Deal with the dangers of dependency

“Patients should always ask their doctor about a medication’s side-effects,” says Ruediger Holzbach, a German addiction specialist.

“With medications that have a rapid psychological effect, there is always the risk of dependency," he says, advising patients also to consult the literature that accompanies all medication packaging, which will contain information on side-effects.

Sleeping pills, tranquillisers and anti-depressants are all-psychoactive medications. Women are much more likely to be prescribed medications of this kind than are men, according to a recent study in Germany.

The study’s author, Gerd Glaeske, concludes that the use of these medications is risky and he has issued a warning against creating an “army of medication dependants”. Rather than prescribing psychoactive medication, patient and doctor should look more deeply into symptoms like insomnia or phobias and ask: “Is medication on its own a solution?”

While this is sometimes the case, “in many cases the point is to change living patterns in order to improve matters,” Holzbach says.

Self-help is worth considering, and one option to consider is psychotherapy, although there is still considerable reluctance in society to taking this step. “People would rather take tablets than try to deal with their own lifestyles.” But he cautions that the body soon grows accustomed to psychoactive medications, like the benzodiazepines and non-benzodiazepines. Both groups target the same area in the brain and have the potential to cause dependency.

The desired effects in the form of less anxiety and greater peace of mind soon wear off, and after a few weeks the old symptoms reappear. If the patient then stops the medication, the symptoms increase, and the patient starts taking the medication again.

“This leads to prolonged medication,” Holzbach says, although he acknowledges that “only a small proportion of those affected develop dependency in the narrow sense of the word” and start upping the dosage.

Most other patients, many of them women in their later years, stick to the therapy and to the dosage for long periods. “The doctor doesn’t perceive any problem. The patients are not dependent, as they are not increasing the dosage," Holzbach says.

And any psychological changes, such as a lack of interest in life, less physical energy and declining abilities to concentrate are less noticeable. “These are not perceived as typical side-effects of the medication, but rather as typical signs of ageing,” Holzbach says.

 

 

Avoiding that jet lagged feeling

To avoid jet lag, air travellers should adapt to the local time immediately upon arrival at their destination.

This is the advice of Alexandra Schaetzle, an illness prevention expert for the Hesse state branch of the Techniker Krankenkasse, a German public health insurance company.

She advises resetting your wristwatch while still in the plane. People who have travelled west should stay up even if they are tired from the long flight, while those who have travelled east should force themselves to go to bed.

Schaetzle adds that air travellers could take action to minimise jet lag even before leaving home. Those heading east should go to bed earlier than usual, and the westward bound should stay up longer. This helps the body’s internal clock to pre-adapt to the time at the destination.

It is also important that air travellers take it easy for a while after arriving at their destination. 

Schaetzle notes, adding that a rest period of two days is advisable after a long-distance flight and that the traveller should spend much of this time outdoors because sunlight counteracts tiredness.

Time shifts can not only mix up the body, but also the use of medications. If the shift exceeds two hours, patients should consult with their doctor about how to adjust the time they take their medications.