An experience like no other

[[Buddie]]

[...]....whew! The message said he had blocked MY messages and I was like omg!!! What did I do? I don't know this person! I saw the insomnia thing and my dear friend in Australia is suffering so much with it and akathisia and is losing [...] so I am trying to help her. I'm injured too just in different way than her.

[[Buddie]]

Top of the morning to you

So sorry that my not accepting personal messages made you upset.  Because I am seldom on this site, it would be a very long time before I would be able to respond to any personal messages. I occasionally check this site to see if anyone has posted a question for me on my success story thread.  

I happened to check this site today, and I noticed a post from you, asking for your friend in Australia, how long I had insomnia.  I had insomnia for, what I thought, was quite a long time.  Since it has been ten years since I wrote my success story, I cannot remember exactly how long I had insomnia, but I believe it ended around the fifth month or perhaps it was the sixth month.

Please tell your friend not to worry too much about her battle with insomnia. (Easier said than done, I know). Please tell her that insomnia, indeed one of the worst withdrawal symptoms, does end and sleep will return, not magically all at once, but in stages.
Until her sleep cycle straightens out, she can expect her sleep to be quite sporadic.  Some nights she may not sleep at all or she may sleep for just an hour or two.  Some nights she may sleep for three hours, possibly even four hours. That's how it was for me. 

Please tell your friend that the day will come,  just like it did for me, when she will be able to sleep through the night and wake totally refreshed, ready to greet the new day with a great big happy smile on her face.

As hard and tempting as it can be, your friend should try to avoid taking any drugs to combat insomnia.  All prescription and over the counter drugs will eventually make her insomnia much worse, and prolong how long it takes her to heal.  
Please tell your friend that lots of time, much patience and the belief that her insomnia will indeed end some joyous day is a prescription that she can trust in and believe in.

I wish you and your friend the very best.,

[[Buddie]]

[...]!!!

You are always a beacon of [...] for those who you speak to, thanks for stopping by.

I [...] 2022 is finding you well and happy.

[...] 

[[Buddie]]

.. I have completely healed, and am happier, and more content than I have ever been before.

All you wonderful, kind, and decent folks, will all completely heal one day, and like I now do, you will enjoy life with a new found appreciation for all the mysterious, and wondrous things life has to offer. 

Your sunrise will be so much brighter, the sunset so much more spectacular, the sound of a laughing little child, so much sweeter.  The little things that used to upset you won't anymore.


I have read hundreds of old postings from the past three and four years, and have often wondered what has become of the kind, understanding people who cried together, laughed together, and shared their deepest thoughts together. To read the back and forth banter between one member and another, is fascinating and inspiring. I have to marvel at the fact, that complete strangers, in the blink of an eye, became kindred spirits. What a befitting testimony to our capacity as humans, to love and appreciate one another.

We can become so enamored with certain members that when they leave, we are left with an emptiness and sadness that cannot be easily explained. 

While reading those postings from many years ago, I felt like I was treading on sacred territory, and could almost 'feel' the presence of the authors, who wrote all those heartfelt words to each other.

It was at that moment when I realized that they had all healed, and were back to living their varied lives again in the way that life was meant to be lived.  All of you will be doing the same one day, because this nightmare does end, and you will be happy, and productive again.

It would be awfully hard, maybe even impossible, to find a kinder, or nicer group of people than you do at BenzoBuddies, where People REALLY do want to help one another in the most thoughtful, and caring way, with a sincerity, and decency that is so very real.

When someone cries out for help.  There is no hesitation in wanting to help that person.  People respond with heartfelt emotions, and a genuine concern for an individual they have never met, and often become close friends with that person.  Friends unlike no one else in their lives, because they understand how that person is suffering day in, and day out, in a way that no one else can ever understand.

I want to leave you with one of my favorite quotes by Ashley Smith:

"Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces.  Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.”

[...]

edit typo
 

Bump because this was just so incredibly beautifully written. Thank you.

[[Buddie]]

Thanks for sharing - and our caregivers can be so aloof to the harm they are [...] in their attempts to help us heal. The irony.

[[Buddie]]

Hi [...],

Your story was very inspiring and I’ve read over 70 pages of this thread. Your comments brought me comfort to fight this hell of a demon. I don’t even know if you’re gonna read this, I went cold turkey as well, did you experience tachycardia and chest pain? I’m having other 20+ symptoms but this one is driving me crazy. A cardiologist said my heart is healthy, all I can think of is the withdrawal. This is making me go crazy.