Can taking Ativan prolong your anxiety?

I’m not exactly sure what you’re asking but it’s just a guess that you want to know if anxiety will last longer with Ativan than without using it? Here’s my response and if I’m off the mark then perhaps someone else can help. I suffer from anxiety and I use Ativan, it’s a quick relief as opposed to letting the anxiety run its course, the drawback is that it becomes a habit due to working so well and why suffer if you don’t have to. Ativan doesn’t cure anxiety so if you have this problem often then you will use Ativan often and that’s why it’s so addictive. I hope this is what you wanted to know, all the best.

Have you been diagnosed with panic attacks or generalized anxiety disorder? I’m no expert, but think there’s a difference and the medication prescribed would matter. I was prescribed Xanax for panic attacks and only used them short term when I started to feel one coming on. I learned to gradually not need the med, as I could calm myself down….learned nothing bad would happen to me. I now manage it with talk therapy.

If you are having long stretches of symptoms, you might talk to your doctor about a different kind of medication.

I am currently on 90mg of duloxitine and have been good for 2+ years. All of a sudden almost two weeks ago I woke up and my anxiety was at 100. I don’t get attacks. I get that random spike and then i am stuck there until my body comes back down to normal

My psych is giving it 2 more weeks to come back down and then wants to up my dose of duloxetine if it doesn’t even out.

I have had issues like this in the past and come back down but hard to see that when you’re going through it. Everything makes me scared. To much or to little Ativan. Never know.

What I’m not sure is if I use Ativan is it going to cause my anxiety to last longer or will my anxiety run its course in the same time frame with or without the Ativan. Scared of everything and crying everyday.

That sounds very distressing. I might seek a full medical exam, including vitamin and hormone labs. Was there any event that brought this on?

Nothing felt like it hit me hard. I had finals coming up but I was confident and had killed it all semester. Not sure what brought it on. I know I have extremely low vitamin D.

Ativan won’t prolong the anxiety. What it will do is calm your mind to some extent and allow you a window where you feel somewhat normal and able to consciously attempt to understand what’s going on and work on it from there. Anxiety is a natural human condition, but in certain instances occurs out of context and in sustained fashion, which then leads to a disorder. I have found that taking benzodiazepine to slow things down and allow me to take a break from the suffering has helped. Gives me better perspective on what’s going on. The only way this medication or others like it would prolong your anxiety is if you have actual anxiety about taking medication. (that’s a whole different discussion).
I would encourage you to use your medication to help you find relief and use that time to work with your doctor on more long-term potential treatments/solutions like CBT, mindfulness, diet, etc.
Best of luck!

I think I carry a lot of anxiety that I’m not even aware of and it manifests it different ways. I discuss it with my therapist and also the possibility of medication and how the right med can help during particular phases of disorders.

I wouldn’t discount the impact Vitamin deficiencies can have on our body and mood. Do you intend to address yours?

Hello and I'm sorry for what you are experiencing. Anxiety meds/benzodiazepines are useful for extreme cases. The problem with taking it long term is that the act of taking the pill becomes your coping mechanism. This is not what will be useful long term unless your prescriber is willing to continue to increase the dose over time. I think it is imperative to find a therapist to help you to find alternate ways of coping so that you are less psychologically (or eventually physically) dependent on the medication. I used to take clonazepam for anxiety, but learned other methods after seeing an ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) trained provider. I no longer require the medication. It takes time to titrate off a benzo if you've been on it a long time, it's not easy, but worth the work therapeutically and emotionally. A recent study in the last 5-7 years showed that most emotional states will pass in 20-90 seconds if we just let it go vs struggling with it (the big exception to this is grief as it is a complex emotional state). I hope this helps. Wishing you healing and happiness.