What Is Lorazepam? The White Lotus' most valuable player

Victoria Ratliff's drug of choice

Parker Posey’s character in this season of White Lotus can’t stop taking lorazepam pills. So what is the medication, and should we be concerned for Victoria Ratliff?

This article discusses the fictional portrayal of prescription medication use on television and highlights the risks of misuse. It is not intended as medical advice or to promote the use of any prescription medication. Prescription medicines should only be taken under the guidance of a registered healthcare professional. Misuse of prescription drugs can have serious health consequences. If you or someone you know is struggling with medication use, speak to a healthcare professional for support.

A new group of wealthy and messy vacationers are gracing our screens in the newest season of White Lotus.

While we’re loving watching Chelsea and Rick’s disjointed dynamic and Jaclyn, Laurie and Kate’s horrific competitiveness, we’re grimacing while watching one character in particular – Victoria Ratliff.

The loopy southern mum of three pops pills like they’re lollies at the smallest inconvenience.

She name-drops lorazepam throughout the first four episodes, and looks to heavily rely on the drug – so what is Victoria’s drug of choice, and should we be concerned for her?

What is lorazepam?

Lorazepam is a benzodiazepine prescribed to treat anxiety, sleeping problems and agitation. 

Some patients are also given it in hospital for seizures, or prior to operations to help them keep calm.

Benzodiazepines are sometimes referred to as ‘benzos’, and are sedatives or ‘minor tranquilisers’. 

According to the NHS, Lorazepam is ‘thought to work by increasing the levels of a calming chemical, gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), in your brain. Depending on your health condition, this can make you feel calmer, relieve anxiety or stop a seizure or fit’.

The loopy southern mum of three pops pills like they’re lollies at the smallest inconvenience. Image: HBO

"Those who take it will report a sense of relaxation in their body, with physical symptoms of anxiety subsiding, as well as the anxious thoughts," clinical psychologist Hillary Ammon told Women’s Health. The effects last between six and eight hours.

The drug is intended to be used short term as it’s fast acting – so patients may use the medication at the onset of a panic attack, or while struggling with insomnia during a period of heightened stress. But those struggling with chronic anxiety or insomnia are often prescribed safer forms of treatment.  

Side effects of lorazepam

People taking lorazepam can feel dizzy, weak, off balance, drowsy, confused, or experience amnesia, blurred vision, depression, euphoria or seizures. 

The drug is intended to be used short term as it’s fast acting.

Taking too much can cause respiratory depression, loss of motor function, profuse sweating, memory loss or breathing difficulties which can result in a heart attack or coma. So Victoria should really be keeping track of her dosage. 

Lorazepam can be addictive, and division director for adult ambulatory psychiatry at Northwell Zucker Hillside Hospital, Joseph Squitieri told People, “It's a fairly short-acting medication, so your body gets used to it. It also wears off fairly quickly, so there's this kind of habituation that happens where you kind of need more of the medication to get the same effect." 

If you stop taking it suddenly, “You can also develop a withdrawal from the medication, which actually could be very dangerous, could result in high blood pressure, seizures; That’s a life-threatening situation, withdrawal from benzos. A lot of people don't realise that you can't just stop it if you're taking it regularly for a very long time.”

So Victoria should really be keeping track of her dosage. Image: Binge

Can you drink alcohol with lorazepam?

Victoria pops lorazepam pills in her room, pre-relaxing massage and at dinner with her wine, but should she be? 

We see her begin to slur and eventually fall asleep at the dining table, so what happens when alcohol is mixed with the anxiety medication?

Lorazepam can’t be taken with alcohol as both are depressants. You can fall into a very deep sleep, have breathing problems or difficulty waking up if you mix the two.

Squitieri said, the character's reliance on the medication so far shows “a concerning pattern of use: the combining with alcohol [is] very unsafe. The idea that you can pop it anytime you want to relax a little bit, that wouldn't be a good use of the medication and a potentially dangerous way of getting dependent on it or developing tolerance.”

“Certainly the depiction of it is not the way we would educate patients to use their medication”.

Someone check on Victoria.

Originally published as What Is Lorazepam? The White Lotus' most valuable player