Mania is a condition in which you have a period of abnormally elevated, extreme changes in your mood or emotions, energy level, or activity level. This highly energized level of physical and mental activity and behavior must be a change from your usual self and be noticeable by others.
Mania can be a dangerous condition for several reasons. People may not sleep or eat while in a manic episode. They may engage in risky behaviors and harm themselves. People with mania have a greater risk of experiencing hallucinations and other perceptual disturbances.
What is Xanax?
Xanax is a brand of alprazolam, a powerful benzodiazepine that is used to treat anxiety and panic disorders by decreasing abnormal excitement in the brain. The medication comes in the form of a tablet that quickly dissolves in the mouth, an extended-release tablet, or a concentrated oral solution.
Benzodiazepines can have therapeutic anti-anxiety, anti-convulsant, muscle relaxing, and sedative effects. Xanax works by increasing the effects of a brain chemical called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which promotes calmness and produces a relaxed feeling. The drug decreases the level of excitement in the brain to treat anxiety and panic disorders.
Alprazolam is among the most prescribed benzodiazepine drugs in the U.S. and is among the benzodiazepines most often found in the illegal market, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Xanax is often prescribed for mental health disorders related to anxiety. It can be used to treat general anxiety, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder and phobias. It can also be used to treat seizures. For people who suffer from anxiety, it can create a sense of relief to focus on their lives without issues of anxiety or phobias plaguing them. When used as prescribed, it can calm people down and make them feel relaxed.
Xanax can also reduce physiological symptoms of anxiety and fear, such as a racing heart or hyperventilation. These drugs are so often prescribed because they work well on anxiety and they’re cheap.
However, many people use Xanax for nonmedical reasons, taking it in larger doses or more frequently than prescribed because it can create a euphoric feeling, especially at higher doses. Xanax tends to start acting quickly after a person takes it, and the euphoric effects of the drug will usually manifest themselves within about an hour after taking it.
A tendency has grown in some social circles to view Xanax, as a type of “alcohol” in pill form. It’s become socially acceptable among these groups of friends to get together and share Xanax with one another. Of the 30.5 million people who used benzos in 2015, 17.1% misused them. Misusing Xanax or combining it with other substances like alcohol can amplify its effects, but the results can also be deadly.
Along with recreational use, many people rely on Xanax to deal with issues like situational anxiety without having to commit to therapy, which can be expensive and time-consuming. Xanax is popular in America, for example, because there is a tendency for people to love things that are looked at as a quick-fix. Xanax isn’t a long-term medication, so some people “take it when they need it” for relief. The temporary relief they feel can help in a fast-paced world with constant exposure to negative world news, stressful jobs, and uncertainty.
Why does Xanax make me manic?
Studies have shown that Xanax can induce mania in some people. A Xanax-induced manic episode may be characterized by a sustained period of abnormally elevated or irritable mood, intense energy, racing thoughts, and other extreme and exaggerated behaviors. People can also experience psychosis, including hallucinations and delusions, which indicate a separation from reality.
Studies have also shown that this paradoxical disinhibition may, in rare cases, result in attacks of rage or violence, or other indiscretionary or antisocial behaviors. Such reactions may be due to disinhibition of behavioral tendencies normally suppressed by social restraints (as can also be the case with alcohol).
Mania is more common among people misusing Xanax. People often misuse Xanax for the fast-acting, relaxed “high” it can provide. According to the Treatment Episode Data Set, the number of people seeking treatment for benzodiazepine misuse almost tripled from 1998 to 2008. Long-term misuse and addiction to Xanax are associated with depression, psychotic experiences, and aggressive or impulsive behavior.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in 2011, there were over 1.2 million emergency room (ER) visits related to the nonmedical use of prescription drugs. Xanax was involved in around 10% of those visits. The number of ER visits involving the nonmedical use of Xanax doubled from 57,419 to 124,902 during 2005–2010 and remained stable at 123,744 in 2011.
Until a person experiences how Xanax affects them, they should not drive a car or operate heavy or dangerous machinery. Inform your doctor if you or your loved one notice any uncommon behavior while taking Xanax.
