Major and Minor Tranquilizers

Subject:
Psychopharmacology

Submitted to:
Dr Ammar yasir shibli

Submitted by:
Ayesha

Roll No. 13771

MS Clinical Psychology Semester II

Department of Clinical Psychology

Riphah International University
Faisalabad Campus Pakistan
 Major and minor tranquilizer
Introduction

 Tranquilizer is a drug that is used to reduce anxiety, fear, tension, agitation, and related
states of mental disturbance. It was only in 1953 that the term "tranquilizer" was coined to
describe the effects the drug resperine appeared to have on animals. Tranquilizers fall into two
main classes, major and minor. Major tranquilizers, which are also known as antipsychotic
agents, or neuroleptics, are so called because they are used to treat major states of mental
disturbance in schizophrenics and other psychotic patients. By contrast, minor tranquilizers,
which are also known as antianxiety agents, or anxiolytics, are used to treat milder states of
anxiety and tension in healthy individuals or people with less serious mental disorders. The
major and minor tranquilizers bear only a superficial resemblance to each other, and the trend
has been to drop the use of the word tranquilizer altogether in reference to such drugs, though the
term persists in popular usage.

Understanding Minor Tranquilizers:

 When people refer to tranquilizers, they usually mean it to suggest that the drugs can
calm nerves, alleviate symptoms of stress, or assist with sleep. These types of drugs are broadly
classified as anxiolytics. The medications can be further broken down into five classes of drug:

Benzodiazepines

  It is prescribed to treat anxiety, insomnia, seizures, muscle spasms, agitation, alcohol

withdrawal, and panic attacks. There are no less than 15 benzodiazepines approved for use in the
U.S., including Ativan (lorazepam), Valium (diazepam), Klonopin (clonazepam), and Xanax
(alprazolam).

Barbiturates 

It is once widely prescribed to treat insomnia and anxiety. They are seldom used today
due to the high risk of abuse and addiction. Barbiturates work by generally sedating the
individual rather than suppressing specific pathways of the brain. While they have been largely
replaced by benzodiazepines, barbiturates are sometimes used as an anticonvulsant (to treat
seizures) or as a general anesthetic.

Antidepressants 

It is able to treat anxiety by regulating a chemical in the body known as serotonin, considered a
natural mood stabilizer. While it may seem counterintuitive to treat anxiety with an
antidepressant, both mood states can often co-exist at the same time.

Sympatholytics 

It is anti-hypertensive drugs that work on the body’s sympathetic nervous

system (essentially the "fight-or-flight" response). This class of drug is effective in treating
severe anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and generalized anxiety
disorder (GAD).

Opioids

It is highly addictive drugs which act on the brain’s receptor to reduce the number of pain
signals it receives. While they are predominantly used to treat severe pain and induce anesthesia,
they are sometimes used to treat cases of severe depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder
(OCD).

Informed Use of Minor Tranquilizers

When used appropriately and under the supervision of a qualified physician, minor
tranquilizers can be both effective and beneficial.1 While it may seem reasonable to assume that
some of these drugs are "safer" than others, they all have the potential to cause dependence and
addiction if misused.
 In fact, because drugs like Xanax or Valium are so commonly prescribed, people will
underestimate their potential for addiction compared to more "dangerous" drugs like Oxycontin
(oxycodone) or Vicodin (hydrocodone).

Minor tranquilizers can be useful if taken for a short time. Overuse may not only lead to
addiction, but it can also cause side effects that lead to a worsening of symptoms, including:

 Memory loss
 Paranoia
 Suicidal thoughts
 Aggression
 Agitation
 Confusion
 Slurred speech
 Lack of coordination
 Dizziness
 Headaches
 Grogginess
 Confusion
 Depression
 Fatigue

While some of the more obvious effects (like unsteadiness and slurring) may subside over
time, they generally do so in line with increasing drug dependence.

Major Tranquilizers
Background

On March 19 of this year an article by Martin Harrow and Thomas Jobe was published in
the Schizophrenia Bulletin:  Does Long-Term Treatment of Schizophrenia with Antipsychotic
Medications Facilitate Recovery? The term “antipsychotics” embraces drugs such as Haldol,
Risperdal, Thorazin: I prefer the term major tranquilizers, because it is more accurate. Drs.
Harrow and Job have conducted a long-term (15-20 year) study of people diagnosed with the
condition known as schizophrenia. They found that individuals who had been given “anti-
psychotics” continuously for these long periods showed “…considerable psychopathology and
few sustained periods of recovery.” The authors examined the possibility that the individuals
who came off the drugs were better risks to begin with, but they found that some of the “good
risk” patients who stayed on the drugs did not show favorable outcomes.

The authors also discuss the finding that when people have been on the drugs for a
prolonged period, and then come off the drugs, there is a fairly high relapse rate (25%-55%)
within the first 6-10 months.  This is usually cited as evidence for the efficacy of major
tranquilizers and for the widespread insistence within psychiatry that the drugs need to be taken
for life.

MAJOR TRANQUILIZER WITHDRAWAL

Drs. Harrow and Jobe point out that this drugs-for-life position is incompatible with their
primary finding that in the long-term the undrugged individuals do better.  So they suggest an
alternative explanation for the high relapse rate on discontinuation, namely, that the short-term
relapses are essentially a reflection of drug withdrawal.  The idea is that the dopamine-blocking
action of the major tranquilizers would, over the long-term, cause the organism to produce
excess dopamine receptors (or supersensitive receptors).  Then, when the drugs are stopped,
there is an abrupt and large increase in dopamine activity in the brain which would result in
extreme cognitive and overt behavior.  In other words, while the major tranquilizers are being
consumed, the organism is “trying” to normalize its functioning by making maximum use of
what dopamine is available.  Then when the major tranquilizers are removed, brain activity
increases markedly. This notion is analogous to the familiar phenomenon of delirium tremens
sometimes noted in sudden alcohol withdrawal after prolonged heavy drinking.

 MAJOR TRANQUILIZERS TRANQUILIZE

Major tranquilizers are not medications.  They are what the name says:  tranquilizers. 
They reduce psychotic behavior because they reduce all behavior.  And they destroy brain cells. 
Long-term use of these products has been likened to a lobotomy.  Almost all clients find these
drugs very difficult to tolerate, and many (perhaps most) eventually stop taking them.  But if they
do it too suddenly, they can precipitate a withdrawal reaction that is often worse then the
presenting problem.  A graphic description of this is contained in Jean Davison’s book The Dark
Threads.

There is only one genuine “treatment” for this non-illness: help the individual to find a
sense of fulfillment in the world by helping him come to terms with the past, and acquire the
skills he needs to create a meaningful and fulfilling future.  This has to be done with patience,
compassion, kindness, and a profound respect for the person’s uniqueness.

Giving a person major tranquilizers, with their truly horrendous long-term effects, and
abandoning him/her to the disempowering milieu of the clubhouse or sheltered workshop, is not
only unhelpful, it is extraordinarily destructive.