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Are You Addicted to Benzos?
Benzodiazepines are highly addictive — as addictive as morphine or heroin. But because they are usually prescribed, most longer term users (more than two weeks) aren't aware they could be drug dependent or addicted.
They are not usually told that benzos were NEVER intended for long term use, for example for sleep or anxiety. The brain becomes tolerant to benzos very quickly. This means that the effect of benzos on sleep, for example, is very short-lived and soon disappears.
Twelve Years Later: After My Last Psychiatric Drug
Guest Blog by Daisy Anderson
I had always dreamed of getting off of my psychiatric drugs. In May of 2002, after thirty-seven years of living in a drugged fog, I took my last psychiatric pill. That was twelve years ago. Life is good now. Finding the good life, though, meant that I had to rethink what wellness was, to do a lot of hard work, and to practice patience.
Tapering and Recovery (revised)
Guest Blog by Daisy Anderson
I was twenty-two years old when I walked into the psychiatrist's office with some personal and social troubles. I expected understanding and help so was surprised that the doctor prescribed potent medications. I naively thought the ten-day prescription was just that, for ten days. Over the years, the psychiatrists prescribed me cocktails of psychiatric drugs at high doses. Now, thirty-seven years later, I am drug free.
Searching for the Miracle Cure
Most people find withdrawal from benzodiazepines or other psychiatric drugs difficult. It doesn't happen with the same intensity for everybody but words like “living hell,” the “worst experience in my life,” and “unbearable” come to mind.
For some it is like an electrical storm in the body or brain, for others it is just slowly being worn down by symptoms like fatigue, chronic pain, anxiety, agoraphobia or depression. People usually have one or two symptoms that are “worse;” others have dozens of symptoms that can seem intolerable.
Are Benzos Life-Saving?
From time to time I get a message from somebody on the web who takes issue with my criticisms of benzos saying that doctors “cannot do without benzos because they are life-saving.”
Let's Look at the Evidence
I've been thinking of this statement recently and trying to figure out any situation where a benzo could save a life or where no other treatment option was available. I could not think of one instance where a benzo was essential to save a life but I could think of a lot of evidence that shows that benzos are associated with injuries and death.
Danger Zone: Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics
One of the most advertised, most profitable, prescribed and misprescribed antibiotics in North America is the family of drugs called Fluoroquinolones. This class includes the following drugs (listed by generic and BRAND names), although brand names may vary:
- ciprofloxacin (CIPRO, CILOXAN)
- enoxacin (PENETREX)
- levofloxacin (LEVAQUIN)
- moxifloxacin (AVELOX)
- norfloxacin (NOROXIN, CHIBROXIN)
- ofloxacin(FLOXIN, OCUFLOX)
What If I Never Get Better?
One of the classic symptoms of benzo withdrawal and recovery is the feeling that all is hopeless and that you will never recover or feel well again. Everything seems so insurmountable. First you have the taper to complete (a taper that can take months) and then recovery to go through without any certainty about when your suffering will end. Feeling “normal” seems pretty distant and hard to imagine.
This dysphoria is partly a biological reaction based on the brain struggling to regain normal functioning after being artificially hyped up by drugs that manipulate GABA and the structure of the neurons while reducing the natural calming capacity of the brain. Chemical/biological changes account for a substantial part of your despair.
What is Wrong With Me?
The Early Signs of Prescription Drug Addiction
Prescription psychiatric drugs have an enormous range of effects on the brain and body from the very first dose. For example, Prozac, one of the first antidepressants is associated with over 200 adverse reactions. One dose of a benzodiazepine can lead to over-sedation, cognitive changes, mental confusion, paradoxical reactions (like excitement) suicidal ideation or dizziness leading to falls.
Anti-psychotics can lead to over-sedation, falls and irrational behaviour, especially in the elderly. Every person who is considering taking a psychiatric drug or sleeping pill should become fully aware of all the side effects and potential harms at a normal dose level.
How to Survive Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal
Surviving withdrawal from benzodiazepines, sleeping pills or other psychiatric drugs can be challenging. Online support groups and other information on the web can help. Here are some tips that help and have stood the test of time.
- Don't stop any psychiatric drug abruptly. It is dangerous and reckless; it could be life-threatening (leading to seizures or suicide) and will delay your progress.
- Become informed — read Heather Ashton's booklet about benzodiazepine withdrawal (The Ashton Manual), Joseph Glenmullen's book, The Antidepressant Solution, and Peter Breggin's book, The Anti-Depressant Fact Book for starters. There are many first-person recovery stories available. The Accidental Addict has all types of symptoms listed — order it online.
What is the Best Way to Get Off a Benzo?
A noted journalist in Canada who was a two pack a day cigarette smoker tried and failed many times to quit the tobacco habit. When he was diagnosed with a life-threatening lung disease he entered a residential detox and quit smoking within weeks. He later said the method really wasn't that important — that he could have stopped smoking standing on his head with a carrot in his ear if he really had wanted to. The difference now was that he had no choice.
What Are You Really Asking?
There is a lot of discussion about what method works “best” in terms of getting off benzos. But the question people are really asking is “what method will not make me suffer too much” or “what method is easy.”
You Can't Be Addicted…You're Only Taking a Low Dose (and Other Myths)
An addictions specialist once told me that nobody could become addicted to Ativan (a benzodiazepine) unless they had been taking it for more than a couple of years. This is a complete myth.
Some people can start having symptoms of between-dose withdrawal (the first sign of addiction) after taking a benzo for only a few weeks. For others, addiction takes place over a period of weeks or months. Sooner or later everyone will become addicted.
Is It Safe?
People also get told by their doctors that it is safe to take a benzo or a sleeping pill for a few days at a time, or on a regular but intermittent basis.
Deciding to Come Off Benzodiazepines or Sleeping Pills
Deciding to come off benzodiazepines, sleeping pills or any other psychiatric drug is a serious decision and one that can only be made by you.
Here are some things to consider.
Most people consider getting off of psychiatric drugs when they have searched for other causes to their mental or physical health symptoms and are beginning to wonder if the pills they are taking are part of their problem. Perhaps the symptoms for which you starting taking a benzo (sleep problems, pain, anxiety, panic) are getting WORSE not better.
Do You Experience These Symptoms?
Maybe you are depressed, irritable, fearful, and unable to sleep or wake up in a panic. You may have unexplainable jaw pain, gastric problems, chest pain, sexual issues, overwhelming depression or other strange symptoms. You may have been involved in a car crash, workplace accident or a fall due to feeling sedated, confused or dizzy. You may have trouble thinking or remembering things.
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Updated: September 4, 2025