'Christina' shares her story with Emma Barnett on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.
Her teenage daughter, who we are calling Beatrice, became addicted to a drug called Alprazolam after taking it to deal with the extreme anxiety she experienced about school during and after the coronavirus lockdown.
“I think it was a friend who suggested she try Xanax and she felt less anxious initially. It must have felt like that fear subsided. But because Xanax wears off very quickly, the addiction can build up very quickly.”Beatrice had been taking the drug for four months by the time her parents found out.“During that time she was quite absent,” says Christina. “We hardly saw her. She had meals with us. But looking back, she sort of disappeared. I felt she wasn't there.
“It had to be a slow withdrawal. She was put on diazepam as an alternative as it has a much longer lifespan so you can take less of it, or the impact of it lasts for longer. “I felt so ignorant, and I felt so unable to help. As a parent, you feel guilty that this has occurred under your roof and you've not recognised it, you've not been able to help.
Christina is hoping that by speaking so openly about her daughter’s addiction and the impact it had on their family, it could stop this from happening to other children and their families.
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