You Were Not In A Bar

You Were Not At A Party

You Were Hyperventilating In A Parking Lot

Or You Had Not Slept In Four Days

Or The Anxiety Had Gotten So Loud You Could Not Function

A Doctor Handed You Something Small And White And Said It Would Help

It Did Help

That Was The Problem

THIS NEWSLETTER IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. NOTHING IN THIS CONTENT CONSTITUTES MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, OR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. ALWAYS CONSULT A QUALIFIED HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL BEFORE MAKING ANY HEALTH RELATED DECISIONS.

OKAY BACK FROM THE PANIC ATTACK 😮‍💨

Benzodiazepines Do Not Have A Hollywood Problem

Nobody Glamorized Xanax In A Music Video

Nobody Made Valium Look Like Power

These Drugs Did Not Enter Your Life Through Culture

They Entered Through A Prescription Pad

Through A Panic Attack Severe Enough To Send You To A Doctor

Through A Sleepless Week That Made You Desperate For Anything That Would Work

The Entry Point Is Not A Vice

It Is A Symptom

That Is What Makes Benzos Different From Every Other Substance In This Series

Nobody Takes Their First One At A Party

They Take It In A Doctor's Office

With The Implicit Message That This Is Medicine

That It Is Safe

That It Is The Appropriate Response To What You Are Feeling

Your Brain Has A System Designed To Calm Itself Down

The Primary Chemical In That System Is Called GABA

Gamma Aminobutyric Acid

GABA Is The Brain's Main Inhibitory Neurotransmitter

Its Job Is To Slow Neural Firing

To Quiet The Circuits That Are Running Too Hot

When You Are Anxious

Those Circuits Are Overwhelming The GABA System's Ability To Manage Them

The Volume Is Too High

The Brake Is Not Strong Enough

This Is The Gap Benzodiazepines Walk Directly Into

Benzos Bind To The GABA A Receptor

The Same Receptor Your Brain's Natural GABA Uses

They Do Not Replace GABA

They Amplify It

They Make The Receptor Respond More Powerfully Than It Was Designed To

The Neural Circuits That Were Firing Too Fast Slow Down

The Chest Loosens

The Thoughts That Were Looping Stop Looping

The Threat That Was Everywhere Becomes Manageable

The Relief Is Real

It Is Not Placebo

It Is Pharmacological

For Someone Whose Nervous System Has Been Running At Maximum Volume For Days Or Weeks, That Quieting Feels Like Rescue

The Brain Registers It That Way Too

Unlike Substances That Take Weeks To Build Tolerance

Benzos Begin Changing The Brain Within Days

The GABA A Receptors That Are Being Amplified Start To Compensate

They Become Less Sensitive

They Reduce In Number

The Brain Is Trying To Restore Balance

The Dose That Quieted Everything Last Week Does Less This Week

More Is Required To Reach The Same Floor

This Process Can Begin Before The Prescription Runs Out

When The Drug Wears Off Between Doses

Something Happens That Is Not On The Label

The Anxiety Returns

Not At The Level It Was Before The First Dose

Higher

The GABA System That Was Artificially Amplified Has Started Compensating Downward

The Natural Calming Signal Is Weaker Than It Was Before The Prescription

The Brain That Was Anxious Before The Pill Is Now More Anxious Without It

The Drug Prescribed To Treat Anxiety Begins Generating The Anxiety It Was Treating

The Cycle That Closes Around That Fact Is The Subject Of The Rest Of This Series