How Do Barbiturates Change Your Mood

Barbiturates are a group of strong sedative drugs that slow down the activity of the brain and the nervous system. They were once widely prescribed as sleeping pills and sedatives, and they are still used in some medical settings today, but their use has fallen sharply because they carry serious risks. One of those risks is easy to overlook, because it does not show up on a scan or a blood test in the way liver damage might. It shows up in how a person feels, day after day: in their temper, their energy, their interest in life, and their ability to stay steady. This article explains, in plain words, how barbiturates can change mood, why the change often starts with calm and ends with instability, and what the warning signs look like. It is general information only, not individual medical advice. If you are worried about your own mood, or about someone close to you, a qualified health professional is the right person to talk to.

Mood matters because it shapes almost everything else. When your mood is steady, you can work, rest, talk to people, make plans and cope with small problems without them feeling overwhelming. When your mood is unstable, the same ordinary day feels much harder. A small delay becomes a reason to snap. A kind word from a friend barely registers. Getting out of bed feels like a task in itself. Barbiturates can push mood in that direction, and the shift often happens slowly, so the person and their family may not connect it with the drug at first. They may blame stress, tiredness, age, or a difficult period at work, when the drug is quietly playing a large part. Understanding the link is the first step towards seeing the pattern clearly.

What Barbiturates Do in the Brain

To understand mood changes, it helps to understand what barbiturates do in the brain. The brain works through a balance between signals that excite it and signals that calm it down. Barbiturates strengthen the calming signals, particularly through a chemical messenger called GABA, which tells brain cells to slow down and fire less often. That is why they can make a person feel drowsy, relaxed and less anxious, and why they were used as sleeping pills. The brain, however, does not simply accept this change and carry on as normal. It adapts. Over time, it becomes less sensitive to its own calming signals and more dependent on the drug to produce the same feeling of calm. This process is called tolerance, and it is one of the reasons the dose that once brought sleep or relief stops working, and the person may feel worse than before they started.

The same slowing effect that brings calm also affects the parts of the brain that handle emotion, judgement and self-control. The prefrontal cortex, the area behind the forehead that helps us pause before speaking, weigh consequences and manage frustration, works less well when the brain is slowed down. That is why a person using barbiturates may say things they would normally hold back, lose their temper over a small thing, or make decisions they later regret. It is not that their character has changed overnight. It is that the part of the brain that normally keeps emotions in check is working with less power, and the emotions themselves are swinging more widely because the brain’s chemical balance has been disturbed.

Another important point is that barbiturates do not leave the body quickly in every case, and their effects can linger into the next day. Some types act for a short time, while others stay active for many hours, leaving a person groggy, slow and emotionally flat the following morning. That morning grogginess is not just tiredness. It is the drug still slowing the brain while the person is trying to think, work and talk to others. A day that starts in a fog often continues in a bad mood, and if the drug is taken again the next night, the cycle repeats. Over weeks and months, the person may forget what a clear, steady morning felt like, and assume that feeling dull and irritable is simply who they are now.

Why Mood Can Lift First, Then Fall

Many people first notice a lift in mood when they start using barbiturates. The tension in their shoulders eases. The worry that kept them awake at night quiets down. For a short while, the world feels softer and more manageable. That early relief is real, and it is also misleading, because it is the reason people keep using the drug even as the longer-term effects begin to build. The calm comes from the drug pushing the brain’s brakes hard, and brakes that are pushed too hard for too long wear out. When the drug wears off between doses, the brain rebounds in the opposite direction, becoming more excitable and more anxious than it was before. That rebound is felt as restlessness, tension, irritability and a low, uneasy mood, and it is often mistaken for the original problem coming back worse, when in fact it is the brain reacting to the drug leaving the system.

This rise and fall creates a pattern that is hard to escape without help. The person feels bad when the drug wears off, so they take more to feel calm again, and the calm lasts a shorter time each time. Meanwhile the mood between doses gets lower and less stable. Friends and family may notice that the person is pleasant and relaxed for a short period after a dose, and then withdrawn, snappy or tearful a few hours later, without any clear reason in their day to explain the change. The person themselves may not see the link, because each dose does bring relief, and relief feels like proof that the drug is helping. In reality, the drug has become both the short-term comfort and the long-term cause of the distress, and that is what makes the pattern so hard to break.

