A simple minded presentation of a very serious, complex problem that completely ignores the decades of research.into the biological basis of anxiety disorders of former head of the Psychiatry Department of Columbia University, the late Donald F. Klein, generally considered the 'father of biological psychiatry'.
The director of the documentary has no scientific credentials, and is known for making documentaries on Frank Sinatra, James Brown, and various political topics.
This is not to deny that Xanax addiction is not a serious problem, and that the drug should only be prescribed as a last resort in the treatment of anxiety disorders, but there is a huge difference in clinical anxiety disorders, and many of the cases presented in this documentary.
Towards the end of the doc, the clueless psychiatrists present antidotes such as 'communing with nature, meditation, mindfulness, cognitive behavioral therapy (which has a large failure rate in the treatment of clinical anxiety disorders, though is effective in milder cases, and educating patients in simple facts about their illness), and other ways of dealing with their problems, which is perfectly fine with dealing with stress. But the only reason Xanax should be prescribed is for the treatment of Panic Disorder, which is something completely different than stress.
The fact that doctors are prescribing Xanax for stress, is part of the problem. Of course it's extremely effective in alleviating stress, but that is not what it is approved for by the medical field.
Using Xanax for stress is like prescribing a powerful opioid for simple back pain. Sure, it works, but it's overkill, because of the addictive nature of opioids and benzodiazepines.
The statement one of the doctors makes, that Xanax is the same thing as alcohol is erroneous,, because while alcohol works on some of the same receptors as Xanax (GABA), it also acts on other receptors, and Xanax is much more selective, and only acts on GABA. Therefore , alcohol is what's known as a 'sloppy' drug, with dangerous side effects, while the benzodiazepines.are 'cleaner' drugs without the side effects of alcohol The other problem with benzodiazepines is overdose, but that only occurs in using them with any other CNS depressant like alcohol, opiates,etc. In adults, and in huge doses with young people, who probably shouldn't be prescribed drugs like Xanax to begin with. Unfortunately, many young people use Xanax as a recreational drug, and combine it with alcohol and other CNS depressants and wind up overdosing also..
The director of the documentary has no scientific credentials, and is known for making documentaries on Frank Sinatra, James Brown, and various political topics.
This is not to deny that Xanax addiction is not a serious problem, and that the drug should only be prescribed as a last resort in the treatment of anxiety disorders, but there is a huge difference in clinical anxiety disorders, and many of the cases presented in this documentary.
Towards the end of the doc, the clueless psychiatrists present antidotes such as 'communing with nature, meditation, mindfulness, cognitive behavioral therapy (which has a large failure rate in the treatment of clinical anxiety disorders, though is effective in milder cases, and educating patients in simple facts about their illness), and other ways of dealing with their problems, which is perfectly fine with dealing with stress. But the only reason Xanax should be prescribed is for the treatment of Panic Disorder, which is something completely different than stress.
The fact that doctors are prescribing Xanax for stress, is part of the problem. Of course it's extremely effective in alleviating stress, but that is not what it is approved for by the medical field.
Using Xanax for stress is like prescribing a powerful opioid for simple back pain. Sure, it works, but it's overkill, because of the addictive nature of opioids and benzodiazepines.
The statement one of the doctors makes, that Xanax is the same thing as alcohol is erroneous,, because while alcohol works on some of the same receptors as Xanax (GABA), it also acts on other receptors, and Xanax is much more selective, and only acts on GABA. Therefore , alcohol is what's known as a 'sloppy' drug, with dangerous side effects, while the benzodiazepines.are 'cleaner' drugs without the side effects of alcohol The other problem with benzodiazepines is overdose, but that only occurs in using them with any other CNS depressant like alcohol, opiates,etc. In adults, and in huge doses with young people, who probably shouldn't be prescribed drugs like Xanax to begin with. Unfortunately, many young people use Xanax as a recreational drug, and combine it with alcohol and other CNS depressants and wind up overdosing also..