Do you need help with Ambien?
If you think you’re or someone you love is addicted to Ambien, you are not alone. The truth is that Ambien (zolpidem) is only intended to be used to treat insomnia for a short time. Still, many people continue to use Ambien for well beyond a few weeks. Ambien is particularly dangerous because it alters memory and actually induces states of amnesia. But how do you know when physical dependence has become psychological dependence on Ambien?
How do you help address or treat Ambien addiction? Good Ambien addiction treatment options not only addresses physical dependence, but also treat the psychological underpinnings at the heart of any addiction. And how can you support someone you know who has been diagnosed with an Ambien addiction? Here, we explore the answers to these questions and more. And if you still have questions at the end, we invite you to write to us at the close of this article.
How to help Ambien addiction
How do you even begin to help Ambien addiction? There are many ways to help treat addiction. But finding a combination of treatment modalities that works for you can be daunting. So let’s keep it simple. There are two ways you can help Ambien addiction: One, ending physical dependence on Ambien, and, two, addressing psychological dependence on Ambien.
1. How to end physical dependence on Ambien
Treating withdrawal from Ambien is key to helping treat addiction to Ambien. The body develops a quick dependency to Ambien after only two or three weeks of consecutive use. When you develop dependence on zolpidem, you can expect a period of withdrawal, including physical pain and discomfort. But as you end physical dependence on Ambien and go through detox, you have won half the battle. Finding alternative ways to help manage sleep issues is an important factor in treating Ambien addiction. Many will continue to use Ambien to get to sleep and will relapse out of frustration in their sleep patterns.
2. How to treat psychological dependence on Ambien
Psychological dependence on Ambien is frequently caused by difficulty falling or staying asleep (insomnia). In fact, insomnia may be the cause of underlining issues not only in your psychological health but in health in general. But insomnia is usually a symptom of another kind of mental health imbalance and if you can address the cause of why you’re experiencing insomnia, you can often manage life better. Maybe you need to change your diet, stress levels, and talk to someone about the stressors or you day to day life. As insomnia eases, you can begin to really maintain abstinence from Ambien and live a hypnotic-free life.
Getting help for Ambien addiction
Getting help for Ambien addiction can be overwhelming. The first point of contact may be your prescribing doctor or another doctor you feel can help you with the pharmacological support you need. Doctors can help you work with your medication, find alternatives, or can alter doses by tapering so that you minimize the discomfort or severity of withdrawal symptoms aas you detox. If you are experiencing extreme lapses in memory or violent withdrawal, you may need to go to an ER or detox facility so that you can be monitored through the process.
Other resources you can seek while getting help for Ambien addiction include:
- addiction treatment center
- detox clinic
- family doctor
- family member
- friend
- psychologist
- psychiatrist
- religious or spiritual leader
- social worker
- support groups
How to help an Ambien addict
We can help address and support addiction recovery in big ways. What can be done to help the Ambien addict really? There are four ways to address Ambien addiction.
1. Advocacy – Raising awareness with parents, youth, health providers is critical in helping an Ambien addict. Being aware that Ambien can be used not only to treat insomnia but can be used to alter states of consciousness is key to responsible prescription of Ambien. Health providers need training and need to be aware of how to deal with Ambien before addiction even arises.
2. Intervention – Scheduling an intervention can address Ambien addiction and get an addict into treatment. The goal of any intervention is to express your concern and to follow up with treatment alternatives. Seek out help from an intervention specialist or a local treatment center for best practices and more information.
3. Psychotherapy – Are you an enabler? We can reinforce a person’s addiction by letting them get away with and rationalizing their behavior and their medical use of Ambien. Maybe Ambien allows them sleep and makes them easier to deal with so we don’t say anything. Seeking help ourselves can lead to understanding our relationship to an addiction and teach us how to set boundaries with an addict. This shifts personal responsibility for addiction from the family system to the addict themselves.
4. Support – Moral and emotional support is key for helping Ambien addiction. Sometimes the addict has a hard time asking for help. If they ask you for help, listen to them. Being understanding and helping them find help goes a long way in helping them to the path of recovery.
Ambien addiction help and helplines
It might be hard to find help for Ambien or other hypnotic medication addiction specifically but, there are lot of hotlines that address addiction issues. Look for your regional,state, and local hotlines in your Yellow Pages. If you have trouble connecting, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) national hotline to put you in contact with several resources. 1-800-662-HELP (4357). Or if you’re thinking of harming yourself due to addiction, please call 800-273-8255. They can help too. Please don’t hesitate to calls these numbers. They are there to help you find the help you need for Ambien addiction.
Help with Ambien addiction questions
Still have questions about help with Ambien addiction? Please, give use your questions we will get back to them as soon as we can
Reference Sources: White House: Responding to America’s Prescription Drug Abuse Crises
NCBI: Modified Zolpidem
Medline Plus: Insomnia
SAMHSA: Recovery and Prevention
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