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How Does Xanax Make You Feel?

Published: May 4, 2022 Updated: July 1, 2022
Published: 05/04/2022 Updated: 07/01/2022
Carolina Osorio MD Headshot
Written by:

Carolina Osario

MD
Headshot of Kristen Fuller MD
Reviewed by:

Kristen Fuller

MD
  • What Is Xanax Used ForUses
  • What Does Xanax Feel Like?How It Feels
  • Side Effects of XanaxSide Effects
  • What Shouldn’t You Feel While Taking XanaxDangers
  • When To Talk To Your DoctorWhen to Get Help
  • Questions to Ask Your Doctor About What Xanax Feels LikeQuestions to Ask
  • Final ThoughtsConclusion
  • Additional ResourcesResources
  • How Does Xanax Make You Feel InfographicsInfographics
Carolina Osorio MD Headshot
Written by:

Carolina Osario

MD
Headshot of Kristen Fuller MD
Reviewed by:

Kristen Fuller

MD

Xanax is a medication commonly used for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder. When taken to help treat symptoms of anxiety, Xanax can ease muscle or chest tightness, can reduce racing thoughts and shortness of breath. However, the way Xanax makes you feel can depend on a number of factors, including age, dosage, frequency with which you take it and more.

You should always discuss side effects with your doctor, and should not make any changes to your prescription or dosage without consulting your provider.

Boxed Warning: Alprazolam (Xanax)

Risks of Alprazolam (Xanax) Include Misuse, Addiction, Withdrawal and Even Death

Alprazolam, the active ingredient in Xanax, has a black box warning. These are the most serious types of warnings from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

  • Taking Xanax, a benzodiazepine, with other opioid medications increases your risk for serious side effects that include severe sedation, slower breathing, coma, and death. Xanax should not be taken with an opioid unless there are no other options.
  • Taking Xanax can lead to misuse (abuse) and addiction of the medication, which can increase your risk of overdose and death.
  • Using Xanax can lead to physical dependence and this risk increases the longer you take Xanax. If you suddenly stop taking Xanax, you can experience withdrawal. Withdrawal can be life threatening. Xanax should only be discontinued by gradual tapering of the dose.

What Is Xanax Used For

Xanax, generically known as alprazolam, falls under a broader category of prescription medications known as benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines are widely prescribed medications to treat anxiety disorders and insomnia. Benzos, including Xanax, are very effective in the treatment of panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and in reducing symptoms of anxiety in situations of short-term stress, such as flying in an airplane.

Xanax is prescribed for short-term use and, in most instances, in combination with a family of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). This combination allows for both medications to augment the effects of each other. It can also help patients discontinue Xanax use, as it is not intended for long-term use in most cases.

What Does Xanax Feel Like?

How Xanax and other anti-anxiety medication makes you feel depends on many factors, such as your age, the dose taken, and whether you are taking other medications or mood altering substances. Generally, however, Xanax’s intended effects should make you feel calm and reduce feelings and symptoms of anxiety rather than sleepy or otherwise lousy.

When used as prescribed, Xanax can calm you down from immediate stressors, and give you a sense of control by decreasing racing thoughts, muscle tension, feelings of impending doom, shortness of breath, and increased heartbeat, among other symptoms.

Xanax is a fast-acting medication, and many start feeling effects within an hour.

Prescribed Use

When Xanax is used as prescribed you may feel calm and in better control with better mental clarity and a better ability to make decisions.

When used as intended, Xanax could make you feel the following:

  • Ease of muscle tension
  • Better sleep
  • Ease of chest tightness
  • Reduced feelings of fear
  • Reduced racing thoughts
  • Resolved symptoms of a panic attack such as pounding or racing heart, trembling, difficulty breathing among others

Recreational Use

When used without a medical indication, Xanax may make you feel like you’re having a euphoric experience or a feeling like you are “high.” Misuse of Xanax can lead to significant adverse effects and negative outcomes in a person’s life, including blacking out, and even experiencing memory loss if used at higher doses. Misusing Xanax can lead to an increased risk of developing an addiction to this medication in addition to potentially overdosing if taken not as prescribed or experiencing dangerous withdrawal effects when suddenly stopped.

