Surviving Benzodiazepines: A Patient’s and Clinician’s Perspectives

Abstract

Although benzodiazepines have been used for 6 decades, many questions remain unanswered by research. The lived experiences of those adversely affected long term can provide insights into how these agents might be more thoughtfully prescribed. Here, perspectives of one such experience encompassing benzodiazepine initiation, ongoing use with adverse consequences and difficult discontinuation are presented through the eyes of an affected individual and a clinician. This experience highlights the importance of limited initiation and duration of use (2–4 weeks) as well as a supported, slow tapering process led by patients. Because researched evidence about deprescribing benzodiazepines is insufficient and because individual experiences vary so widely, it is the patient’s expertise—that of her or his lived experience—that should assume a primary role in determining the course and pace of discontinuing these medications.