At first I had the fear of driving, but had to drive a block at a time to get rid of the fear of driving. As I faced up to the fears, I gained confidence in myself.
Same fear of going to the supermarket. I panicked and dropped some canned goods while waiting in
the supermarket line and ran out of the store to the safety of my car outside. After several attempts of going back the next day I got over that apprehensive fear
When coming off BZD's we all feel that there are no safe places for us to be but we do learn that these fears go away after continually
trying to face them. Don't blame yourself for again, the cause is the withdrawals.
Panic attacks: I would walk immediately around the neighborhood. It always seemd to pass in a few minutes. I always tried to think of pleasant things to get my mind off of what I was thinking at the time during that "flight and run away feeling" of freezing up all over.I also used to breathe slowly in and out of a paper bag over my mouth and nose and always that uptight rush feeling of numbness all over would leave in a few minutes. Always remember that it never stays long for people who get those BZD's anxious feelings. Some people in withdrawals told me they got in their car to help supress that anxious feeling of panic from BZD withdrawal.
Try not to project when the next panic attack might happen. We all had that problem of making ourselves believe that another attack is imminent so common sense should tell us that if we plan on having one then we will. So forget it and carry on, it's over and will not happen again. To stop our apprehension, try not to get excited, rather turn it over to God to protect us from all anxieties.
Get on the phone and talk about it. Do not bury thoughts of doom.
Walking is a must for us to get rid of physical pain stress
no matter how exhausted you feel, try to walk then rest and then walk again. Keep moving.
Sleep: I know it's hard for us to get a good nights sleep in recovery but we will not die from a lack of sleep though we might feel like it. Don't be worrying if you will sleep, just say to hell with it, if I sleep fine but if not go read or do something else. Chamomile and other teas are available as sleeping aids and some think Melatonin helps.Since tryptophan is now banned, try eating a banana or some raw pumpkin seeds before bed also since they both contain tryptophan.
For itching skin, use some vinegar or Aveeno bath solution in your bath. For stinging soreness under the skin apply isopropanol as this helps some people.
Choking or out of breath sensations: Try screaming in your car with the windows up ( This won't work in Italy )or scream in your pillow at home, we get rid of energy we build up in our lungs and chest and vent it out, it builds up confidence in our selves as well.
Anger: It seems that everyone who is going through BZD withdrawals has this almost constant anger, it makes sense that when we are in physical pain we will be angry, but I used to always vent my anger at loved ones and always apologised right after being angry at those I love.
Memory deficits: All BZD addicts suffer short term memory loss. We remember things a long time ago but not just as they happen. This is normal in WD but each week you will regain some of your memory. It took me 6 months after withdrawing from 20 years of using Librium to get my memory back. So do not worry because you have to read the same paragraph in a book over and over to absorb it. It will get better. It will get better. It will get better.
Frustration: This will really tear us up if we let it. No one understands what pain or feelings you are going through from BZD's unless they too have experienced these BZD WDs. We might expect that doctors and people working in detox rehab units to understand us but they cannot because they are not doing any research on us nor are they inclined to spend the time doing so as far as I can see.
Continuing education to help others understand that BZD dependency is NOT the common addiction they are used to seeing may help bring about changes necessary for folks like us to obtain the quality of health care necessary to recover from this addiction by prescription.
I hope this web site will help you break free from the tranquilizer trap.
