Mar/23: Benzo Survivor and Coach Interview (Chris Paige)

Psychiatrist Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring knocks it out of the ballpark with yet another excellent interview.  This one is with Chris Paige, a benzo survivor and LCSW who specializes in trauma-informed psychotherapy and coaching.

 

Chris’s story of benzodiazepine use, withdrawal, and recovery includes multiple elements of interest to guests and members of BenzoBuddies.  For example: fluroquinolone-induced injury, severe akathisia, detox, polydrugging, gaslighting, paradoxical effects, dependence, tolerance, PRN (as needed) dosing, and updosing.

 

Links:

Interview with Chris Paige, LCSW

 

Chris Paige, LCSW

https://www.chrispaigelcsw.com/

Given that many members of our community have difficulty watching long videos (this one is about an hour), below is a rough timeline of the topics addressed in ‘Interview with Chris Paige, LCSW’:

 

0-21:07min: Chris tells his story and shares his happy ending — although his recovery took 5+ years, he says “My life is the best it’s ever been.” 

 

21:39-27:47min: Chris shares keys to success via an acronym. HOPE  = Stay Hopeful and Here (in the present moment not the past, not the future); Optimism and Outlook; Persistence and Patience; Endurance and Ecstasy (the prize of recovery).

 

30-36min: Chris and Josef discuss the positives and negatives of online benzodiazepine withdrawal communities and offer suggestions on how to benefit from them.

 

36-49min: Chris discusses concepts and strategies he found helpful during his recovery and now shares with his clients.

 

49min: Chris discusses the goals and work of The Institute for Akathisia.

 

Links:

 

Interview with Chris Paige, LCSW (video with Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring)

 

Chris Paige, LCSW (trauma-informed psychotherapy and coaching)

https://www.chrispaigelcsw.com/

 

The Institute for Akathisia

https://akathisiainstitute.org/

Thanks for breaking out the topics for us Libertas, I was interested in their discussion about online communities. 

A great interview! I found it on the same day you posted it, Libertas, but I wasn't able to watch the whole thing until a couple of days ago. Very good.

 

I think there's a slight typo on the date in the subject line, though. It's from 2023, isn't it?

I’m glad you enjoyed the interview, Lapis2.  It’s definitely worth a watch. Since it was posted on March 22, it has received 845 views!

 

Thank you for the feedback on the subject heading.  Mar/22 indicates the day the interview was posted, but I can see how this might be confusing.  I’ll ask one of the admins if this can be changed permanently to Mar/23. 

Thanks, Libertas.

It's a very good video. Sound thinking and good direction for those of us intent on recovering. Thanks for posting!

Best video yet on here..