After the Xanax Wears Off…
Many personal stories of people struggling with an addiction that they were never told could happen punctuate an article about indiscriminate benzodiazepine prescribing in...
Benzodiazepine Use Linked to Dementia and Memory Loss
A recent review of the research found that benzodiazepine use may have long-term effects on memory and increase the risk for dementia. The study,...
Fish “Flourish” On Anxiety Drug
"Fish that have been exposed to a common anti-anxiety drug are more active and have better chances of survival than unexposed fish," reports Nature....
Death Grip: Then and Now
From what I’ve learned, it seems that the minute you walk into a psychiatrist’s office or have the misfortune to be locked up on a ward is the minute you’re given a diagnosis and medication(s), and perhaps even electroshock. There is no “normal”; “normal” is not allowed. You have a “lifelong disorder” of whatever ilk, and it must always be medicated. This is the paradigm.
Is Xanax Really the Bad Guy?
While any effort to generate awareness and potentially curb the benzodiazepine epidemic is commendable, we have to ask ourselves, is Xanax just the scapegoat in this situation? Will legislative action and media attention for only one benzodiazepine out of so many make any difference?
Government Calls US Benzodiazepine Prescription Levels “Worrisome”
Despite the well-known risks of the drugs, especially for the elderly, prescription use of addictive benzodiazepine sedatives in the United States increases steadily with age, according to a large-scale study published in JAMA Psychiatry. Overall, as of 2008, 5.2% of American adults were taking the drugs. The study also showed that women were twice as likely to be taking benzodiazepines as men. National Institute of Mental Health director Thomas Insel called the findings "worrisome."
PTSD, Psychotropic Medication Increase Dementia Risk
From Healio: Researchers recently found that veterans diagnosed with PTSD and prescribed antidepressants or atypical antipsychotics are at a higher risk for dementia than veterans...
Benzo Drugs, UK Fudge, Cover Up and Consequences
In 1980, the British Medical Journal published a “Systematic Review of the Benzodiazepines” by the Committee on the Review of Medicines. The committee denied the addictive potential of Benzodiazepines and limited their suggestions to short term use. The results have been devastating.
Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Symptoms
Members of the group Benzodiazepine Recovery have created a video about the often debilitating symptoms of benzodiazepine withdrawal.
Video →
5,012 Englishwomen Poisoned Last Year by Benzos, 8,501 by SSRIs
Addiction Today reports "Attention on illicit drugs has deflected focus from the gigantic scale of harms by legal, prescribed drugs. We give you the...
The Poison We Pick
In this piece for New York Magazine, Andrew Sullivan traces the history of the use of opiates in the U.S. and explores the social, economic,...
Trailer for “As Prescribed” Benzo Documentary
Work-in-Progress trailer for "As Prescribed," a feature documentary exposing the human devastation caused by benzo-diazepines.
We Have Seen the Evidence Base, and it is Us
Anyone who has used benzodiazepines and sleeping pills knows how difficult it is to get off them (worse than heroin!) and how much time it takes to recover. Although there is a lot more helpful information on the web these days, a lot of it is based on anecdotal accounts, personal stories and theories rather than “real” evidence.
Chris Cornell’s Wife Blames Anxiety Medicine for Suicide
From Rolling Stone: On Thursday morning, singer Chris Cornell died by suicide. His wife recently issued a statement speculating that his suicide may have been...
Life, Unarmed
When I was born, everyone was expecting me to have arms. The doctor's mind raced; how am I going to tell this mother and the father that their son has hands but not arms? If he's missing so much in his extremities, mustn’t he also be missing a mind? My mom looked into my eyes and knew - in a way that only mothers know - that I had a mind, and spirit.
Three Suicides: Honoring Lives Lost to Benzodiazepines
I am still trying to reconcile what these chemicals are capable of, how the urge can morph into an action, how we maybe just don’t understand suicide all that well. For me, the suffering was so intense it was too painful to stay alive. I understand how my friends felt in their last moments.
Do Benzos Deserve a Major Role in the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders?
Researchers at the University of Milan and King's College, London thoroughly reviewed the literature available on Medline and Cochrane regarding the use of benzodiazepines...
“Drug Overdoses Propel Rise in Mortality Rates of Young Whites”
“The rising death rates for those young white adults, ages 25 to 34, make them the first generation since the Vietnam War years of the mid-1960s to experience higher death rates in early adulthood than the generation that preceded it,” the ‘Times reports.
“Study Reveals Benzodiazepines Frequently Prescribed to High-Risk Patients”
A new study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that benzodiazepines are prescribed at high doses to patients at a high rate...
Benzodiazepines Linked to Increased Risk of Alzheimer’s: Causation or Not?
According to a study in the British Medical Journal, benzodiazepine use is associated with a significantly increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Some experts...
Benzodiazepine Use May Become Long-Term
From Psychiatric News: According to a new study, patients who take antidepressants simultaneously with benzodiazepines are at an increased risk of becoming long-term benzodiazepine users.
Article...
SeaWorld Uses Benzodiazepines to Control Killer Whales
The Daily Beast dives into the debate over SeaWorld's use of benzoiazepines to stop their killer whales from "acting aggressively toward each other in...
Why More American Teens Than Ever Suffer From Severe Anxiety
In this piece for The New York Times, Benoit Denizet-Lewis explores the social, cultural, and economic factors that have contributed to the significant rise in...
“Benzo Blue”: a Song of Protest and a Search for Liberation
In commemoration of World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day coming on July 11th, I am providing an early first time debut at Mad in America of a new song and music video titled “Benzo Blue,” along with a brief commentary on the evolution and significance of this song.