The fall in mood is not only about rebound. Regular use of barbiturates can also disturb sleep in a deeper way than most people realise. Although these drugs can make a person fall asleep, the sleep they produce is often lighter and less refreshing than natural sleep, with less of the deep sleep and dreaming sleep that the brain needs to process emotion and restore itself. A person can sleep for eight hours and still wake up unrefreshed, and that poor-quality sleep, night after night, drags mood down on its own. Tired people are more irritable, less patient, more likely to feel hopeless, and less able to enjoy good things. When that tiredness is caused by the very drug taken to help with sleep, the problem becomes a loop that feeds on itself.

Irritability, Anger and Short Temper

One of the most common mood changes linked to barbiturates is irritability. Small things that would normally be brushed aside start to feel infuriating. A slow queue, a noisy neighbour, a question asked twice, a plan that changes at the last minute — any of these can trigger a sharp response that surprises even the person giving it. The anger often passes quickly, but it leaves damage behind: hurt feelings, arguments that were never meant to happen, and a growing sense that the person is becoming someone they do not recognise. Family members often say they feel as though they are walking on eggshells, never sure which version of the person they will meet in the morning.

There are several reasons this happens. The slowed brain finds it harder to pause and choose a response, so the first reaction comes out unchecked. The poor sleep and the rebound anxiety between doses leave the nervous system on edge, as if it is braced for trouble. And the drug itself can lower the threshold for frustration, so that feelings that would normally stay in the background push forward more easily. None of this is an excuse for unkind behaviour, and the harm it causes to relationships is real. But understanding the mechanism helps everyone involved see that the anger is a symptom of the drug’s effect on the brain, not proof that the person has become a bad or uncaring person at heart. That distinction matters, because it keeps the door open to help instead of blame.

Over time, repeated irritability can change how a person sees themselves. Someone who was once patient may start to describe themselves as an angry person, and that label can become a habit of thought that is hard to shake. They may avoid social situations because they are afraid of losing their temper, or they may withdraw from family gatherings to avoid the shame of an outburst. That withdrawal then makes the mood worse, because isolation removes the very things that steady mood: conversation, laughter, routine, and the feeling of being wanted. Breaking this cycle usually means addressing the drug use itself, with professional support, rather than simply trying harder to control the temper, because willpower alone cannot fix a brain that is being chemically pushed towards irritability every day.

Low Mood, Sadness and Losing Interest

Low mood is another frequent effect of long-term barbiturate use, and it can be harder to spot than anger because it is quieter. The person does not argue or shout. They simply care less. Food tastes dull. Hobbies that once mattered feel like too much effort. Visits from friends are put off. Work is done slowly, or not at all, and the person may spend long hours sitting still, staring at nothing in particular. Family members sometimes describe it as though the person has faded, as if the colour has gone out of them. This loss of interest, which health professionals call anhedonia, is one of the most painful effects of the drug, because it takes away the very things that make life worth living, and it does so gradually, so the person may not notice how much has been lost until a great deal is gone.

The biology behind this is linked to the brain’s reward system. Barbiturates slow the brain down, and over time the system that produces feelings of pleasure and motivation becomes less responsive. Things that used to bring a small lift — a good meal, a walk, a joke, a finished task — no longer register in the same way. The person is not being lazy or ungrateful. Their brain is simply producing less of the feeling that makes effort seem worthwhile. This is also why telling someone in this state to cheer up, or to try harder, does not help. The problem is not a lack of effort. It is a brain whose reward system has been dulled by a powerful sedative, and it needs time, and usually professional help, to recover its sensitivity.

Low mood linked to barbiturates can also deepen into something more serious. Health guidance notes that sedative drugs, including barbiturates, are associated with a higher risk of depression, especially with long or heavy use, and that stopping the drug suddenly can also bring a period of very low mood. Anyone who feels persistently sad, hopeless, or empty, who has lost interest in almost everything, or who has thoughts of harming themselves, should seek help urgently from a health professional or a crisis service. These feelings are not a personal failure, and they are not something to face alone. They are a sign that the brain needs support, and support is available.

Anxiety, Tension and Feeling on Edge

It may seem strange that a drug taken to calm anxiety can end up causing more of it, but this is one of the most consistent patterns with barbiturates. In the short term, the drug reduces anxiety, which is why it was prescribed for that purpose in the past. With regular use, however, the brain adapts, and between doses the anxiety returns stronger than before. The person may wake in the night feeling tense and restless, or feel a constant low-level worry during the day that has no clear cause. Ordinary situations — a phone call, a journey, a meeting, a visit to the shops — can start to feel threatening, and the person may begin to avoid them.

