Reader’s Question

I have a friend who says he plans to overdose on Valium and Seroquel. Can someone use these drugs to take their own life? What should I do?

Our Clinical Psychologist’s Reply

Valium is the trade name diazepam and belongs to a class of drugs called benzodiazepines. It has muscle-relaxant properties as well as anti-anxiety properties. It also has sedation properties. Taking unusually high doses of this medication can indeed be fatal. Because of its sedation and muscle-relaxant properties, overdosing on Valium can produce extreme drowsiness, and very shallow breathing or breathing so impaired that it stops altogether.

Seroquel is the trade name for quetiapine and belongs to a class of drugs that have both anti-psychotic and mood stabilizing properties. Overdosing on Seroquel can also be serious and combining a muscle relaxer like Valium with Seroquel can enhance the sedation properties of the Seroquel.

If your friend is seriously contemplating an overdose with these two drugs, he is certainly placing himself at great risk. When individuals threaten to take their own life, we must always take them seriously. As for what you can do, be sure someone knows about this. Friends and family definitely need to be apprised of the situation. If your friend is already under psychiatric care, his physician needs to be informed. Posing an imminent danger to oneself or others is generally the main criterion for involuntary commitment for psychiatric intervention. Sometimes, individuals who are not thinking clearly or who are in the throes of a serious mental illness and who view suicide as the only way out need to be treated involuntarily until their thinking returns to a more normal state. So, be aware that the drugs your friend is talking about have the capacity to do serious harm. Take any threats of self-harm seriously and don’t be lured into the notion that you need to keep the information from others who might be able to help.