Xanax Detox and Treatment
Xanax is prescribed to treat anxiety disorders, panic attacks or stress.  It achieves this by slowing the brain’s activity, which induces a calming effect for the patient. In abusers, the pleasure is caused by these feelings of drowsiness.  Xanax is designed to charge the brain’s pleasure centers with an initial euphoria, however, because this feeling is rarely recaptured, the cycle towards addiction has already begun since there is no way to recreate the feeling except through an increase of dosage.
Xanax may produce several side effects in those who abuse it, such as drowsiness, loss of concentration or motor skills, slurred speech, muscle cramps, nausea, or diarrhea.  These symptoms normally dissipate after a few days, leaving the abuser seeking greater feelings of relxation and calm from the drug.  With an increased abuse of Xanax, though, the individual’s self-tolerance also increases, and a powerful addiction has already begun to take hold.
Withdrawing from a Xanax addiction is an extremely uncomfortable and dangerous process.  One of the main difficulties is that it causes an increase in the initial symptoms the addict was trying to suppress in the first place.  The brain, which was in a sedated sate though Xanax ingestion, begins to race again causing anxiety in the patient.  Along with the default stress of going through a withdrawal, the brain can go into seizure or the patient can die, if Xanax is discontinued without weaning.
In almost every case of Xanax addiction, treatment will begin with admission to a drug treatment center or detox clinic for the treatment of withdrawal symptoms and detoxification.  In most cases these are manageable under the care of a trained physician.
After successfully completing a course of Xanax detox, which normally lasts between ten and fourteen days but can be longer in more severe cases, most individuals recovering from Xanax addiction will transfer into a residential program. 
Due to the emotional trauma people experience while under Xanax addiction, it takes time for them to learn how to cope with the feelings they have suppressed for so long.  Therefore, it is best to begin Xanax treatment in a supportive environment that is designed to eliminate external distractions and allow the recovering addict to focus on their personal issues.  Residential treatment can last upto three weeks in length, although it can run longer where necessary.
Upon completion of residential treatment, an individual can choose to attend follow-up sessions for further therapy, if it is felt to be required.  It is always advisable for recovering Xanax addicts to complete their course of therapy and seek further sessions if needed, to avoid the possible deadly consequences of a replase.