This rebound anxiety is made worse by the fact that the person has lost practice in coping without the drug. When anxiety was always met with a dose, the person never had the chance to learn that a wave of worry will pass on its own, or that a difficult conversation can be survived without chemical help. Over time, confidence shrinks, and the world feels smaller and more frightening. That is why people using barbiturates for a long time often describe feeling trapped: the drug is the only thing that calms them, and it is also the reason they feel so anxious without it. The way out of that trap is gradual, planned, and supported by a health professional, because stopping a sedative like this suddenly can be dangerous, and the anxiety needs to be managed carefully while the brain relearns how to calm itself.

Physical tension often goes with this anxiety. The shoulders stay tight, the jaw clenches, the stomach feels knotted, and the person may complain of headaches or a racing heart, even when nothing obviously stressful is happening. These physical signs are not imagined. They are the body responding to a nervous system that has been pushed out of balance. Gentle daily habits — regular sleep times, daylight, walking, eating properly, and avoiding alcohol — can help a little, but they cannot undo the drug’s effect on their own. The central step is a planned, supported change in the drug use itself, with a professional who can monitor the mood and the body as the brain adjusts.

Mood Swings and Feeling Numb or Flat

Mood swings are a further pattern that families often report. The person may be tearful in the morning, laughing and talkative in the afternoon, and withdrawn again by evening, with no event in the day to explain the shifts. These swings happen because the level of the drug in the body is rising and falling, and the brain is swinging with it: slowed and drowsy when the drug is high, rebounding and agitated as it falls. For the person, the experience is confusing and exhausting, because they cannot predict how they will feel from one hour to the next. For those around them, it is equally hard, because they cannot predict which mood they will meet, and they may start to blame themselves for the bad moments, wondering what they did wrong.

Alongside the swings, many people describe feeling numb or flat, as though their emotions have been turned down to a low volume. They can see that a family event should make them happy, or that a sad piece of news should move them, but the feeling does not arrive. This emotional blunting is a direct effect of the drug slowing the brain’s emotional centres, and it can be deeply distressing in its own way. A person who cannot feel joy is not at peace; they are cut off from the feelings that connect them to other people. The numbness can also hide the low mood underneath, because the person does not cry or complain. They simply feel nothing much at all, and that emptiness can be mistaken by others for calm, when it is really a sign that the brain is heavily suppressed.

Both the swings and the numbness tend to ease gradually when the drug is reduced or stopped under medical supervision, but the process is not instant. The brain needs weeks, and sometimes months, to relearn how to produce and regulate its own calming signals, and during that time mood may still be uneven. Knowing this in advance helps, because it means a bad day during recovery is not a sign that recovery has failed. It is a sign that the brain is still adjusting, and that steadiness is returning in stages rather than all at once. Patience, support, and a professional plan make that period far easier to get through.

Sleep, Thinking and Daily Life

Mood does not exist on its own. It is tied to sleep, thinking, energy and daily routine, and barbiturates affect all of them at once. The sleep produced by these drugs is often shallow, with more waking during the night and less of the deep, restorative stages. The person may fall asleep quickly and still wake up tired, and that tiredness makes every mood problem worse. A tired brain is an irritable brain, a hopeless brain, and an anxious brain, all at the same time. When the tiredness lasts for weeks, it can start to look like a personality change, when it is really a sleep problem caused by the drug.

Thinking is affected too. Barbiturates slow reaction time, cloud memory, and make it harder to follow a conversation or hold several ideas in mind at once. That fog makes ordinary life more frustrating: instructions are forgotten, appointments are missed, work takes longer, and mistakes happen more often. Each mistake then feeds the low mood, because the person feels incompetent and ashamed, and the shame feeds the desire to escape with another dose. It is a loop, and it is one of the reasons that mood, memory and daily functioning have to be understood together rather than as separate problems. Fixing the sleep and the thinking usually means fixing the drug use, and fixing the drug use usually improves the sleep and the thinking, slowly and together.

