The heroin epidemic in North America has received much attention, but overdose deaths from prescription sedative drugs (benzodiazepines, or benzos) like Xanax, Valium, and Klonopin has also soared. Benzos are prescribed for anxiety, mood disorders, and insomnia - common complaints among employees. Research in the American Journal of Public Health reports overdose deaths are up to 400 percent since 1996. A key finding: 75 percent of heroin death also involve these medications. Combining benzos or alcohol with heroin can increase the risk of death, and overdoses from benzos have increased at a faster rate than prescriptions for them have. Did you know that talk therapy can be more effective for many, if not the majority of, complaints treated with benzos? Solutions from talk therapy may also last longer if you acquire life skills to manage stress and solve personal problems more efficiently. Could you benefit more from talk therapy and less from benzos? Talk to your doctor about the best options for you.