In the medical field, Xanax is known as a sedative otherwise known as Alprazolam, which is used to treat anxiety and panic disorders. But once Xanax becomes stripped away from its medical intentions and is hastily distributed at a party, it embodies a new type of high; a way to ‘let go’. The greater number of those who view this pill as a ‘cheap, easy high’, don’t always consider the dangers of the small, potentially destructive capsule. The wide range of side effects that occur from abusing Xanax include, but are not limited to, headaches, drowsiness, difficulty concentrating, problems with memory, etc. Unfortunately enough,, you’re lucky if you can slide by with just a headache and some drowsiness. The common outcome is waking up on the floor of someone’s basement, (god knows whose it is), with no recollection of the prior night’s events. Now for some, that might not be a big deal, but for others, the mere thought of that outcome is terrifying enough.
Now, if you’re reading this and have had experience with abusing Xanax at a party, or know people who abuse it on a daily basis, you might be thinking; “Who cares? It doesn’t hurt me, and it doesn’t hurt my friends. Who is she to judge?” If your thoughts travel anywhere near that premise, just hear me out. I’m not coming after you or your ‘Xanny family’, and I’m not here to reach to a condescending choir. The main point of all of this is to explain the irony that those who take Xanax or similar anti-anxiety medications feel when we see people we know abusing the medicine we force ourselves to take everyday to think properly. Xanax is a anti-anxiety medication that is extremely fast acting, which is one of the many reasons why the drug is abused, because it slightly sedates your brain within a matter of minutes. The reason I mentioned this, is because sometimes those prescribed to it are encouraged to take it only when absolutely needed.
This being said, Xanax’s and other anti-anxiety medications ability to sedate the brain so quickly is a main reason those prescribed to Xanax absolutely hate taking it. This is where the advantage of not having a mental illness comes into play for those who abuse Xanax. When someone who does not have a mental illness takes Xanax, their sedation is more of a pleasant feeling, a way to escape all the stressful things occurring. Most of the time, they’re not worrying about how long this carefree feeling is gonna last, or if any harmful side effects are going to spring up like a thunderstorm on a sunny day. For those who aren’t so lucky to experience that bliss after every pill has been placed on their tongue, the experience is a little different. Imagine going from your heart beating out of your chest, an ice-cold feeling clawing at your stomach, and uncontrollable shaking to absolute numbness within a span of five to ten minutes. That’s a common experience for those prescribed to Xanax. We don’t get to take it when we want. If we take to many, we won’t have a pleasant high. If we don’t take it at all, God only knows what will happen. Every time we take a dose, we turn into zombies, our hearts turning to ice and our mind fogging up the highway of our thoughts. Our reality lies in the decisions of choosing whether to stay nervous wrecks, or throw away all sense of living until we merely exist within our bodies until the medicine wears off.
In closing, I just have one plea for those who may use Xanax from time to time for their own pleasure. Please, for the sake of all things good and pure, don’t ask your friends for their medication to use for your own benefit. This goes for Xanax, Adderall, Hydros, etc. To someone who’s mentally ill, hearing “Hey man, can I have some of your Xanax for a party I’m going to this weekend?” Is equal to hearing “Hey man, I know you have a mental illness and you need this medicine to live but I don’t really care and I want to get high so can I have some of your extremely expensive life line?” I mean, you wouldn’t ask a cancer or epilepsy patient for their medical marijuana, so why is this any different?
The Xanax epidemic is slowly creeping its way into the eyes of today’s teenagers and is not seen as insignificant in the eyes of the media. Rapper Chance The Rapper mentioned in his song “Finish Line” about his unhealthy relationship with the drug, “Last year got addicted to xans ,started forgetting my name and started missing my chance. LA for four months end up leaving right back.” Xanax addiction is extremely harmful to one’s mental and physical health and should never be taken lightly. If you believe someone you know may have an Xanax addiction, please don’t hesitate to find help. What may seem like harmless fun one night, could turn into a hospital visit the next. If you find yourself struggling with an Xanax addiction, know that you are not alone, and that you are not defined by some bad experiences you may have had on the drug. The relief of recovery will always overpower the pleasure of the high.
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