Completely cured my anxiety, but now I have another problem!!

**ChRoNoxThexDon** · 10-15-2010 09:43 AM

Well, about 2 years ago I suffered a death in the family.. my brother who I grew up with my whole life died of cancer at the young age of only 35... after this happend I became what I like to call "Terminally depressed" .. I ended up losing my job because I didn't want to leave my bed and be out in the world, I just wanted my brother to come back... Sooner or later I started forcing myself to get up out of bed and by this time I was still very depressed but not enough anymore to make me completely immobilized, I also found myself to be INCREDIBLY anxious dealing with severe anxiety all throughout my days dealing with CONSTANT panic attacks. Especially in social situations... So a friend of mine convinced me to go see a psychologist who eventually referred me to a pyschiatrist who I began to see regularly...This doctor must have put me on and I must have tried every drug out there from zoloft to paxil, prozac, celexa, buspar, klonopin, and most recently xanax which I'm still on.

NONE of these meds worked for me... the depression, anxiety, and worst of all-panic attacks continued. Eventually, desperate, I began scouring the web for answers and I eventually came across this site ..*removed outbound link*.. which is this program to cure anxiety/panic attacks for good all naturally.. To make a long story short, it worked incredibly for me.. my anxiety is gone, depression as well almost all but gone, and I haven't had a panic attack in over a month. I do though from time to time still feel sorrow over my brother. However, this is my problem: I'm still taking my xanax because I'm completely ADDICTED.. when I try to stop taking it I start going through incredible withdrawls mentally and physically... If I would have known of this addiction problem I would have never allowed my doctor to put me on them. Has anyone else suffered from benzo addiction and if so, know how to safely get off it with minimal side effects?? Please any advice/comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

**ItsASecret** · 10-15-2010 10:27 AM

If you want to come off of a drug you need supervision (not literally standing next to you the whole time, but going in for appointments to check on the progress), either by your GP to monitor your symptoms or by the psychiatrist that prescribed them. There can be other drugs given that can lessen the impact of withdrawl by basically helping metabolize the other drug fast, another method is taking less and less of the prescribed benzo overtime which drastically reduces the withdrawl symptoms. All the material can be discussed with your practicing doctor or psychiatrist.

**Little.Chuck** · 10-15-2010 10:41 AM

Did you use the linden method?

**stariana** · 10-15-2010 11:43 AM

A close friend of mine went through the same thing... close family member passed away way too young and she ended up taking an anti-depresant for years. She thought she was ready to come off taking meds, and learned the hard way that she needed wein off of the medication. This should definitely be something to discuss with the doctor that prescribed it to you. All I know from her experience, is stopping abruptly, she was NOT handling it well. Once she discussed with her dr. and stopped slowly, under a doctors care, she did just fine. Sorry for your loss. Hope you are better....

**tesoro** · 10-15-2010 08:41 PM

I'm very sorry to hear of your loss. Life throws us many challenges and this one is a real tough one for you. I think you need to believe that your brother will always be with you and you need to honour his life by remembering the good times with him. He is at peace now and one day you will be with him again.

As for your medication issue. You definitely need to see a doctor about it. Someone you trust regardless of the doctor who prescribed this for you. Diet, rest and regular exercise can help you stay strong while you try to wean off the drug. It's also very important to go out with friends and do things that make you feel good. Hang in there and take it one day at a time. You will get through this.