Daily life also shrinks. A person whose mood is unstable and whose thinking is foggy may stop going out, stop working regularly, and stop keeping up with household tasks. Bills go unpaid, meals become irregular, and the home grows untidy, not because the person does not care, but because the energy and focus needed for those tasks are no longer there. This shrinking of daily life then removes the structure that helps mood stay steady: regular meals, daylight, movement, contact with others, and the small satisfaction of a finished task. Rebuilding those routines, even in very small steps, is part of recovery, and it is often easier to do with support from family, friends, or a health professional than alone.

The Longer Strain and When to Seek Help

Over a longer period, the mood effects of barbiturates can become more entrenched. The person may develop a lasting low mood that does not lift even on days when they feel rested. Relationships may be strained by repeated arguments, broken promises, and long silences. Work may suffer, and money may become tight, which adds stress of its own. The longer this continues, the more the person may come to believe that the low, unstable mood is simply who they are now, and that nothing can change it. That belief is one of the most harmful parts of the whole picture, because it stops the person from seeking the help that could change it.

It is important to say clearly that mood can improve after barbiturate use is addressed, but that the improvement is gradual and needs proper support. Stopping barbiturates suddenly is dangerous and should never be done without medical guidance, because withdrawal from these drugs can be severe and, in some cases, life-threatening. A health professional can plan a safe, gradual reduction, monitor mood and sleep during the process, and offer other forms of support, such as talking therapy or help with sleep and anxiety. That plan is the safest way forward, and it is worth seeking even if the person has used the drug for a long time. The brain’s ability to recover is real, and it does not have a fixed expiry date.

You should seek help promptly if mood changes are affecting work, relationships, or daily life, if low mood or anxiety lasts for weeks, if the person feels unable to stop using the drug, or if there are any thoughts of self-harm. In the last case, seek urgent help straight away. You should also seek advice if someone using barbiturates becomes unusually drowsy, confused, unsteady, or difficult to wake, because these can be signs of an overdose, which is a medical emergency. Keep the focus on safety and support: the person needs a professional plan, not judgement, and the family needs honest information, not blame. The sooner help is sought, the more options there are, and the better the outlook tends to be.

My Take:

Mood is the first thing I notice when I think about barbiturates, because it is the change that other people feel before the person does. A doctor can measure blood pressure. A family can measure mood in a different way: in the sharp word at breakfast, the silence at dinner, the phone call that is not returned. I think that is why this topic matters so much. The harm is not hidden in a laboratory result. It is sitting at the kitchen table, in the middle of an ordinary family, changing how people talk to each other day by day.

I am struck by how unfair the early calm is. The drug does bring relief, and I do not want to pretend it does not, because that relief is the reason people trust it. A person who has not slept properly for weeks, or who feels wound tight with worry, takes a dose and finally feels the tension leave their body. That feels like help. The trouble is that the help is borrowed, and the price is paid later, in the rebound anxiety, the morning fog, and the mood that will not stay steady. I think the honest way to describe it is a short loan with a very high rate of interest, and most people do not realise the rate until they have already borrowed too much.

What worries me most is how easily the change is blamed on the person instead of the drug. A husband says his wife has become difficult. A mother says her son has become lazy. A manager says an employee has lost their edge. In each case, the words describe a real change, but they point the blame at character when the cause is chemical. I think that misreading does a great deal of damage, because it makes the person feel ashamed and defensive, and it makes the family feel angry instead of worried. If we could see the drug’s effect clearly, we would be kinder to the person and firmer about the drug, and that is the balance I would like to see more often.

I also think about the children in these households, because they notice mood before anyone else does. A child does not know the name of the drug, but they know when a parent is warm and when they are cold, when a joke will be laughed at and when it will be snapped at. Children learn to read those signs the way other children learn to read books, and they carry that habit into adult life, always watching for the next shift in mood. That is a heavy lesson for a child to learn, and it is one of the reasons I feel strongly that mood changes linked to a drug are not a private matter. They ripple outwards, and the people who feel them most are often the ones with the least power to change them.

The loss of interest is the part I find saddest, because it is so quiet. Anger at least announces itself. Low mood and lost interest simply empty a life out, one small pleasure at a time. A person stops cooking the food they liked. They stop walking to the shops. They stop calling a friend. None of these is dramatic on its own, and that is exactly why it is dangerous. By the time anyone notices, a whole way of life has gone. I think the return of interest is also the best sign of recovery, and it is worth watching for: the day a person asks for a favourite meal again, or laughs at a joke without forcing it, or makes a plan for next week. Those small signs mean the brain is waking up again.

