If not BENZOS...then what?

Ive used alprazolam off and on all my life for anxiety/panic attacks.  It wasn't until last year that I went on a higher dose of 2 mgs a day (I only ever did the .25 mgs for short terms), that I learned about the problems of using it at higher doses for longer periods of time, thus, here I am...

So, I'm sure I'll still have the need for something after I get off this drug...................is there ANYTHING out there for anxiety that's safe®  I know I need to employ my skills I've learned through the years, but never really used like deep breathing and meditation and such, but sometimes I know I'm going to need some help, and I really know nothing about drugs, alprazolam is the only drug I've ever used, other than a beta blocker for heart arrhythmias.  Anything?

there are a decent number of non-benzo drugs being used for anxiety (Buspar, SSRIs, SNRIs, etc). Personally I've found that all drugs have side effects that make them not worth it to me (also I have had a lot of luck with meditation/mindfulness/deep breathing).

Ya, Id rather not take anything, Im the king of side effects, if they can cause it Ill have it...but, just wondering if there was a safe alternative....Ive heard of buspar before....thanks.

Hi Jamsek

 

I know I prattle on and on about it, but Holosync has been my saviour with anxiety.  It has delivered way beyond what it promised and I can rely on it to calm me down in around 15 minutes from a state of high anxiety to almost perfectly calm.

 

I'll let you Google it, it's all over the net.  Works at a subliminal level on neural pathways, opening new 'thinking' channels, sounds new age jibberish, but I swear it works. 

 

Centrepoint are the original distributors and are the cheapest around.

 

Staffy

I took benzo's off and on for over 20 years and don't take anything now. I don't suffer from panic attacks anymore, I don't have anxiety, I feel at peace. When I do get stressed over life situations I just practice deep breathing and know that in time it will pass and it always does. If you can learn how to cope with anxiety/stress without pills you'll be far better off IMHO.  I think it's crucial once getting off benzo's to begin to learn these things. Unfortunately doctors don't take the time or effort to teach coping skills, but instead force pills. It's a tragedy. 

 

You can and will recover. 

Unfortunately doctors don't take the time or effort to teach coping skills, but instead force pills. It's a tragedy. 

 

I think this cuts both directions. Most doctors I've talked to are quite aware that a healthy lifestyle including good diet, regular exercise, and regular meditation will make you more healthy. However, most patients in the West will not be compliant with medical advice that requires significant lifestyle changes and regular effort, and since medications can in many cases improve quality of life to some extent (even benzos, at least in the short term), people will get prescriptions because they probably will be compliant with those.

 

It's an imperfect system, but I think it's a cultural problem that arises from a materialistic world view that demands instant gratification. Trying to lay all the blame at the feet of the medical establishment does not effect the desired change, because the problems exist in the broader system that contains the medical establishment. Trying to effect change in the broader context of self-obsessed, materialistic society is almost impossible for a single person or org to do, because almost everyone wants their devices, their immediate gratification, and to plunge ever forwards without having to understand the how and why of it.