Benzo Lies That Have Been Busted

Benzo Lies

 

I was talking with a friend about the lies that benzos tell us and thought it would be a good idea to start a thread on the topic.

 

Here are some benzo lies that I previously posted on my blog and thought it would be good to start this thread off with.

 

Please add some of the lies that you used to believe and now know to be untrue.

 

This will be very valuable for those who are still under the spell of the lies that benzos tell us. My experience is that our thinking is fundamentally altered by benzo action during tolerance withdrawal and during tapering, and that we are not actually thinking – we are at the effect of chemical storms in our brains. And we think that these are our thoughts. And worse yet, we BELIEVE these thoughts. But what we are experiencing is chemical and electrical processes that occur during the body’s attempt to adjust these chemicals and processes on the fly.

 

 

Now that I am feeling better, it’s easy to see some of the lies the benzos tell us. They are plain to see in hindsight. But for those of you who are having troubles with taper symptoms, or pre or post-taper symptoms, I wanted to help you to see  some of the lies that the benzos have told me, and may be telling you too.  Hopefully, you will be able to use this to understand more about your experience and maybe you could use this post as a template for reality.

 

Benzo Lie # 1. There is no hope.  This one is nasty. Do not believe this lie. It can take you down fast. It is not true, even though it feels very true. For me, this hopelessness was a result of benzo created chemical imbalances coloring my thinking into a perceived end of time. I could not imagine time extending for more than 3 months into the future. There was no way I could think of any possible outcome at all – not even a negative one, and all of my imagined outcomes of less than 3 months were negative. If you cannot imagine a positive future for yourself, know you are under the trance of lie # 1.

 

Benzo Lie # 2. My Life is ruined.  Do not believe this lie. You are in a temporary state of withdrawal. It is an awful state, but it is temporary and you will move out of it and have a life that you can mold into what you had before or one that is better than before. When you can think clearly, you are able to fashion a life that is better than what happened to you when you were tranquilized and your life fell apart as a result of being drugged. When you are out of withdrawals and free from the effects of their symptoms, you will be in a better position to solve problems instead of having them take you down.

 

Benzo Lie # 3. These benzo effects will last forever.  I see this lie as being conditional.  The lie part is that if you are making decisions that will move yourself toward health and away from benzos, it will not last forever. There WILL be an end to the benzo-related troubles. As you get further away from benzos and their effects, the less the benzos will act on you.  If you make benzo related decisions that move yourself away from natural health and into benzo use, you may end up in a never ending loop of having side effects being confused as diseases, and having benzo symptoms being medicated with more benzos, and in turn, more and more drug and symptom interactions and more and more suffering.

 

Benzo Lie # 4. I will never be happy again  This lie broke my heart. I let this lie rob me of my dreams. I am living proof that you can totally believe this lie and live to prove it wrong. I never thought I could ever be happy ever again. I’m not only happy now, but happier than I was before I started on benzos. I feel like I have just vanquished a dragon, and there is a great deal of satisfaction in that. Now, I am happy. I am happy just because I exist and because life is available to me. There is such joy in coming back from the edge and being able to function again.

 

I felt like there was no way happiness could ever be attained by someone who is going through all of this suffering and torture and ineptitude, and now I’m happy.  I am the guy that was scared to death of my cat for 2 years. I was freaked out because the gardener was going to come on Wednesday and scare me with the noise of his equipment and today it’s Monday and I’m worried about it already. I couldn't drive for over a year. . . and on and on.

 

If you are feeling that your happiness is behind you, do not despair. You cannot absolutely know that your best days are behind you. The effects of benzo action will make you believe you cannot be happy. It is not true. After your body begins making the feel good chemicals and you are out of wd, your life can get wonderful again.

 

 

These are just a few of the benzo lies that have I have busted for myself. And there are many, many more.

 

Try this on - If it makes you sad, it's probably a benzo lie.

 

You CAN be happy again. It will feel great, and you’ll love it more than ever. 

 

 

Please post the benzo lies that you have busted so others can learn from your experience.

 

 

 

River 

 

 

Thank you for this post!

im 126 days in c.t from 10 mg valium a night 18 mths.

been feeling lots better last 3 weeks, dont know if almost through it or just along window, still got gut issue mainly and get anxious.

but i have also found out a few benzo lies lately

 

  you will never sleep well again.

  you have no friends

  you cant fight it, just take one again.

  you have aged 10 years

   

  YOU ARE ALONE!

Wow, I'm glad I found this thread, even though it seems to have gone inactive.  The stories of other buddies give me hope.  By far, the biggest lie (at least I hope it's a lie) that benzos are telling me is:

 

You have early dementia.  It's just a coincidence that it (problems with memory and cognition, confusion, fog) started during the taper. 

