Allay Anxiety|How to Deal with Anxiety, Cope without Drugs… Thrive!

A recent publication by the Anxiety Disorders Association of America documents several interesting statistics concerning anxiety disorders. I think the most interesting fact contained therein was that there are a tremendous number of people suffering from this disease. More than 40 million people in America have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder according to the report.

These numbers are staggering especially in light of the fact that the entire population of the country numbers at around 300 million. These statistics suggest that almost 20% of Americans struggle with anxiety.

The moral of all of this, I suppose, is that if you’ve been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder you are clearly in good company. These statistics illustrate that even though anxiety disorders are not entirely the “norm” they occur with such frequency that I would hope you don’t feel alone if you suffer from one.

Approximately six years ago,  I began attending a weekly therapy group to help cope with struggles related to my anxiety disorder. Signing on to this group was something I was extremely reluctant to do but agreed to try it out for the opportunity to attack my anxiety. After some badgering by my individual therapist I agreed to try out the group.

And I’m very glad I made that decision for it has proven a most rewarding experience for me. Actually, I still show up every week, on Mondays to be exact, and I don’t have any plans to stop attending.

Let me testify here for a moment.  If you suffer from anxiety like me, then the I idea of sharing your trials and tribulations openly in front of a group of total strangers every week can seem intimidating. For me that first week was terrifying. But something not unusual happened. The “strangers” didn’t remain that way for long.

As time went by, I learned of their struggles and their their difficulties and, most of all, I felt accepted. Because of this I was able to communicate openly about my issues with anxiety and depression and come to grasp an entirely new vocabulary for interpersonal relationships.

After years of group attendance, I am a much healthier person. Attacking anxiety isn’t easy. In fact, I still struggle with my anxiety, but I’ve made tremendous gains in that area. If you struggle, like I do, with an anxiety disorder, I can’t recommend group therapy highly enough.

Shortly after diagnosing me with an anxiety disorder, it was my psychiatrist’s preliminary order of business to write an order for a hearty dose of a benzodiazepine named klonopin. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. In an effort to attack the anxiety I was experiencing, I agreed to start on the new medication without much resistance.

Klonopin is one of the most popular benzos and for nearly eights years I took, as prescribed, over five milligrams a day.

I began to experience a disturbing trend. When I would miss a dose, as I would on occasion, very unfortunate things would happen, The withdrawals, just over short intervals, were very unpleasant: headaches, shakes, disorientation and nervousness.

After several years of this routine, I felt like I needed a change. I decided to cease the rollercoaster I’d been on for so long. However, I’d had a little taste of klonopin withdrawal and I was terrified of a prolonged withdrawal syndrone. I met with my psychiatrist again who prescribed me some medications to, as he said, ease the pain of the process. I was instructed to cut one milligram every week. By following this plan I would be benzodazepine free within six weeks.

I began the reduction schedule and things got hairy fast. I was a university student at the time. But after a few weeks, when I was down to 3 milligrams daily, the withdrawal syndrome became untolerable. I suffered from horrendous diarrhea, had difficulty breathing, my vision became impaired, and I went 48 hour stretches without sleep.

I withdrew from my school, though I would return the following fall and eventually earn my degree, and began consuming alcohol with regularity. Things were difficult. Words can not describe how straining that  period was.

In a short while I had adjusted to three milligrams. My anxiety disorder still reared its nasty head from time to time, but it wasn’t a greater problem than it had been when I was on six milligrams. It made me wonder why I was even on the klonopin in the first place. Why did I have to go through that withdrawal episode? And, in due time, I decided that it was time to completely discontinue the klonopin treatments.

Attacking anxiety was taking it’s toll on me, unfortunately, by this time I was a total benzodiazepine addict. I did not abuse the drugs to get a high. But I needed to have my pills. Every day. Without exceptions. Still fearful from the terrible withdrawal experience, I sought professional assistance to medically and safely detox from the benzos.

I checked into a detox center and over fourteen days I was given barbituates to help control the klonopin withdrawal symptoms. This was in November of 2007. For the past year, I have been free of benzodiazepines and the withdrawal has been more manageable, though still very unpleasant.

To this day, I am just beginning to I feel “normal.” The doctors told me that my system, due to the length of time I had been regularly taking the benzos, would require 12-18 months to normalize.

I wish I never started the klonopin in the first place because getting off them has been such a difficulty. I still have 6 months to a year of slow withdrawal to look forward to because these drugs put my system so out of order.

I know, this drug is commonly prescribed today, but I wonder if the costs of the klonopin withdrawal syndrome outweigh the benefits.