[Re...] Posted May 29, 2022 Share Posted May 29, 2022 I am having continuous fear everyday.What causes this fear that makes me not want to leave my house or do the things I enjoyed doing before? I get this fear and feel like I can’t go to Church or keep my grandchildren. I was on 2mg of Valium and tapered to 1mg 5 times out of 30 days. I tapered 1 mg two days straight and I have had this fear that won’t go away. I am now just taking 2 mg until I get my Dr. advice what to do next.Does anyone know what is causing this fear ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[Pa...] Posted May 29, 2022 Share Posted May 29, 2022 I was afraid too, fear is a huge withdrawal symptom, this member wrote about what causes it. What is happening in your brain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[gr...] Posted May 30, 2022 Share Posted May 30, 2022 Redbird, I am sorry you are going through this. A sense of fear, impending doom, random terror --- all of these are hallmarks of benzo withdrawal. The fear is generated by a limbic system (your stress response system) malfunctioning as your brain is trying to adapt (neuro-adaptation) to its existence without the medication. When the limbic system is not working properly (and one reason for this is that the limbic system is LOADED with GABA-A receptors, which is the receptor that is down-regulated over time as we ingest a benzo -- when you try to remove the benzo it takes time, sometimes a very long time, for those receptors to heal......as a result you have free floating GABA - your bodies natural calming neurotransmitter -- with no receptor to bind too thus we feel afraid. In addition, our glutamate is out of balance and glutamate is our excitatory neurotransmitter-- it is supposed to work in concert with GABA - so that whole mechanism is off). So in your limbic system you have what is called your amygdala, which is the part of the brain that acts like a fire alarm -- in benzo withdrawal, this fire alarm keeps sounding and we continue to feel DANGER where none exists. in time, things will settle - but this is a very brief explanation of why you might be experiencing fear at this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[Ka...] Posted May 30, 2022 Share Posted May 30, 2022 Redbird, I had the fear thing also. Getting completely off benzos was the cure for me. I now know that I was in a constant state of withdrawl because even when I took my dose, it had mostly quit working for me. Once I was off benzos and had just a little bit of time under my belt, I began to notice that I could do things without shaking in my boots - like driving on the freeway and going in crowded public places. My world had become very small but now that I am off for almost two years, I can go anywhere I want to without the terrible angst I used to have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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