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Benzos Benzos and Depression..??

B

belfort

Bluelighter
Joined
Nov 2, 2005
Messages
2,293
for years i have read that long term benzo use(whatever that means) can and usually causes depression in its users...well i consider myself a very light etizolam user but ive also started to notice that my moods lately simply are "off"..on days i take etizolam i will take 2 mg spread throughout the day but my overall mood is low..i wouldnt call it depressed necessarily but i feel more lethargic, motivation is much lower than usual, general 'blah' feeling..it isnt withdrawals as even on the days i take etiz i get these feelings and im thinking it might be related to etiz..

my question for you benzo users that experienced depression, about how long into your benzo habit did you start to experience it??were the symptoms the same as mine or worse?and then comes the problem or catch 22, the benzos kill anxiety but if they cause depression, its just replacing one negative with another..you remove the benzos though and anxiety comes back...hmm..for those that experienced depression on benzos, what did you do about it, just stop taking them or lower dosage??
 
i don't think benzos are directly related to depression to be honest. i'm not an oldhead, experienced one though...

anxiety and depression are often coexistant, so if you feel as if you're depressed, treat it like you would any kind (regardless if it's being caused by benzos) you know CBT, changing the way you think and see things wtv, you can look that up online.

if you truly believe it is the benzos that are causing your depression, try to taper off of them and see if you improve.

i've been depressed and still kinda am, and i do not think my benzo use worsened it at all. of course, don't abuse your benzos and they can be a wonderful tool
 
I don't know if I qualify for a long term benzo user. The last year+ 3-5 times a week and daily for the last 3-4 months but I do other drugs as well. I have really bad depression but I don't know if benzos are the cause. I can't remember when it started but like you I have no motivation, I basically just feel dead inside. I'm not actively suicidal but I don't want to live anymore the only thing that's keeping me from purposely ODing is my mom but once she's gone then all bets are off. I haven't done anything about it but I am in the process of tapering off the benzos.
 
be carefull with the benzo's. they mostly stay in your system for 3 weeks or so, so a good month break will have you feeling totally different hopfully if u can stay off em. ul be full of life .
 
Benzo's can and do cause depression - although not in everybody. They inhibit 5HT, DA, NE, among others, and this can lead to depression in those prone.

Case in point: Years ago, before I took any medication, I couldn't take any benzo (unless coming down off of stims, etc) because they would make me feel tired and sad. Now I'm on SSRIs and benzos do exactly what they should: relaxation and a mild mood lift.
 
very interesting no w4rn1ng...

This is why it is important for doctors (or a legit outside person) to prescribe these drugs to ppl. few group of people, including you(belfort) and I, get depression from taking a one-off time benzo. you describe it really well, it is like a minor mdma-tuesday-blues.

all benzos do the exact same thing to me as you. I think it started from the start, but only just picked up on the bad side-effect (depression) like 4 or 5 months of taking them in moderation!! Best thing to do: never take them, just only when you REALLY need it.

honestly, I'd rather deal with the anxiety than the depression. anxiety you feel alive. better not to take them man. it sucks I know
 
^^umm anxiety sucks big time too..im not sure where you get this notion that you feel alive while anxious lol..when im anxious, im irritable, high strung and generally not fun to be around...i wish i felt alive when in that condition or else i wouldnt take benzos..i dealt with natural forms of eliminating anxiety for many years before turning to benzos...ssris and the rest didnt help, benzos do but they come at a price ive discovered...
 
I've never gotten this effect from benzos but I've heard accounts IRL from people who have. Personally I think the drug has a mild anti-depressant effect for me anyway, at least during the drug's duration of effects (IE not only does it neutralize anxiety but it gives me an overall more positive outlook on my own circumstances). Once the drug wears off I just go back to my baseline mood, which admittedly isn't great but it pretty much the same all the time, benzos or no benzos.
 
of course it sucks. I'm just saying that depression is a lot worse than anxiety ~subjective. with anxiety I think it's easier (or more like impossible) to beat than depression.
 
I've never used benzos for depression for more than several days.......there's times where I got depressed & had a ton of anxiety over a certain situation & used Valium for a day or 2 to help take away the anxiety & help me snap out of the depression.

There's all kinds of reasons why people are depressed.......if its because of a chemical imbalance, no matter how many benzos you take, it will make the depression so many times worse in the long run.