 

Has anyone busted this lie? I could use a dose of hope today.

 

Haimona

Hi Haimona! I love this thread and am so glad you found it and maybe we can make it become popular again!

 

I am one of those long-term sufferers from cognitive impairment and I hang on to good news in this department any way I can get it. I was reminded by a YouTube video of Robert Whitaker (journalist and anti-psych med advocate) where he said the British Mind Institute found that most cognitive impairment (from benzo withdrawal) resolved after 5 years. I am now at 41 months off, post-menopausal, and very concerned about this though I have noticed tremendous improvement in the last few months alone. I am finally able to consume Omega 3 fish oil which helps fatten the myelin sheath which protects our brain cells so maybe that has something to do with it. Not sure.

Hi TaterTot! Someone in another thread posted a link to this one, and I read through the entire thing from the beginning.  I really like the positivity and hope here.  It's very exciting to hear you have had tremendous improvement in the past few months.  I also think sometimes timelines are more about the "usual" experience of doctors than what is possible, if that makes sense. 

 

I really like the late neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks, who wrote many books about different medical conditions but mostly in the form of case studies of specific patients, and with a spotlight on the variation among, and humanity of, the people he wrote about.  I remember him saying once that doctors tend to say any, or most, meaningful healing from stroke happens within the first year, but that he has seen -- and in more than just a few outliers -- meaningful healing from stroke happen as long as eight years out.  So I do hang on to that.

 

I am still in my taper and trying not to rush it, as it seems every slight reduction I make results in a cascade of awful symptoms.  But I am feeling in a hurry to get off this poison in hopes that the real healing can start then.  On the other hand, I have to work so I am trying really really hard to stay as functional as possible while I taper. 

 

Anyway, thanks for replying and I would love to see this thread become active again too.  Message me any time if you want, and maybe we can support each other through this.

 

 

Haimona

Benzo Lie Busted:

 

It's not withdrawal. You stopped your meds so your original problem is coming back. What did you expect.

 

This has been my main benzo lie for the last 20 years.

I'm getting off the merry go round! Finally!!

Here's one..... You aren't healing much. This is all the healing you'll get.   

What a crock of bull!!!!!! It's a good thing I keep a recovery journal. I go back and look at it. Sure enough the month before I made more progress. One of the buddies suggested doing this when I just started my taper. I wasn't a member but came on here as a guest. I'm so glad I listened! It can be hard to tell if you've healed any in a month because we're constantly feeling bad then get a window then bad. Plus once we think we've gotten past the big waves....Bam! We get one out of the blue. So the benzo lie whispers in your ear that you didn't heal at all. This isn't true! What's happening is during the process, our brains go back to heal that symptom ( part of the brain) some more so you feel it. When we do things that cause a wave, we feel it because the brain says "oh this is what we'll be doing? Ok, then let's heal it better." So I've gathered this "revelation" from reading many posts. This is why I see posts saying " this feels like I'm in acute again". Our bodies are complexingly wonderfully made to function. Benzos/ sleep meds disrupted those natural functions for years ( most of us) so it's going to take some time to heal it. But, it WILL do this healing at its own individual pace. It'll heal this part a little then that part a little going back and forth until the job is done. So yes, it's a lie that we won't heal any more than we have last month.

This is a great thread! The lies need to be exposed. Happy healing everyone!!!!!

 

Here's one..... You aren't healing much. This is all the healing you'll get.   

What a crock of bull!!!!!! It's a good thing I keep a recovery journal. I go back and look at it. Sure enough the month before I made more progress. One of the buddies suggested doing this when I just started my taper. I wasn't a member but came on here as a guest. I'm so glad I listened! It can be hard to tell if you've healed any in a month because we're constantly feeling bad then get a window then bad. Plus once we think we've gotten past the big waves....Bam! We get one out of the blue. So the benzo lie whispers in your ear that you didn't heal at all. This isn't true! What's happening is during the process, our brains go back to heal that symptom ( part of the brain) some more so you feel it. When we do things that cause a wave, we feel it because the brain says "oh this is what we'll be doing? Ok, then let's heal it better." So I've gathered this "revelation" from reading many posts. This is why I see posts saying " this feels like I'm in acute again". Our bodies are complexingly wonderfully made to function. Benzos/ sleep meds disrupted those natural functions for years ( most of us) so it's going to take some time to heal it. But, it WILL do this healing at its own individual pace. It'll heal this part a little then that part a little going back and forth until the job is done. So yes, it's a lie that we won't heal any more than we have last month.

This is a great thread! The lies need to be exposed. Happy healing everyone!!!!!

