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America is an anxious nation, with anxiety rates rising to over 35% during the pandemic. This led to a 34% increase in prescriptions for anti-anxiety medications such as benzodiazepines. That’s bad news for your brain and overall well-being, according to an explosive 2023 study. The new survey of over 1,200 people, which appeared in Plos One, found that benzos have devastating life consequences for some people, even after they stop using them.
Benzos are bad news for your brain and overall well-being, according to an explosive 2023 study.
Benzodiazepines are a type of drug that enhances the effects of a neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). This neurochemical is known to have a calming effect on the brain and body. Benzos are some of the most frequently prescribed medications in the U.S., with over 30 million Americans using them in the past year.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved benzodiazepine use for the treatment of a variety of conditions, including:
Physicians may also prescribe benzos “off-label” for other issues, such as:
Some of the different types of benzos include:
Benzodiazepine use is associated with several emotional, cognitive, and physical consequences that impair quality of life. The team of researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus who conducted the survey mentioned above have proposed the name benzodiazepine-induced neurological dysfunction (BIND) for these negative symptoms.
The survey reveals that these consequences occur not only while taking benzos, but also continue after a person stops taking the medication. For 77% of the participants, symptoms persisted for months or more than a year after discontinuation.
Symptoms associated with the use of benzos that lasted longer than one year in more than 50% of the survey respondents include:
The presence of these symptoms came as no surprise to the study coauthor, cardiologist, and director of Benzodiazepine Information Coalition Christy Huff, MD. “Patients have been reporting long-term effects from benzodiazepines for over 60 years. I am one of those patients. Even though I took my medication as prescribed, I still experience symptoms on a daily basis at 4 years off benzodiazepines,” said Dr. Huff in a news release.
What’s especially disturbing is that these symptoms were often new problems unrelated to the issues that led to a prescription for anti-anxiety pills. The most frequently cited reasons leading to a prescription included:
However, the persistent symptoms arising while using benzos, while tapering off the drug, or after discontinuation were often different from these initial issues.
The lasting consequences of using benzos go even further, according to the study in Plos One.
More than 90% of the survey respondents said that they have experienced at least one lasting negative impact in their life due to the use of benzodiazepines.
The adverse life events most often experienced due to benzo use or withdrawal included:
Alarmingly, over 79% of the survey participants said they experienced between 6 and 13 adverse life impacts. For more than 53% of the respondents, benzo use or withdrawal led to 8 or more negative life issues.
In terms of how much the use of benzos impacted their personal and/or work life, the vast majority said it caused “severe, quite severe, or enormous problems.” Specifically, they reported significant problems in the following areas:
As you can see from these findings, these drugs can impact nearly every aspect of your life.
