What is the purpose of benzodiazepines?
Benzodiazepines are a type of antianxiety drugs. While anxiety is a normal response to stressful situations, some people have unusually high levels of anxiety that can interfere with everyday life. For these people, benzodiazepines can help bring their feelings under control. The medicine can also relieve troubling symptoms of anxiety, such as pounding heartbeat, breathing problems, irritability, nausea, and faintness. Physicians may sometimes prescribe these drugs for other conditions, such as muscle spasms, epilepsy and other seizure disorders, phobias, panic disorder, withdrawal from alcohol, and sleeping problems. However, this medicine should not be used every day for sleep problems that last more than a few days. If used this way, the drug loses its effectiveness within a few weeks. Benzodiazepines should not be used to relieve the nervousness and tension of normal everyday life. Source: The Gale Group. Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, 3rd ed.
