Can Benzodiazepines Cause Hallucinations?

Benzodiazepines are central nervous system depressants that alter the levels of the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) to slow down neural communication in the brain and body.

Benzos are usually prescribed to people with anxiety disorders and seizure disorders like epilepsy to reduce their symptoms. As effective as these drugs are, they’re equally as addictive and can produce mind-altering side effects when taken in high doses. Today, our Palm Springs drug rehab is looking into whether benzodiazepines can cause hallucinations and why.

What Are Hallucinations?

Hallucinations occur when people see, hear, touch, taste, or smell things that aren’t there. There are several types of hallucinations:

• Auditory hallucinations (hearing things): These occur when you sense sound that is coming from inside or outside of your mind. Auditory hallucinations are often voices that talk to each other or tell you to do something.
• Visual hallucinations (seeing things): These are when you see something that isn’t real, such as insects crawling on your hand or someone else’s face. You may see objects with the wrong shape or see things moving in ways they normally don’t.
• Olfactory hallucinations (smelling things): You may think an odor is coming from something around you or your own body.
• Gustatory hallucinations (tasting things): You may feel like you’re eating or tasting something odd or something that isn’t in what you’re eating.
• Tactile or somatic hallucinations (feeling things): You might think you’re being tickled or feel insects crawling on your skin or hot air on your face.

Hallucinations are most common in people with mental and physical disorders like schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer's disease, brain tumors, Charles Bonnet syndrome, and epilepsy. However, hallucinations can also occur as a result of drug abuse.

Do Benzodiazepines Cause Hallucinations?

Yes, benzodiazepines can cause hallucinations under certain circumstances. Benzo’s effects on the brain are the result of an increase in GABA, which is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that blocks messages between nerve cells.

This means that when someone takes a benzodiazepine, they may experience a sense of relaxation and well-being. However, when taken in larger doses than recommended or mixed with other depressants, benzos can produce adverse side effects like psychosis, which produces symptoms like hallucinations and delusions.

Many people begin to abuse their prescription benzos because of the sense of euphoria and pleasure that they can produce when misused. In addition to hallucinations, symptoms of benzo abuse include paranoia, anxiety, depression, and violent behavior, among others.

Repeated abuse of benzos for long periods can also result in addiction, which is a disease associated with uncontrollable drug use despite the repercussions. Medically monitored detox and addiction treatment are often required for treating substance use disorders to prevent adverse withdrawal symptoms and relapse.

Benzo Withdrawal Psychosis

Benzodiazepine hallucinations can also occur as a result of psychosis. As we mentioned, the long-term effects of benzodiazepines, when abused, include physical dependence. When someone is physically dependent on a drug, they may require a certain dose of that drug to avoid particular symptoms.

Although physical dependence isn’t the same thing as addiction, it is an early warning sign. Psychosis and benzo withdrawal hallucinations can occur when someone who’s physically dependent is detoxing or withdrawing from this drug.

Altered mental status is often reported in people experiencing benzodiazepine withdrawal, including symptoms like hallucinations, delusions, and insomnia. These are caused by the brain’s and body’s attempt to regulate themselves without the presence of a drug they’ve become accustomed to.

Regular benzo abuse causes levels of GABA as well as serotonin and other chemicals to rise consistently. Over time, this inhibits the brain from doing the same thing naturally.

When the person’s doses of benzos are suddenly reduced to stopped, their system may struggle to regulate itself, producing psychological symptoms like hallucinations. Fortunately, these symptoms can be treated properly in a medical setting.

Get Help for Benzo Addiction

Physical dependence can also occur in people who take benzos regularly as directed. Again, it’s not an indication of addiction but rather a sign that your dose or medication should be changed.

However, people who wish to discontinue using benzos, whether to recover from addiction or to avoid it, should keep in mind that withdrawal symptoms can become dangerous without medical attention. Thus, it’s important to seek out professional treatment when going through this process.

At our Palm Springs, CA drug rehab, we offer benzo withdrawal treatment, among various other detox programs to help patients safely withdraw from drugs or alcohol. Patients in these programs receive 24-hour care and medical supervision and may also be administered medication, as needed, to alleviate withdrawal symptoms.

For those who require further assistance in recovering from benzo addiction, we also offer benzodiazepine addiction treatment dedicated to addressing this problem. To learn more about our California drug treatment programs and how we can help, call Banyan Treatment Centers today at 888-280-4763.