I do not believe that willpower alone is the answer here, and I think the idea that it should be does more harm than good. Mood is not a matter of deciding to be cheerful. It is the result of brain chemistry, sleep, routine and support, and when a powerful sedative has disturbed that chemistry, no amount of positive thinking will restore it on its own. What works is a plan: medical supervision to reduce the drug safely, help with sleep and anxiety, and support from people who understand that recovery is uneven. Asking for that help is not weakness. It is the most sensible thing a person can do, and I wish more people saw it that way.

Sleep is where I would start if I were helping someone in this situation, because it touches everything else. A person who sleeps badly feels worse in every way, and a person who sleeps well has a better chance of coping with a difficult day. Barbiturates promise sleep and then deliver a shallow version of it, and that broken promise is at the heart of the mood problem. The work of recovery includes relearning how to sleep without the drug, and that takes time, patience, and often professional guidance. But when real sleep returns, mood usually follows, and that is one of the most hopeful things I know about this subject.

I am also honest about the fact that recovery is not a straight line. There will be good days and bad days, and a bad day does not mean the effort has failed. The brain needs time to relearn how to calm itself, and that learning happens in fits and starts. A person may feel steady for a week and then have a difficult day that feels like a step backwards. I think it helps to expect that, and to plan for it, so that a difficult day is met with rest and support rather than panic and self-blame. The people who recover are not the ones who never have a bad day. They are the ones who keep going after one.

Families deserve a word here too, because they live with the mood changes every day and they often feel helpless. My view is that families should be honest about what they see, without blame, and firm about the need for professional help. Saying that the mood swings are hurting the household is not an attack. It is information, and it is information the person needs to hear. At the same time, families need support of their own, because living with unpredictable moods is exhausting, and a tired family cannot help anyone. Talking to a health professional, or to a support group, is not a betrayal of the person using the drug. It is a way of staying strong enough to help them.

I want to say this plainly: if your mood has changed since you started using barbiturates, or if someone you love has changed, do not assume that this is permanent, and do not assume that it is your fault. The change has a cause, the cause can be understood, and there is a safe, supported way to address it. Talk to a health professional, tell them honestly what is happening, and let them make a plan with you. Mood is not a fixed part of who you are. It is a sign of how your brain is doing, and when the brain is given the chance to recover, mood can recover with it. That is a real hope, and it is worth acting on.

I think the hardest conversation in this whole subject is the first one, when a person admits to someone else that their mood has changed and that a drug may be part of the reason. That conversation takes courage, because it means giving up the story that everything is fine. But I have come to believe that the first honest conversation is also the most useful step a person can take. Once the problem is named out loud, it becomes something that can be planned for, instead of something that has to be hidden. A doctor, a trusted friend, or a family member who listens without judgement can be the beginning of a plan, and a plan is far better than silence.

There is also something I want to say about patience, because recovery from mood changes is slow in a way that frustrates everyone involved. A person may expect to feel steady again within a week of a change in their drug use, and when they do not, they may conclude that nothing is working. I think that expectation is unfair to the brain. The brain has spent months adapting to a powerful sedative, and it needs time to adapt back. Weeks, not days, is the honest timescale, and during those weeks there will be good days and difficult days side by side. Judging recovery by a single bad day is like judging a journey by one rough mile. The direction matters more than the speed.

Work is another area where mood changes do real damage, and I think it deserves more attention than it usually gets. A person whose mood swings from hour to hour finds it hard to keep regular hours, to finish tasks, or to get on with colleagues. They may miss shifts, or make mistakes that cost them trust. That loss of trust at work then feeds the low mood, because work is where many of us feel useful and respected. I would say to any employer reading this that a worker whose mood has changed may need help rather than discipline, and to any worker that asking for help early is far better than waiting until a job is at risk. A job can be a reason to recover, if it is handled with care.

I worry about the way mood problems and alcohol often appear together, because the combination makes everything worse. A person who feels low or anxious may turn to a drink to steady themselves, and alcohol, like barbiturates, slows the brain and disturbs sleep and mood. The two together increase the risk of accidents, overdose, and deeper low mood, and they make it much harder for a doctor to plan a safe reduction in the drug. I am not saying this to add blame. I am saying it because anyone trying to improve their mood needs to know that adding another sedative will pull in the opposite direction, and that honest information about all substances used is essential for a safe plan.

