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No one has ever needed a drug to sleep. Sleep is a biological imperative. There is no safe and effective long-term sleeping pill or anti-anxiety medication. Such medications chemically prevent the brain from achieving normal restful sleep. Medication can provide a temporary solution for a few days of difficulty due to a stressful life event, for example, but in the case of insomnia that last for months or years, these medications are destructive.
So what do the drugs do?
→ Firstly, they reinforce and confirm, yes, that we have a so-called “illness” needing medical treatment. This becomes an inescapable fact. Medication = confirmation that we are ill.
→ Sleeping pills do not allow recuperative sleep
→ If we take them over an extended period of time, we develop an addiction, and they stop working.
→ We also develop another form of dependency, i.e. we can no longer sleep without them. Since we have delegated our sleep to a pill, when we stop taking it, the fear of not being able to sleep returns, stronger than ever. Once again, we have confirmed that there is no solution to our problem, and as a bonus we have also helped the monster grow…
There is no long-term benefit to taking medication for insomnia, full stop.
Suddenly stopping medication can lead to rebound insomnia and, with prolonged use over a few weeks or more, to withdrawal syndrome. Withdrawal symptoms may include: rebound insomnia, increased agitation, anxiety, tremors and more. For this reason, it is important to discuss with your doctor before stopping any medication, especially if you have been using it for an extended period of time. Most doctors recommend a gradual reduction with lower and lower doses over weeks, sometimes months, to limit any of these potential withdrawal symptoms.
