If you caught season two of The White Lotus, you may have noticed something that’s been raising eyebrows among mental health professionals: the casual way lorazepam (also known by its brand name Ativan) is portrayed. In one scene, the character Portia pops a lorazepam before getting into a boat with a complete stranger—someone who turns out to be incredibly dangerous. She pops the lorazepam almost like a breath mint, with about the same level of thought about her actions.
It’s a scene played for tension and drama, but it glosses over the real-world danger of using anti-anxiety medications like lorazepam in such a casual way.
As a leading Colorado Springs psychiatrist, I understand these medications do have legitimate uses. When used appropriately, they can help people manage overwhelming anxiety, panic attacks, or insomnia. They can even be prescribed to help control seizures. But when used improperly, especially when taken casually or mixed with substances like alcohol, they can be incredibly dangerous.
Let’s talk about why.
What Are Benzodiazepines and Why Are They Risky?
Lorazepam (Ativan) and alprazolam (Xanax) are part of a class of medications called benzodiazepines, or “benzos” for short. They’re designed to calm the brain by enhancing the effects of a neurotransmitter called GABA. They’re often prescribed for anxiety, insomnia, muscle spasms, and even seizures.
Here’s the problem: while they’re very effective in the short term, benzos are highly habit-forming and easy to misuse. They can cause sedation, confusion, impaired judgment, and memory issues – even at normal doses. If you combine them with alcohol or take more than prescribed, the effects can be downright dangerous or even fatal.
What The White Lotus didn’t show is how lorazepam and other benzos affect your body and mind. When Portia takes a pill before heading off with a stranger, she’s actually making herself more vulnerable in a potentially dangerous situation. Benzos lower your inhibitions, dull your awareness, and make it harder to react to danger.
Xanax: The “Wonder Drug” with a Dark Side
Xanax (alprazolam) is one of the most commonly prescribed psychiatric medications in America. It’s known for its fast-acting relief of anxiety and panic, but it also has a high potential for misuse and addiction. In fact, the Wall Street Journal dubbed this generation “Generation Xanax” in a deep-dive into the drug’s widespread appeal and troubling rise in overdoses.
Unlike some other medications that take time to build gradually in your system, Xanax works fast. That’s a nice feature but is also part of the issue. That immediate sense of calm is tempting, and users can quickly develop a tolerance, needing more of the drug to feel the same effects. That’s when the risk of dependence, withdrawal, and overdose increases dramatically.
Tragically, there have been many high-profile cases where a mix of Xanax and alcohol or other substances led to fatal consequences. Combining benzos with alcohol slows your breathing and heart rate and the combination can be lethal.
The Casual Culture of Benzos
We’re living in a time when anti-anxiety medications are often treated like quick fixes. A tough breakup? Take a Xanax. Feeling anxious at work? Grab an Ativan. Social plans stressing you out? Pop a Klonopin.
This casual, cavalier attitude, which is often reinforced by pop culture, can lead to severely underestimating the power of these medications. While it’s easy to portray a benzo as a temporary chill pill, the reality is that these medications can be very serious, very addictive, and very dangerous when not used under close medical supervision.
In recent years, we’ve seen a sharp increase in prescriptions for these drugs. Despite guidelines recommending short durations for prescriptions we are seeing patients prescribed these drugs for long-term use. Even more concerning, many people take these medications without fully understanding the risks, or without ever being offered safer alternatives first.
So What’s the Alternative?
If you’re struggling with anxiety, panic, or insomnia, you might be wondering: If benzos are risky, what else is there?
Thankfully, there are plenty of safer, evidence-based options for managing anxiety and related conditions, including therapy, ketamine infusions, ketamine assisted psychotherapy, and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).
At Colorado Recovery Solutions, we employ these therapeutic options to help patients with anxiety without the risks associated with benzodiazepines.
Ketamine therapy and TMS therapy in particular have proven to be highly effective treatments for anxiety and do not require ongoing medication to manage anxiety symptoms.
Find Help for Anxiety in Colorado Springs
If you’re looking for anxiety treatment or would like a second opinion about your current anxiety treatment, we’re here to help. We can offer alternatives to benzodiazepines that do not have the same side effects and risks. The anxiety treatments provided at Colorado Recovery Solutions are safe, evidence-based, and are clinically proven to alleviate anxiety.
We are a leading psychiatry clinic in Colorado Springs and Monument. Our patients benefit from our depth of expertise at treating anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other mental health disorders.
If you or a loved one are struggling with a mental health concern, we invite you to schedule an appointment. Our providers will be happy to meet with you, discuss your condition and symptoms, and provide a customized care plan uniquely suited to your needs.
Please contact us today at 719-622-6522 to schedule an appointment.
