On the street, they’re called “benzos”—psychiatric drugs that promise to reduce anxiety by slowing brain activity.
Considered “minor” tranquilizers (unlike antipsychotics, which are “major”), they are so culturally ubiquitous that in the Burt Reynolds film Starting Over, a character asks, “Does anyone have a Valium?” and every woman pulls out a pill bottle to offer one.
But benzos are no laughing matter. Only recently have researchers begun to document the extent of the prolonged and often devastating symptoms some users experience after stopping benzos.
“It takes everything in me to appear normal.… It was a nightmare. My brain has not been the same.”
A team at the University of Nebraska Medical Center recently reported a new disturbing condition resulting from long-term use.
They described a 57-year-old man with a 40-year benzo habit—originally begun to manage alcohol addiction, depression and anxiety. When he finally quit, he suffered debilitating fatigue, brain fog, uncontrollable anxiety, overwhelming emotional distress and panic far beyond the typical two-week withdrawal window.
His condition set off alarm bells for researchers, who recognized they were seeing benzodiazepine addiction as well as persistent damage to the nervous system, which they refer to as Benzodiazepine-Induced Neurologic Dysfunction (BIND).
BIND is real, underdiagnosed and dangerous. “While acute benzodiazepine withdrawal is well characterized, typically emerging within days and resolving in under two weeks, some patients experience prolonged symptoms such as fatigue, impaired concentration and anxiety that persist well past this time frame,” researchers wrote.
For patients trying to leave benzos behind, the road is long and grueling, The New York Times reported: “Many then get cut off from their medication or taper too quickly, and face dangerous and potentially life-threatening withdrawal symptoms that can linger long after the drugs are discontinued.”
The American Society of Addiction Medicine recommends lengthy tapering procedures, sometimes lasting more than a year, with monitoring even after the drug is fully stopped. Yet weaning millions of Americans off benzos is daunting: The FDA reports over 92 million prescriptions filled in 2019 alone.
Going cold turkey is often neither effective nor safe.
The human toll is severe. Tasha Hedges quit Xanax after 20 years and suffered hot flashes, cold sweats, restless legs, shaking and teeth grinding. Years later, she said: “It takes everything in me to appear normal.… It was a nightmare. My brain has not been the same.”
A University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus survey of 1,207 benzo users—63.2 percent still taking, 24.4 percent tapering, 11.3 percent fully off—found shocking results: 54.4 percent reported suicidal thoughts or attempts. Symptoms often lasted over a year, including low energy, memory loss, anxiety, insomnia, sensitivity to light and sound, digestive issues, muscle weakness and body pain. Over 40 percent reported 17 or more ongoing symptoms at least a year after quitting.
Dr. Christy Huff, one of the researchers and a former benzo user herself, explained: “Patients have been reporting long-term effects from benzodiazepines for over 60 years.… Even though I took my medication as prescribed, I still experience symptoms on a daily basis at four years off benzodiazepines.”
Dr. Alexis D. Ritvo added: “This survey presents significant new evidence that a subset of patients experiences long-term neurological complications. This should change how we think about benzodiazepines and how they are prescribed.”
Indeed, it should. Several celebrities learned of the negative effects of benzos, including the late rocker Eddie Van Halen, Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks and the late actor Heath Ledger.
Nicks said: “The only thing I’d change is walking into the office of that psychiatrist who prescribed me Klonopin. That ruined my life for eight years.”
With 30.6 million adults reporting benzo use, these “quiet” psychiatric drugs are a hidden threat. Unlike heroin, meth or fentanyl, benzos are handed out by smiling shrinks in white coats and considered harmless—yet they inflict brain damage, lifelong symptoms and sometimes suicidal crises.
The message is simple: The quick artificial calm is never worth the long-term cost. To paraphrase Kris Kristofferson’s song The Pilgrim: “The goin’ up was definitely not worth the comin’ down.”