Great post LD       

 

 

                  Love Nova xxx  :smitten:

Yes, that was a great post LadyDen. In particular, I like how you personified the brain to describe how healing works. It is something like that and you put it in words that anybody can understand. Great job 

 

I haven't read the whole thread back but a specific benzo lie I see sometimes, one that might have snagged me, is the lie that we have developed bipolar (or perhaps been bipolar all along). It's common for benzo withdrawal to be misdiagnosed as a psychiatric disorder and it's easy to see how bipolar might fit. Extremes of mood are part and parcel of this process and these days, even normal youthful behaviour is often deemed to indicate bipolar. The same might be said for something like ADHD, although I think this is harder to spot. These are wider societal lies and they are being busted at that scale... but they are clear and obvious benzo lies.

Here's one..... You aren't healing much. This is all the healing you'll get.   

What a crock of bull!!!!!! It's a good thing I keep a recovery journal. I go back and look at it. Sure enough the month before I made more progress. One of the buddies suggested doing this when I just started my taper. I wasn't a member but came on here as a guest. I'm so glad I listened! It can be hard to tell if you've healed any in a month because we're constantly feeling bad then get a window then bad. Plus once we think we've gotten past the big waves....Bam! We get one out of the blue. So the benzo lie whispers in your ear that you didn't heal at all. This isn't true! What's happening is during the process, our brains go back to heal that symptom ( part of the brain) some more so you feel it. When we do things that cause a wave, we feel it because the brain says "oh this is what we'll be doing? Ok, then let's heal it better." So I've gathered this "revelation" from reading many posts. This is why I see posts saying " this feels like I'm in acute again". Our bodies are complexingly wonderfully made to function. Benzos/ sleep meds disrupted those natural functions for years ( most of us) so it's going to take some time to heal it. But, it WILL do this healing at its own individual pace. It'll heal this part a little then that part a little going back and forth until the job is done. So yes, it's a lie that we won't heal any more than we have last month.

This is a great thread! The lies need to be exposed. Happy healing everyone!!!!!

Great post LD       

 

 

                  Love Nova xxx  :smitten:

Thank you sweet Nova! Now I get pissed when those thoughts try to tell me I'm not going to heal any more than I have. LOL

Love to you too LadyDen

Yes, that was a great post LadyDen. In particular, I like how you personified the brain to describe how healing works. It is something like that and you put it in words that anybody can understand. Great job 

 

I haven't read the whole thread back but a specific benzo lie I see sometimes, one that might have snagged me, is the lie that we have developed bipolar (or perhaps been bipolar all along). It's common for benzo withdrawal to be misdiagnosed as a psychiatric disorder and it's easy to see how bipolar might fit. Extremes of mood are part and parcel of this process and these days, even normal youthful behaviour is often deemed to indicate bipolar. The same might be said for something like ADHD, although I think this is harder to spot. These are wider societal lies and they are being busted at that scale... but they are clear and obvious benzo lies.

Thx Diaz! It made sense to me so I decided to share it to help someone else understand.

I agree with you about the bipolar lie. Thx for posting this imposter!  You know many doctors don't think this happens after a month off these drugs so they say this in front of our families and friends. Because it's a doctor, they are believed. But you can't blame our family too much because didn't we believe them too? That's why we're in this mess right now. But no we are NOT bipolar, delusional, schizophrenic etc. our brains are injured badly at the neurotransmitter levels. This takes awhile to heal. We're not faking and we're not bipolar! You're absolutely right. Great job posting this lie! Thank YOU!

This is the 4th post I have read today saying people on BB say we dont heal. Excuse me, but I managed to heal from a 30 year addiction to enormous doses of benzos. Plus I went CT. But heal I sure did. The part that has amazed me is how much better I feel now, in other words, my overall health improved tremendously.

I feel that when you run across a post like that, you let a Mod know immediately.

 

River Wolf and the Benzo Lies resonated with me a lot. Understanding this was difficult for me at first ( a benzo brain is kind of limp!) I often went back to read about his thoughts, and they always made sense to me.

east (Annie)

This is the 4th post I have read today saying people on BB say we dont heal. Excuse me, but I managed to heal from a 30 year addiction to enormous doses of benzos. Plus I went CT. But heal I sure did. The part that has amazed me is how much better I feel now, in other words, my overall health improved tremendously.

I feel that when you run across a post like that, you let a Mod know immediately.

 

River Wolf and the Benzo Lies resonated with me a lot. Understanding this was difficult for me at first ( a benzo brain is kind of limp!) I often went back to read about his thoughts, and they always made sense to me.

east (Annie)

 

Hi East,

 

Lady Den and this group were actually saying the the lie is that we don't heal, and Lady Den kept a journal so she could track the ways she in fact was healing when she didn't believe it. (Unless I have misinterpreted these posts) So this current group of people agree: yes, we do heal! And your life is also proof positive of the amazing healing our bodies can accomplish! Love you, East!

