What's happening in the brain to cause depression during WD?

[[Buddie]]

Hello,

Someone could explain what's happening in the brain during benzo wd to have depression?

I never ever been depressed in my life, now i can feel the pain!

How is it explained in a chemical way...?


Why some people got symptoms that other dont?

Or why certain benzo can cause depression ( wondering if it is since i switched)


Thank you

[[Buddie]]

Not sure about the chemical side of it, but Dr Claire Weekes says that it's all part of having a sensitized nervous system. Her work is geared towards anxiety and nervous illness, which is remarkably close in symptoms to WD. She says the constant stress on your nerves causes your system to be depleted and depression is depletion.

Obviously there's chemical imbalance at work in WD too, but I related to that description. I'm not sure about you, but my depression is worse when really tired or struggling in a wave and my body is obviously depleted of energy.

[[Buddie]]

What’s happening inside your brain

Why the depression and anxiety? It's so complicated, but this WHOLE system is interdependent. At that SAME time as ALL this stuff is going on, the entire body is trying to heal in every place GABA and Glutamate naturally act (uh - and that would be - EVERYWHERE).
The intestines, stomach, eye balls, skin, toenails - seriously - where do we NOT have nerves?
Anything we didn't have as a pre-existing condition is fair game for being affected by the recovery that takes place.
This includes the body's own ability to make serotonin that is required to feel "balanced" and "happy". And you guessed it. This is not being made very efficiently in a building that is under major construction. So - you may get a day or so of feeling good - and then - boom - that's gone until you can make enough serotonin.
Oh - and by the way - serotonin HELPS TELL THE NERVES WHEN TO RELEASE GABA AND GLUTAMATE! Ha!
So on top of needing GABA to make serotonin, you need serotonin to regulate the release of GABA into the system!
How much more interconnected can you get?  God - it's a wonder it knows how to heal at all!  But it does!  Amazing to me, really.

[[Buddie]]

Thank you for your answers...!

That’s crazy how certain people will only have to deal with physical symptoms and others with mental ones...

It’s truly hard to keep hope because I’m not even in a tapering process and trying to stabilize from the damaged of those drugs

[[Buddie]]

I always get a depressed period after a peak on stress, anxiety and panic.
Probably due the fact that so much stress and anxiety blocks normal thinking and thoughts you get a trauma from it

[[Buddie]]

Depression and anxiety have been the real killers for me during this process. All of the physical stuff- the sensitivity to temperature, the muscle twitching, the constant desire to be walking, yeah they're annoying but I could ABSOLUTELY cope with them without the anxiety and depression. Though don't get me wrong I know people get much worse physical symptoms than me.

It's all mental for me. I'll have a run of good days then boom a bad day. Then a good day, then a few bad. It's weird, no real pattern to it. I'd say no rhyme or reason, but of course there is a reason. It's just not a reason we yet understand.

[[Buddie]]

I was curious about this as well as I had never experienced depression until jumping. Not even while tapering. Anxiety is what I struggle with but depression is a whole other beast. What does everyone do to cope? Has anyone had this and recovered?

[[Buddie]]

My inpatient psychiatrist at Hopkins told me that that the sympathetic nervous system surges from tolerance and cutting surpress serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrin leading to depression and full body (including GI) effects. His view was that AD's can help with WD (Ashton said the same) and he loaded me up on them and they helped a bunch.

[[Buddie]]

Depression and anxiety have been the real killers for me during this process. All of the physical stuff- the sensitivity to temperature, the muscle twitching, the constant desire to be walking, yeah they're annoying but I could ABSOLUTELY cope with them without the anxiety and depression. Though don't get me wrong I know people get much worse physical symptoms than me.

It's all mental for me. I'll have a run of good days then boom a bad day. Then a good day, then a few bad. It's weird, no real pattern to it. I'd say no rhyme or reason, but of course there is a reason. It's just not a reason we yet understand.

ME, TOO!! We are in the same boat..Depression is the MOFO for me....NO more physical...that was done months ago..Hope we get better!!

[[Buddie]]

Bumping this just cause I'm always interested to hear anyone give their take on this.

Chemical a&d still the only major symptoms for me.