I would rather someone self medicate with low doses of opiates for depression than benzos if their depression is brought on by ordinary situations in their lives that may cause them to be depressed instead of not knowing why you are.........even tho self medicating with opiates can lead you down a slippery slope, I just don't see it being as bad as a benzo addiction, so I would choose the lesser one of two evils if you will.

2 years ago I was using small doses of Valium for several months, like 4 or 5 times a week & like you stated, after a while, it seems you get rebound depression from benzos......I didn't like the way I was feeling so I chose to taper down several weeks & stop. The most I had ever taken in 1 day was 30mgs a couple of times here & there during those months so itwwasn't too bad but IMO/ime, benzos for me at least, will only be used at those needed times of anxiety or stress brought on by events around me.

Benzos are evil & can turn on you, but can also help you very much at the time of need.
 
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i have been on benos for about 5 years now, at relatively high doses, and have not yet experienced deppression, i think it partly depends on what benzos you take, i'm on ethyl loflazepate mainly and was on oxazepam before as far as anxiolytics go, and theyre nothing like valium or bromazepam for instance, hich make you a lot more chilled, but also lethargic and eventually depressed from what i've read/heard
 
I suffer from anxiety and depression and use benzos fairly regularly (weeks on, weeks off), mostly etizolam.

I have noticed that my mood generally improves for the first week or so of taking the benzo, it seems to be from the psychological boost of getting a decent sleep, not being constantly anxious, etc.

However with time (1-2 weeks) my mood deteriorates severely, far worse than before I started to take the etizolam. The symptoms have been SEVERE, and as someone who has been at rock-bottom with depression on multiple occasions, I don't use that term lightly.

It seems to me to be a direct side-effect of the etiz. I read somewhere (sorry, on my phone or I'd point out where) that depression, or worsening of, is a known side-effect of benzodiazepines.

Usually, when it happens, I stop taking the benzos and the symptoms disappear pretty much instantly. I suggest you do the same ASAP. I carelessly managed to get myself addicted to etizolam recently for reasons I won't get into, and its effect on my depression is unbearable. I wouldn't wish it on anybody. Quit while you're ahead.
 
I suffer from major depression, panic disorder, and gad. I have tried clonazepam and diazepam - each long-term for my anxiety. I found that diazepam seemed to make my depression worse, while clonazepam seems to actually improve it a bit. Somewhere I read of clonaz having some unique serotonin effect, but I don't remember where or even what the mode of action was. (it was something downstream I believe)

Anyway, clonaz works great for me and doesn't depress for myself and others I've spoken to.
 
Well, that's unfortunate. Works great for me in comparison to other benzos (diaz is just the only one I have taken for extended period).

But, I believe you but I'm not purchasing the study the first link leads to (regarding withdrawal?), and the 2nd link is comparing clonaz to other non-benzo antiepileptics in children.

Anyway, sorry it didn't work out for ya
 
TheLostBoys said:
I've never used benzos for depression for more than several days.......there's times where I got depressed & had a ton of anxiety over a certain situation & used Valium for a day or 2 to help take away the anxiety & help me snap out of the depression.

There's all kinds of reasons why people are depressed.......if its because of a chemical imbalance, no matter how many benzos you take, it will make the depression so many times worse in the long run.

I would rather someone self medicate with low doses of opiates for depression than benzos if their depression is brought on by ordinary situations in their lives that may cause them to be depressed instead of not knowing why you are.........even tho self medicating with opiates can lead you down a slippery slope, I just don't see it being as bad as a benzo addiction, so I would choose the lesser one of two evils if you will.

2 years ago I was using small doses of Valium for several months, like 4 or 5 times a week & like you stated, after a while, it seems you get rebound depression from benzos......I didn't like the way I was feeling so I chose to taper down several weeks & stop. The most I had ever taken in 1 day was 30mgs a couple of times here & there during those months so itwwasn't too bad but IMO/ime, benzos for me at least, will only be used at those needed times of anxiety or stress brought on by events around me.

Benzos are evil & can turn on you, but can also help you very much at the time of need.
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QFT! I have a love/hate with the damn things. Once I break this dependence I'd really like to medicate with tramadol. You would think being unscheduled doctors would throw them at you but this hasn't been my case.
 
Nateup said:
Well, that's unfortunate. