How can we effectively prevent substance use and mental disorders in our communities? Discover the strategies and initiatives led by SAMHSA to promote evidence-based practices for prevention and early intervention.

Substance Use Disorder Prevention

SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) aims to develop comprehensive systems through providing national leadership in the development of policies, programs, and services to prevent the onset of substance misuse. Some of their key initiatives include:

Talk. They Hear You. Campaign

This campaign aims to reduce underage drinking and substance use among youths under the age of 21 by providing parents and caregivers with resources to discuss substance use with their children.

Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD)

This committee coordinates federal efforts to reduce underage drinking and served as a resource for the development of A Comprehensive Plan for Preventing and Reducing Underage Drinking. It is comprised of 15 federal agencies and led by SAMHSA.

STOP Underage Drinking

This interagency website portal provides research, federal and state resources, and funding opportunities to reduce and prevent underage drinking and its consequences.

National Prevention Week

Held in May, this initiative promotes community involvement, resource sharing, and partnership engagement to increase public awareness of substance use and mental disorders. It also provides resources for communities to highlight their prevention successes throughout the year.

Communities Talk: Town Hall Meetings to Prevent Underage Drinking

This nationwide initiative provides community-based organizations with the resources they need to start or support a conversation about evidence-based underage drinking prevention. It engages multiple stakeholders within each community to mobilize action in underage drinking prevention or strengthen existing prevention programs.

Mental Disorder Prevention

SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) leads federal efforts to promote the prevention and treatment of mental disorders. Some of their key initiatives include:

National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day

Held in May, this event works to increase public awareness about the needs of children with serious mental illness and severe emotional disturbance, and demonstrates how children’s mental health initiatives promote positive youth development, recovery, and resilience.

Federal Commission on School Safety

This federal commission, established in 2018, works to address school safety by recommending policy and best practices for school violence prevention. It includes various federal cabinet members, including the current Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use.

National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative (NCTSI)

This initiative raises awareness about the impact of trauma on children and adolescents as a behavioral health concern, and develops and implements evidence-based interventions to reduce the mental health impact of traumatic experiences on children and adolescents.

Workforce/Practitioner Training and Education

SAMHSA’s efforts also focus on training and educating the workforce to implement evidence-based practices for prevention, treatment, and recovery services. Two key initiatives include:

Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) Network

This network provides training and technical assistance to the substance use prevention field through 10 regional centers, 2 National focus area centers, and a Network Coordinating Office.

Mental Health Technology Transfer Centers (MHTTC) Network

This network provides training and technical assistance to organizations and behavioral health treatment providers to deliver evidence-based practices in mental illness prevention, treatment, and recovery.

SAMHSA’s Evidence-Based Practices Resource Center

SAMHSA’s Evidence-Based Practices Resource Center works to provide communities, clinicians, policymakers, and others in the field with the information they need to incorporate evidence-based practices in their communities for prevention, treatment, and recovery services.

The Importance of Prevention

Preventing mental and/or substance use disorders or co-occurring disorders and related problems is critical to behavioral and physical health. Substance use and mental disorders can make daily activities difficult and impair a person’s ability to work, interact with family, and fulfill other major life functions. Mental and substance use disorders are among the top conditions that cause disability in the United States.

Conclusion

SAMHSA’s comprehensive approach to prevention and early intervention aims to reduce the impact of substance use and mental disorders in America’s communities. Through evidence-based campaigns, initiatives, and resources, they are working to educate and support individuals, families, and communities in promoting mental health and preventing substance misuse.

Prevention of Substance Use and Mental Disorders

Body

Prevention and early intervention strategies can reduce the impact of substance use and mental disorders in America’s communities.

Prevention activities work to educate and support individuals and communities to prevent the use and misuse of drugs and the development of substance use disorders. Substance use and mental disorders can make daily activities difficult and impair a person’s ability to work, interact with family, and fulfill other major life functions. Mental and substance use disorders are among the top conditions that cause disability in the United States. Preventing mental and/or substance use disorders or co-occurring disorders and related problems is critical to behavioral and physical health.

• Overview
• Substance Use Disorder Prevention
• Mental Disorder Prevention
• Workforce/Practitioner Training and Education
• Resources and Publications
• Related SAMHSA Grant Programs
• Related Organizations

Overview

SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) leads federal efforts to promote the prevention and treatment of mental disorders. SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) aims to develop comprehensive systems through providing national leadership in the development of policies, programs, and services to prevent the onset of substance misuse.

SAMHSA’S Evidence-Based Practices Resource Center works to provide communities, clinicians, policymakers, and others in the field with the information they need to incorporate evidence-based practices in their communities for prevention, treatment, and recovery services.

SAMHSA’s prevention and early intervention efforts promote evidence-based decision-making. Some of SAMHSA’s prevention campaigns and initiatives include:

Substance Use Disorder Prevention

• Talk. They Hear You. Campaign—Aims to reduce underage drinking and substance use among youths under the age of 21 by providing parents and caregivers with resources to discuss substance use with their children.
• Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD)—Coordinates federal efforts to reduce underage drinking and served as a resource for the development of A Comprehensive Plan for Preventing and Reducing Underage Drinking. This committee is comprised of 15 federal agencies and is led by SAMHSA.
• STOP Underage Drinking —This interagency website portal of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD) provides research, federal and state resources, and funding opportunities to reduce and prevent underage drinking and its consequences.
• National Prevention Week—Held in May, NPW promotes community involvement, resource sharing, and partnership engagement to increase public awareness of substance use and mental disorders. In addition, NPW provides resources to communities so they can highlight their prevention successes throughout the year.
• Communities Talk: Town Hall Meetings to Prevent Underage Drinking—This nationwide initiative provides community-based organizations with the resources they need to start, or support, a conversation about evidence-based underage drinking prevention. Held every two years, Communities Talk events engage multiple stakeholders within each community to mobilize action in underage drinking prevention or strengthen existing prevention programs.

Mental Disorder Prevention

• National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day—Held in May, Awareness Day works to increase public awareness about the needs of children with serious mental illness and severe emotional disturbance. The day also demonstrates how children’s mental health initiatives promote positive youth development, recovery, and resilience.
• Federal Commission on School Safety—This federal commission, established in 2018, works to address school safety by recommending policy and best practices for school violence prevention. It includes various federal cabinet members, including current Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use.
• National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative (NCTSI)—This initiative raises awareness about the impact of trauma on children and adolescents as a behavioral health concern. NCTSI develops and implements evidence-based interventions to reduce the mental health impact of traumatic experiences on children and adolescents.

Workforce/Practitioner Training and Education

• Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) Network — Provides training and technical assistance to the substance use prevention field through 10 regional centers, 2 National focus area centers, and a Network Coordinating Office.
• Mental Health Technology Transfer Centers (MHTTC) Network— Provides training and technical assistance to organizations and behavioral health treatment providers to deliver evidence-based practices in mental illness prevention, treatment, and recovery support.
• SAMHSA’s Suicide Prevention Resource Center – This web portal, supported by a SAMHSA CMHS grant, provides resources, programs, training, and research on suicide prevention best practices.
• Center of Excellence for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC)—Helps communities support the success of the next generation by increasing access to evidence-based infant and early childhood mental health consultation.
• National Training and Technical Assistance Center for Child, Youth, and Family Mental Health (NTTAC)—Provides states, tribes, and communities with training and technical assistance on children’s behavioral health, with a focus on systems of care.

Resources and Publications

• SAMHSA Publications on Substance Use Prevention
• National Survey on Drug Use and Health
• Opioid Overdose Prevention Toolkit
• Tips for Teens Series
• Report to Congress on the Prevention and Reduction of Underage Drinking, 2018 (PDF | 3.8 MB)
• Talking With Your College-Bound Young Adult About Alcohol
• Know the Risks of Marijuana
• Get Connected: Linking Older Adults with Resources on Medication, Alcohol, and Mental Health
• Keeping Youth Drug Free
• Focus on Prevention
• Tips for Health Care Practitioners and Responders: Helping Survivors Cope with Grief after a Disaster or Traumatic Event
• Substance Use and Suicide: A Nexus Requiring A Public Health Approach
• National Strategy for Suicide Prevention Implementation Assessment Report
• Promoting Emotional Health and Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for Senior Centers
• Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for High Schools

Related SAMHSA Grant Programs

• Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant—Provides funding to states, territories, and tribal entities for efforts in prevention and treatment of substance misuse.
• Community Mental Health Services Block Grant—Supports grantees in carrying out plans for providing comprehensive community mental health services.
• Synar Amendment—As part of the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant, SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention oversees the implementation of the Synar Amendment, which requires states to have laws prohibiting the sale and distribution of tobacco products to minors.
• Strategic Prevention Framework – Partnerships for Success grants—Provides funding to prevent the onset and reduce the progression of substance abuse and its related problems while strengthening prevention capacity at the community level. This grant is targeted for interventions to prevent underage drinking among persons age 9 to 20.
• First Responders-Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (FR-CARA) Grants—Provides funding to train and provide resources to first responders on carrying and administering naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal drug.
• Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Act grants— Aims to prevent and reduce alcohol use among youth and young adults ages 12-20 in communities.
• Tribal Behavioral Health Grant Program—Aims to prevent and reduce suicidal behavior and substance use, reduce the impact of trauma, and promote mental health among American Indian/Alaska Native youth through age of 24.
• Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education) State Education Agency Grants—Aims to build the capacity of state education agencies to increase awareness of mental health issues among school-aged youth; provide training for school personnel to detect and respond to mental health issues; and connect school-aged youth and families to needed services.
• Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) Campus Suicide Prevention Grant—Aims to develop a coordinated approach to enhance behavioral health services for all college students, prevent mental and substance use disorders, promote help-seeking behaviors, and improve the identification and treatment of college students at-risk for suicide.
• Garrett Lee Smith State/Tribal Youth Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention Grant Program—Supports states and tribes with implementing youth suicide prevention and early intervention strategies in schools, youth-serving organizations, and health care settings.
• National Center of Excellence for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation—Works to promote the healthy social and emotional development of infants and young children and to prevent the onset of serious emotional disturbance through funding of public and private nonprofit entities.
• Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children’s Health Grant Program (Project LAUNCH)—Aims to promote the wellness of young children, from birth to age 8, by addressing the social, emotional, cognitive, physical and behavioral aspects of their development and prevent the development of serious emotional disturbances.

Learn more about SAMHSA grants and how to apply.

Related Organizations

• National Institute on Drug Abuse
• National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
• National Institute of Mental Health
• Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America
• National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors
• National Council for Behavioral Health

Last Updated

Last Updated: 06/09/2023

The Effects and Risks of Using Librium

Librium (Chlordiazepoxide) is a sedative-hypnotic Benzodiazepine for treating anxiety and insomnia. The effects of Librium can result in dependence and overdose, but professional rehab is available to help anyone with a Benzodiazepine use disorder.

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(877) 648-4288

Librium is a prescription medication used for treating anxiety disorders, insomnia, and alcohol withdrawal. Librium is the generic name for Chlordiazepoxide, a sedative-hypnotic Benzodiazepine.  The effects of Librium are similar to the effects of Benzodiazepines like Xanax, Valium, and Ativan. A proper dose of Librium will relieve a person’s anxiety and help them sleep through the night. Like other Benzodiazepines, Librium induces relaxation and drowsiness by amplifying the effects of GABA, a neurotransmitter which calms the central nervous system by inhibiting interactions among neurons. Anxiety and insomnia often result from hyperactivity in the brain.

The effects of Librium typically begin within twenty minutes to one hour of taking the medication. The appropriate dose of Librium for each patient will vary depending on each person’s age, body mass, and severity of anxiety and restlessness. Since the drug is fast-acting, it poses risks for abuse. Some people who do not suffer from a diagnosed anxiety disorder use Librium to relieve stress or feel sedated, even though they do not need to take it. In this way, Librium can function as a recreational drug. While Librium can be a helpful medication,  it may be the source of an overdose or a substance use disorder if used improperly.

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The Side Effects Of Librium

When someone uses Librium, they may experience one or several side effects. Most side effects of Librium are not dangerous and will subside within hours. In rare cases, the side effects of Librium can be harmful. The common side effects of Librium include:

• Blurred vision
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Muscle weakness
• Nausea
• Stomach pain
• Slurred speech

The more uncommon and serious Librium sides effects are severe drowsiness, fever, jaundice, memory loss, and thoughts of suicide. These effects of Librium are not normal, so if you see them occur, please seek medical help. Paradoxical disinhibition is another serious potential side effect of Librium and other Benzodiazepines. Occasionally, people who use Benzodiazepines can become excessively aggressive and excitable. This state of disinhibition is “paradoxical” because it results from using medications that are normally inhibitory. Paradoxical disinhibition can be dangerous for both the Librium patient and others around them.

The Symptoms Of A Librium Overdose

A Librium overdose is possible when someone takes too much Librium or takes it with alcohol or other Benzodiazepines. People who use Librium without a prescription or abuse it just to relax are also at risk for overdose. Since an overdose can be life-threatening, it is important to know the signs of an overdose if you or someone you know is using Librium. The symptoms of a Librium overdose are:

• Abdominal pain
• Blue lips and fingernails
• Blurred or double vision
• Fainting
• Impaired reflexes
• Intense drowsiness
• Irregular or rapid heartbeat
• Lightheadedness
• Low blood pressure
• Nausea
• Rapid eye movement
• Seizures
• Tremors
• Troubled or shallow breathing

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Librium Dependence And Withdrawal

A prescription for Librium is supposed to be a short-term solution to anxiety and insomnia, but someone who uses the medication could become dependent on it to stay calm or sleep. Dependence on Benzodiazepines, including Librium, results from the body becoming tolerant to the effects of Benzodiazepines. Tolerance is often the result of someone misusing Benzodiazepines and taking them outside the limits of a prescription, although it can occur when a person follows a prescription as well.

Librium dependence occurs when the body becomes accustomed to operating with Librium in its systems. If a person with Librium dependence reduces their dosage of Librium or stops taking it entirely , they will experience withdrawal symptoms.  In severe cases, Librium dependence can escalate into Librium addiction if a person begins to crave Librium, experiences Librium withdrawal, and uses the drug compulsively despite negative consequences.

Benzodiazepine withdrawal is a well-documented condition which can prevent people from recovering from Librium addiction. The symptoms of Librium withdrawal include:

• Agitation
• Muscle spasms
• Sadness and depression
• Nausea and vomiting
• Panic attacks
• Rebound anxiety and insomnia
• Sadness and depression
• Sweating
• Tremors

In severe cases, an individual can also experience psychosis, seizures, or even death. These extreme symptoms are most likely in cases of severe addictions and when someone attempts to go through withdrawal without medical supervision. For this reason, medically-supervised detox is highly recommended.

A Librium use disorder threatens a person’s health and wellbeing. A person with Librium addiction will struggle to enjoy life without taking Librium. As a result, they will suffer persistent cravings and withdrawal symptoms. These conditions can compel people to act irresponsibly and break laws, such as by driving after taking Librium, acquiring illegal Librium pills, and combining Librium with alcohol or other Benzodiazepines. A Librium use disorder might ultimately result in a Librium overdose, a serious medical emergency. Like all forms of addiction, Librium addictions takes so much away and poses tremendous risks.

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Get Answers To Your Questions About Rehab For Addiction

A prescription for Librium certainly comes with risks. If you or someone you know is using Librium for the wrong reasons or struggling to live life without it, today is the day to reach out for help. There are hundreds of rehab centers which help people overcome Benzodiazepine use disorders everyday. A typical treatment program for Librium addiction will involve detox and therapy. Professional treatment in a rehab program can make the difference between overcoming Librium dependence and relapsing back into Benzodiazepine addiction.

If you know it’s time for rehab, either for yourself or a loved one, we know it can be challenging to start the process. Luckily, there is help available. Please contact a treatment provider today to learn more about rehab options.

Last Edited: May 8, 2023

Author

Nathan Yerby
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Mom’s helpers: why housewives of the 1950s sat on tranquilizers

The 1950s in the West, especially in the USA, is a time when the ideal woman was a housewife from the suburbs. She looks great, her house sparkles, the children are dressed and fed, her husband is treated kindly. And if she can’t cope with something or doesn’t feel happy, then this is due to “typical female” nervousness, but there are pills for this case. With the permission of the Bombora publishing house, we are publishing an excerpt from the book Unhealthy Women about how medicine in the past viewed patients through the prism of gender stereotypes

“Unhealthy Women” is an immersion in the history of medicine and reflection on the difficulties that modern women face. The book is devoted to how medicine of the past years explained and perceived the female body, what theories about the female body were formed under the conditions of patriarchal ideas about femininity, and what consequences this led to.

Blaming female physiology and psychology in family conflicts was not a new idea. For decades, the severity of premenstrual tension and menopausal irregularities has been measured by the degree of discomfort a husband has. What was new was that women were now forced to take drugs to keep their husbands happy. The Milltown ads portrayed the modern middle-class white housewife who couldn’t let her out-of-control body and mind ruin her hard-won marital happiness—or womanhood. Like the women in Safford’s rubric, Milltown users took responsibility for their ill health by submitting to the paternalistic authority of the male physician. On the cover of Safford’s book, based on his column of the same name, at 19’55 featured a gorgeous, scantily clad blonde pouting while a doctor brandishes a stethoscope. “If I knew!” read the caption on the back cover. Below was a photo of a woman sitting cross-legged on the floor, biting her nails. The book said that a truly feminine woman is not shy about revealing personal details about her body and sexuality. Instead of living in ignorance, she should have trusted the doctor’s experience. Those who listened to his recommendations became informed, enlightened and healthy. Oddly enough, going to the doctor and getting a prescription was presented as something uplifting.

Like Premarin (an estrogen supplement marketed in the 1940s), Miltown was intended to relieve unpleasant feelings and symptoms. In the medical press, the drug was presented as a remedy for chronic pain, asthma, arthritis, rheumatic diseases, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, and even multiple sclerosis. After the war, the idea began to gain popularity that many of these diseases could aggravate or even cause the life of the patient. The producers of “Miltown” implied that women’s psychological problems, especially anxiety, were symptoms of dissatisfaction with life.

A 1960 medical advertisement for Meprospan (another trade name for meprobamate) shows a woman sitting at a doctor’s desk and looking down at her clasped hands. This “tense and nervous patient” is tormented by “constant anxiety, which has no organic etiology.” A 400 milligram capsule taken at breakfast is enough to calm her down and go grocery shopping. In another picture, a woman is preparing dinner for the family. Because she “enjoyed the calmness all day long”, she is “relaxed, alert and attentive enough” to go to the parent-teacher meeting, and after that she can go to bed “without worrying about nervousness and tension.”

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By 1955, chronic pain, asthma, and gastrointestinal problems were considered psychosomatic problems. However, doctors found that the basis of two diseases of “unknown etiology” (lupus and rheumatoid arthritis) is such an organic pathology as autoimmunity. The expansion of inpatient medicine, clinical specialties and funded research has enabled patients (mostly women) with these conditions to be properly evaluated and treated. However, often it all started with exactly the symptoms that meprobamate was supposed to eliminate: increased fatigue, insomnia, nervous weakness, anxiety, depression, confusion and muscle weakness. The connection between the immune system and multiple sclerosis, the most common neurological disease in America at the time, had been known since 1940s. Nevertheless, patients in neurological clinics until the 1950s were often diagnosed with hysteria.

Multiple sclerosis is now known to be three to four times more common in women than in men. This disease was first documented by Jean-Martin Charcot (the same physician who brought attention to hysteria at the end of the 19th century) in 1868. Even today, multiple sclerosis, like most autoimmune diseases, remains incurable, and the exact cause of its development is unknown. Although specialists from 19Since the 1940s it is known to be widespread among women, the reasons for this gender inequality remain unexplored. By the way, in the late XIX – early XX century, doctors, on the contrary, believed that multiple sclerosis is more common among men. This misconception is due to the fact that the neurological and motor symptoms of male patients, according to medicine, deserved attention, while the patients with their delicate nerves simply invented them. Gender bias continues to influence the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. The disease usually begins with non-specific symptoms, such as pain, fatigue, and muscle weakness, which get worse and worse. It may take a long time before a correct diagnosis is made. Today, women’s “unexplained” pain and neurological symptoms are still often mistaken for somatization disorder—a mental illness that presents with physical symptoms that are not related to a specific cause.

In the 1950s, a woman who went to the doctor complaining of severe fatigue, muscle pain, brain fog, and hand tremors was prescribed a tranquilizer. Why puzzle over the cause of mysterious symptoms when a pill will simply silence the patient?

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Meprobamate was introduced to the UK in 1956. It quickly supplanted barbiturates and became the most popular drug for women suffering from anxiety, insomnia, nerve weakness and unexplained pain. The statistics showed that the use of barbiturates, which were prescribed too often by NHS doctors, could lead to disastrous consequences. At 19Between 54 and 1956, an overdose of these drugs resulted in the accidental death or suicide of 217 women in England and Wales. Warnings appeared in medical journals about the dangerous side effects and addictiveness of this “placebo <...> soothing doctors.” According to manufacturers, meprobamate was less toxic than barbiturates and was not addictive at all. But it cost, however, sky-high. In the British House of Commons in November 1956, ministers argued that the NHS was operating at its limits because of “American encroachment” on “hypochondriacs and neurotics.”

But much more disturbing were the physical and mental consequences of the use of this “small” tranquilizer. Meprobamate had many side effects, including blurred vision, dizziness, and nausea, but it turned out to be highly addictive. Despite its obvious danger, demand only increased. One psychiatrist wondered if this was really related to the rise in mental illness. If so, then meprobamate is too easy a way to solve problems. Instead of being worked through in psychotherapy, the root causes of mental illness were simply “hidden behind a thick cloud of chemically induced calm.” However, the psychiatrist also emphasized that, according to the pharmaceutical companies, almost every mood and feeling, from tiredness and irritation to fear and excitement, was a “syndrome” that can only be cured with pills. Women, their main consumers, were not stupid. They didn’t take wonder drugs just because a magazine ad called for them to, and it wasn’t easy to convince them that every emotion they had was pathological. Now that society expected women to nest for war-weary men and increase population, they faced a real crisis of identity and selfhood.

Related material

Many women (at least the white middle class, who were considered the ideal of domestic femininity) tasted new duties and relative freedom during the war years. They became involved in political life and were given the opportunity to study and work. However, their mental and physical health collapsed under the weight of motherhood and housework. The meprobamate companies have skillfully pathologised the paradox of post-war femininity. Educated housewives had far more income, life opportunities, and “labor savings” than their mothers. But at the same time they were overworked, tired and suffering from functional disorders. “Is anxiety and tension becoming an occupational disease of housewives?” the Miltown ad asked. If yes, what is the reason for this? Is it realistic to “give a woman social, political and cultural equality with a man, but at the same time continue to demand domestic and biological subordination from her”? No. Is it fair to expect her to “take on the burden of time focused on childbearing and stay within emotional boundaries?” Again, no. However, the Wallace company sought to make a profit, not overcome gender inequality. “Whatever the cause, Miltown should be added to the treatment to eliminate emotional and muscular tension,” the ad urged. “It won’t replace a week off in Bermuda or provide an emotional reset, but it will make the latter easier for both the woman and her doctor.”

A new cultural stereotype of the anxious, unhealthy housewife stimulated the production of benzodiazepines such as Valium, Librium, and Serax, which appeared in the UK and the US in the early 1960s. Again, these drugs were not thought to be addictive. The ads, which were strikingly gender biased, were based on popular beliefs about the link between domestic work and mental illness. An ad for the pharmaceutical company Wyatt shows a woman holding on to the handles of a mop and broom like the bars of a prison cell. The caption reads: “You can’t free her, but you can make her less disturbing.” Serax could eliminate the tension and irritation associated with “feelings of inadequacy and isolation.” After taking a few pills, the woman coped with her “everyday problems” perfectly. Drowsiness, dizziness, loss of consciousness, rash, nausea, lethargy, swelling, slurred speech, and altered sex drive are just some of the side effects listed in the fine print.

Advertisements for benzodiazepines created a specific image of the patient – a woman exhausted by imaginary illnesses, emotional excesses and worries about her place in society, who could be “cured” by sleep and gagging. Like the “hysterical” patients of the 19th century, she was coerced into a potentially dangerous “cure” for a problem invented by male doctors. The PR companies promoting the tranquilizers knew that housewives were in the grip of a mental health crisis. In words, the advertisement supported the target audience, but at the same time inspired women that the problem was the inability to adapt to the “natural” role. Medicine has clung to the idea for centuries that home life and motherhood, and their attributes such as serenity, submissiveness, and femininity, are very beneficial to the female body and mind. Longing for life outside the cage of mops and brooms has always been considered pathological and dangerous. Like all the unnecessary gynecological surgeries and punitive treatments to which unhealthy housewives have been subjected throughout history, tranquilizers were touted as a reliable way to force disgruntled women to quietly submit to their predetermined social role.

Librium – instructions for use

Librium

Instruction:

• Release form
• Composition
• Application
• Contraindications
• Recommendations for use
• Special instructions
• Storage conditions
• Expiry date
• Terms of sale
• Classification

Formulation

Capsules 500 mg.

Composition

L-lysine, L-arginine, chamomile flower extract, magnesium citrate, L-tyrosine, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) (griffonia extract), Rhodiola rosea root extract, spirulina extract, passionflower flower extract, valerian root extract, pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Calcium Stearic Acid, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Green Coffee Extract, Peruvian Maca Tuber Extract, Capsule (Gelatin, Titanium Dioxide).

Application

For sale to the population as a biologically active food supplement – a source of flavonoids, an additional source of vitamin B ₆ containing 5-hydroxytryptophan.

Contraindications

Individual intolerance to the components, pregnancy, breastfeeding, increased nervous irritability, insomnia, high blood pressure, cardiac disorders, severe atherosclerosis, taking in the evening.

Suggested Use

Adults 1 capsule 1 time per day with meals in the morning. Duration of admission – 2-3 weeks. If necessary, the reception can be repeated after a month.

Special instructions

It is recommended to consult a physician before use.

Storage conditions

Store in a dry place, out of the reach of children, at a temperature not exceeding 25 °C.

Shelf life

2 years.

Terms of sale

Places of sale are determined by the national legislation of the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union.

Classification

• Group

  Other dietary supplements

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Find out more about Librium Dietary Supplement:

• Formulations (2)
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Librium Dietary Supplement Information is intended for medical and pharmaceutical professionals for reference purposes only.