In light of Lisa Lings special on Benzodiazepines tonight at 7pm on CNN (10pm Eastern time “This is Life”), I thought it was an appropriate time to share a bit more of my personal experience with Benzodiazepines, which in many ways is a much worse epidemic than opioids. The “benzo” epidemic is one that has personally impacted my family’s life due to both my father in law and husband being prescribed them at different times and for different reasons. Unlike opioids, the problems arising from taking benzodiazepines are not well known or clearly understood by the very medical community that prescribe them by the millions every year. These “anti anxiety” medications are prescribed by primary care Drs for a multitude of reasons that have nothing to do with anxiety and often become the beginning of a long, slow erosion of a persons life. This class of medication disrupts a person’s central nervous system thereby affecting the mental, physical (and spiritual) health….all without them or those around them connecting the two.
I am grateful to have uncovered the connection between my husband’s being prescribed this “harmless” medication for sleep and travel fatigue during the most stressful time in his career, and the slow unraveling of our life and family over the subsequent years. Like Chinese water torture it was one little drop at a time. It was not until I found myself needing to get outside help to intervene that I realized the depths of the problem we were facing. I thank God I am a tenacious truth seeker and researcher and that I knew my husband’s behavior was not the person I knew him to be. We’ve known each other since I was 18 years old. By the grace of God I uncovered the connection and found a unique place to help him taper safely off of this medication (quitting cold turkey is extremely dangerous and often lethal). My husband is now 10 months benzo free and he is so grateful (and so am I) that I did not give up on him. He was literally at deaths door due to all the complications of this medication, but Like Lisa Lings father he has regained both his physical and mental health, our family is healing and our children are happy to have their father back in their lives.
Sadly, literally everyone I have talked with on my journey through this experience was either prescribed a benzo or knows someone taking one. I am grateful to educate them on what I have learned that their eyes may also be opened and they may have hope for a life recovered.
I am looking forward to Lisa Lings’ expose this evening and hope it is able to effectively bring to light the realities for those prescribed a benzodiazepine. It is astounding and heartbreaking. I encourage you to watch it and hope it opens your eyes, and your heart to compassion and forgiveness for those that have become an unwitting victim of Big Pharma. It is their responsibility to be transparent about the dangers of the drugs they push on our medical professionals.
I hope this special begins an avalanche of attention, research and support for those who are still suffering. Increased knowledge and awareness will save lives and prevent families like ours from ever having to travel this road.
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