One thing that gives me hope is how much small routines can steady a mood, even while the bigger work of recovery is under way. A regular time to get up, a walk in daylight, a meal eaten at the table rather than skipped, a short conversation with someone who cares — none of these will fix the drug’s effect on its own, but together they give the day a shape, and shape is what an unstable mood lacks most. I think of routines as scaffolding: they hold the day up while the brain is being repaired underneath. When the repair is further along, the scaffolding can come down, but while it is needed, it is not a small thing. It is a practical kindness to oneself.

I also think about what it means to be the partner or parent of someone whose mood has changed in this way, because their experience is often overlooked. They live with the sharp words, the silences, the cancelled plans, and the worry that the person they love is slipping away. They may feel guilty for feeling angry, and angry for feeling guilty, all at the same time. My view is that those feelings are normal, and that the family deserves support of its own, not just instructions on how to help the other person. A family that is exhausted and unsupported cannot support anyone for long, and looking after the carers is part of looking after the person using the drug.

Finally, I want to return to the idea that mood is a signal, not a verdict. A low or unstable mood is the brain saying that something is wrong, in the same way that pain is the body saying that something is wrong. The signal is not the person, and it is not permanent. It is information, and information can be acted on. If this article has done its job, the reader will now understand what that signal means, why barbiturates produce it, and what the safe next step is: an honest conversation with a health professional, a plan made together, and the patience to follow it through the uneven weeks that follow. That is a difficult path, but it is a real one, and many people have walked it before.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the main side effects of barbiturates on mood?

The main mood effects are irritability and a short temper, low mood and loss of interest, anxiety and tension between doses, mood swings, and a flat or numb feeling. These changes often build up slowly, so they can be mistaken for stress or tiredness at first. They tend to get worse with longer or heavier use, because the brain adapts to the drug and becomes less able to regulate mood on its own. Anyone who notices these changes should talk to a health professional, especially since stopping barbiturates suddenly can be dangerous and needs medical supervision.

How quickly can barbiturates affect mood?

Some mood effects can appear within days, especially drowsiness, irritability and a flat feeling the morning after a dose. The deeper changes, such as persistent low mood, rebound anxiety and loss of interest, usually build up over weeks or months of regular use, as the brain adapts and sleep quality worsens. The speed varies from person to person, and it depends on how often the drug is used and for how long. Early signs are often easy to miss, which is why family members sometimes notice the change before the person does.

Can the harm barbiturates causes to mood be reversed?

Mood often improves gradually after barbiturate use is reduced or stopped under medical supervision, as the brain relearns how to regulate its own calming signals and as sleep quality improves. The recovery is not instant, and mood may still be uneven for weeks or months, but many people find that irritability eases, interest returns, and mood becomes steadier over time. Some changes may take longer after long or heavy use. The safest path is a planned, gradual reduction with professional support, never a sudden stop.

Why does barbiturates affect mood?

Barbiturates strengthen the brain’s calming signals, especially through the chemical messenger GABA, and the brain adapts by becoming less sensitive to its own signals and more dependent on the drug. This disturbs the balance that controls emotion, judgement and self-control, and it also disrupts sleep, which drags mood down further. Between doses, the brain rebounds in the opposite direction, producing anxiety, irritability and low mood. Because mood depends on that chemical balance, a drug that pushes it hard in one direction will eventually push it out of balance in the other.

When should someone seek help about barbiturates and mood?

Seek help promptly if mood changes are affecting work, relationships or daily life, if low mood or anxiety lasts for weeks, if the person feels unable to stop using the drug, or if there are any thoughts of self-harm, in which case help should be sought urgently. You should also seek urgent help if someone becomes unusually drowsy, confused, unsteady or difficult to wake, as these can be signs of overdose. A health professional can plan a safe reduction and offer support for mood, sleep and anxiety.

Where can I learn more about barbiturates and mood?

Good places to read more are the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the NHS, the World Health Organization, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, all linked in the Sources section below. A health professional can also talk through worries about barbiturates and mood in person, which is especially important because stopping these drugs suddenly can be dangerous and needs medical guidance.

Sources

This article is general information only. It is not individual medical advice. If you are worried about your health, talk to a qualified health professional.