This is the 4th post I have read today saying people on BB say we dont heal. Excuse me, but I managed to heal from a 30 year addiction to enormous doses of benzos. Plus I went CT. But heal I sure did. The part that has amazed me is how much better I feel now, in other words, my overall health improved tremendously.

I feel that when you run across a post like that, you let a Mod know immediately.

 

River Wolf and the Benzo Lies resonated with me a lot. Understanding this was difficult for me at first ( a benzo brain is kind of limp!) I often went back to read about his thoughts, and they always made sense to me.

east (Annie)

 

Hi East,

 

Lady Den and this group were actually saying the the lie is that we don't heal, and Lady Den kept a journal so she could track the ways she in fact was healing when she didn't believe it. (Unless I have misinterpreted these posts) So this current group of people agree: yes, we do heal! And your life is also proof positive of the amazing healing our bodies can accomplish! Love you, East!

Exactly!! nowhere does it say we ''don't'' heal, so Annie is the one  who has misinterpreted these posts, you got it right 

 

                                                                Nova xxx  :smitten:

This is the 4th post I have read today saying people on BB say we dont heal. Excuse me, but I managed to heal from a 30 year addiction to enormous doses of benzos. Plus I went CT. But heal I sure did. The part that has amazed me is how much better I feel now, in other words, my overall health improved tremendously.

I feel that when you run across a post like that, you let a Mod know immediately.

Annie, you will remember like yesterday what a mess I was when I came here almost 8 years ago. I had many issues, but probably the worse was BP. Sometimes it was so high, I worried about strokes. You kept telling me to calm down.

 

But I don't think any of us are very calm after benzo withdrawal. I also went CT.

 

My last checkup BP was 122/78. I run two miles a day. Still no migraines (caffeine issue) and my health at age 72 is probably better than it was at 40.

 

So yes, we do recover. It just takes time and patience!

 

Happy New Year, Annie!

 

Gaer

I wonder if there isnt a missing post..?? -Perhaps the team quietly removed a random “troublesome” entry..??

Just a thought..

 

-wasnt mine.. I got a window(ish) at the 11th hour.. phew..

 

What a great idea River Wolf, I had some very distorted thinking/perceptions because of benzo use.

 

1. Something very bad was about to happen. I never knew what it was. A tsunami (I live near the ocean), I would receive  a phone call that one of my children had died. Maybe a horrific car crash. It was just the haunting idea that something catastrophic would happen momentarily.

 

2. I had a horrible disease. I would look in the mirror and see evidence of illness. Maybe it was that the moles on my skin  were all cancerous. I had so much stomach pain I thought that quite probably had stomach cancer. I was checked out by a GI and got a clean bill of health.

 

When I went c/t from 1 mg of lorazepam a day I was suffering so many physical (and mental) symptoms I started looking into books about the end of life. I was sure I didn't have long to live. What these drugs did to me I could never put into words. I'm so grateful to be benzo free and healing. I would describe myself as maybe, roughly 90% healed.

 

Again, thanks for the thread. This helps me see through the distorted thinking benzos caused.

I wonder if there isnt a missing post..?? -Perhaps the team quietly removed a random “troublesome” entry..??

Just a thought..

 

-wasnt mine.. I got a window(ish) at the 11th hour.. phew..

 

I checked ...nope. 

I wonder if there isnt a missing post..?? -Perhaps the team quietly removed a random “troublesome” entry..??

Just a thought..

 

-wasnt mine.. I got a window(ish) at the 11th hour.. phew..

 

I checked ...nope. 

Damn, thought I was “enlightened” for a minute there..

 

Logical guess, Cant.

We really don’t like to remove posts ever, but sometimes... 

Anyone have busted Benzo lie about muscle stiffness yet??

Thank you for opening this thread. I go around in circles with all of the above "lies". A nasty one I've been telling myself is that I deserve this and I just need to suck it up. I "know" these can't be true...

The benzo lies were whispering to me again today (even left a parting gift of a swollen, red hot burning ear that lasted a couple hours—how stinking thoughtful); I needed this thread today and so glad I stumbled upon it.  It will serve as a touchstone of groundedness moving forward. 

Hey guys, this post is really good,

Can anyone bust my current benzo brain questions:

 

Will I be able to work full time again?

Will I be able to handle stress again?

Will I be able to be round my family and friends and large crowds again?

Will I be able to travel and do exciting things again such as scuba diving?

Will I be able to ride on our boat again?

 

As I sit in my bed AGAIN..... I daydream of all these things and then I end up crying because Im so scared ........... I am hopeful though and I do believe my body can and will do this!!

Bump! I’ve been reading through this thread the last few days, it’s fantastic! So much hope for the future! ❤️