u/Alternative-Eye4547

I hit 6 years post-benzo this week. Despite 2.5 years of PAWS after a forced 1-month rapid taper (from Klon, 3.5 years daily), a multi-year Gabapentin taper (☑️), and extensive trauma treatment for pre-benzo PTSD (☑️), I finished my masters and got licensed, wrote a book, found love, and just recently moved to another country halfway around the world to finish the last bit of my PhD.

Has it been challenging? Yeah. Do I consider myself 100% healed? Not just yet - but things keep improving. Life doesn’t wait until you’re 100% recovered to become meaningful. Remember that the joy you feel you’re missing out on is still imprinted in the memories you make, even if you don’t get to savor it just yet - it’ll be there waiting for you when those systems come back online. And no, you’re not losing yourself in this process even though it may feel that way.

If you wanna know more about what I recommend to maximize your healing process, check out the free pdf of my benzo recovery book - the preface and 2-part intro will give you a thorough snapshot of the rest of the contents. If you wanna chat more directly with others who are going through it, joint our weekly zoom support group sometime!

In Florida; caught in the crossfire; died in the hospital.

The day after his high school graduation. Awful.

I have a circadian rhythm disorder (DSPS) and had been taking my ATX dose (80mg) before bed to mitigate nausea. Problem is I wake up a few hrs later and then get only superficial sleep (waking every 30-60 min) until I get up. That’s had a terrible impact on my health over time.

I decided to switch to dosing in the morning. Today I took the dose about 3 hrs before getting up but I’ve felt like shit all day - super foggy, unmotivated, weird head tingling, cognitively detached. That’s a problem since I have a dissertation to finish.

I know it can take some time for things to normalize after making changes. For those who have switched their dosing time, how long did it take to adapt - days? Weeks?

A huge congrats to u/PossibleFun7711!

In addition to

- being benzo-free for years,

- participating in the BIND specialist training,

- serving as a mod here

- helping finish our benzo-trauma research study report,

- and spending countless unpaid hours on developing personalized taper schedules…

…they just completed a sober life coach certification, too!

They’re a HUGE asset to this community and they don’t get enough recognition for the labor of love, so special thanks and big congrats are well deserved!