According to one study, misuse of prescription drugs accounted for more than 17 percent of overall Xanax use.1 The researchers defined misuse as any other way besides as prescribed by a physician. This includes using the medicine without a prescription or more frequently or longer than prescribed.

Xanax With Alcohol

Taking Xanax and alcohol together is dangerous. Xanax and alcohol work on the same receptors in the brain creating the same effects, so when used together, this combination can potentiate the effects, potentially causing an overdose or unwanted or harmful side effects. When alcohol and Xanax are mixed, individuals can experience increased effects of anxiety reduction, sedation, lethargy and decreased motor reflexes. As a person takes even higher doses of both substances, they could become unconscious or pass out quickly.

Xanax mixed with alcohol can potentially be life threatening. Taking too much of one or both of these drugs can shut down areas in the brain that control our breathing and heart function.. An individual may stop breathing, and can die as a result.

When high-dose Xanax or other benzodiazepines and alcohol are abruptly discontinued, the body can go into serious withdrawals. Withdrawal symptoms associated with Xanax and other benzodiazepines (or alcohol) include anxiety and insomnia, increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, and, possibly, seizures.1

Xanax With Other Drugs

Other than alcohol, there are other drugs that should be avoided when taking Xanax due to its compounding effect as depressants of the central nervous system (CNS). Another reason for avoiding these combinations is that medications can interact with Xanax by blocking or reducing the metabolism in the liver, which is responsible for eliminating these drugs.

Xanax can negatively interact with the following drugs:

  • Seizure medications
  • Antihistamines
  • Other anti-anxiety medications
  • Sleeping medications
  • Opioids
  • Antifungals
  • Oral contraceptive pills
  • Grapefruit juice

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Side Effects of Xanax

Like any other medication, Xanax has a number of potential side effects. These will depend on different factors. If you are new to this medication, taking Xanax the first time can calm your anxiety, or can make you feel worse.

The higher the dose of Xanax, the higher the risk for side effects. Other factors that influence adverse effects include age and the frequency with which you take it.

Some of the most common side effects of Xanax are:

  • Sleepiness
  • Clumsiness
  • Forgetfulness
  • Drowsiness
  • Impaired coordination
  • Slurred speech
  • Sedation
  • Blurred vision
  • Weight gain
  • Decreased libido
  • Constipation

What Shouldn’t You Feel While Taking Xanax

While taking Xanax as prescribed by your doctor, you should not feel drowsiness or fatigue, have slurred speech, difficulty with your motor movements (ie. walking) or feel like your cognitive function – attention, concentration, and memory – is impaired. If you feel this way, Xanax may not be the right medication for you. You should always consult your physician if you have any adverse effects, need to change dosage or change medication.

Xanax has the potential for overdose. Xanax overdose is dangerous because it can lead to coma and even death. An overdose of Xanax can start with early symptoms such as sleepiness, slowed or slurred speech, difficulty walking or standing, blurred vision, impaired ability to think, disorientation, and mood changes. They can later worsen into slowed breathing, low blood pressure, coma, shock, and death.

When To Talk To Your Doctor

If you are under medical care, you must reach out to your doctor if the medication is not helping to decrease symptoms. Despite getting Xanax, if you continue to feel muscle tension, worry, a racing heart, trembling, and shortness of breath, you should immediately contact your doctor. Your doctor may choose to increase the dose of your medication or switch to something different.

Xanax Withdrawal

As a benzodiazepine, alprazolam comes at a risk of misuse, dependence , and addiction. Physical dependence on alprazolam can occur with prolonged use of the medication. Physical dependence occurs when the body becomes so used to the drug that it believes it cannot function without it and as a result, may go into withdrawals if the drug is reduced or stopped. Dependence can potentially lead to addiction. Do not stop taking alprazolam abruptly, and do not make any changes to dosage without consulting your healthcare provider. 2

When to Seek Emergency Medical Attention

The FDA has found that benzodiazepine drugs, such as alprazolam, can result in severe adverse reactions, including slowed or difficult breathing and death when used with opioid medications or other sedating medications.

Patients taking opioids with Xanax or other benzodiazepines, other sedating medications, or alcohol, and caregivers of these patients, should seek immediate medical attention if they start to experience unusual dizziness or lightheadedness, extreme sleepiness, slow or difficulty breathing, or unresponsiveness. 2

If no emergency medical attention is sought, the person can develop a state of stupor,  coma, and death.

