gently let them know that you are aware of their substance abuse habit, and you need to very calmly present yourself as someone who can help, should they want your help. If they don’t want help, don’t force the issue. You’re not performing an intervention on them, at least not yet. The goal and purpose of your first confrontation with them are to simply make it known that an addiction is definitely there, and it is not a big secret anymore. The rest will follow. All in all, any communication is better than no communication, so don’t shirk communication with this person because you are afraid of how they will react.

Once you have had your first conversation with the person, you can then move forward. Gauge their response. Try to get a handle on how they feel about rehabilitation. Are they completely closed off from the idea of being helped or do you think they might consider it? Really consider this and try to gauge what the next step would be. One option is to perform an intervention first if the person is at all unwilling to talk or share anything with you. If they are more willing, you might just want to make your second conversation all about getting them into rehab. One way or the other, have that first conversation with them so that you can move forward and get something done.