Questions to Ask Your Doctor About What Xanax Feels Like

Taking a new medication to help with anxiety or other conditions can be difficult. It’s important to talk with your doctor about your treatment plan, and ask any questions that may help inform your decisions about taking Xanax.

Questions to ask your medical care team before taking Xanax include:

  1. Is it safe to take Xanax?
  2. Will Xanax conflict with my other medications?
  3. Will I become addicted to Xanax?
  4. Do I have to take Xanax every day for it to work?
  5. Is Xanax going to make me sleepy?
  6. How fast can I expect Xanax to start working?
  7. Can I drink while taking Xanax?

Final Thoughts

It is best to take Xanax when prescribed by your doctor to treat a medical condition. This medication has been researched extensively, and is effective and safe when followed by the guidance of a doctor. Misuse of Xanax, however, can lead to the risk of developing an addiction; therefore, it should not be used without an indication.

Additional Resources

Education is just the first step on our path to improved mental health and emotional wellness. To help our readers take the next step in their journey, Choosing Therapy has partnered with leaders in mental health and wellness. Choosing Therapy may be compensated for referrals by the companies mentioned below.

Online Psychiatry & Medication – Answer a few questions and Talkspace will match you with an online prescriber and get schedule a video psychiatry session. Your online psychiatry prescriber will personalize your treatment, which may include psychiatric medication and follow-ups. Get started for $249 or see if your insurance is one of many Talkspace accepts. Learn More

Talkspace Online Therapy – Online therapy is convenient with Talkspace. Get therapy for as little as $69 per week, or potentially much less if you have insurance from Cigna, Optum, or UHR. Try Talkspace

BetterHelp Online Therapy – BetterHelp has over 20,000 licensed therapists who provide convenient and affordable online therapy. BetterHelp starts at $60 per week. Complete a brief questionnaire and get matched with the right therapist for you. Get Started

Choosing Therapy’s Directory – Find an experienced therapist who is committed to your wellbeing. You can search for a therapist by specialty, availability, insurance, and affordability. Therapist profiles and introductory videos provide insight into the therapist’s personality so you find the right fit. Find a therapist today.

Choosing Therapy partners with leading mental health companies and is compensated for referrals by BetterHelp, Talkspace, and Headspace

For Further Reading

  • Books on Living With Anxiety
  • Mental Health America
  • National Alliance on Mental Health
  • Benzodiazepines Combined With Other Substances Increase Risks | Psychiatric News (psychiatryonline.org)
  • Learn more about “High Functioning” Anxiety

How Does Xanax Make You Feel Infographics

What Does Xanax Feel LikeWhen Xanax Feels Like When Used as Prescribed
What Xanax Feels Like When Used RecreationallyWhat Shouldn't You Feel While Taking Xanax

2 sources

Choosing Therapy strives to provide our readers with mental health content that is accurate and actionable. We have high standards for what can be cited within our articles. Acceptable sources include government agencies, universities and colleges, scholarly journals, industry and professional associations, and other high-integrity sources of mental health journalism. Learn more by reviewing our full editorial policy.

  •  Longo,et al. (2000) Addiction: Part I. Benzodiazepines-Side effects, abuse risks and alternatives. American Family Physician. 61(7) 2121-2120. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2000/0401/p2121.html

  • Alprazolam (Xanax) | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness. (n.d.). NAMI. https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Treatments/Mental-Health-Medications/Types-of-Medication/Alprazolam-(Xanax)

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Carolina Osorio MD Headshot
Written by:

Carolina Osario

MD
Headshot of Kristen Fuller MD
Reviewed by:

Kristen Fuller

MD
  • What Is Xanax Used ForUses
  • What Does Xanax Feel Like?How It Feels
  • Side Effects of XanaxSide Effects
  • What Shouldn’t You Feel While Taking XanaxDangers
  • When To Talk To Your DoctorWhen to Get Help
  • Questions to Ask Your Doctor About What Xanax Feels LikeQuestions to Ask
  • Final ThoughtsConclusion
  • Additional ResourcesResources
  • How Does Xanax Make You Feel InfographicsInfographics
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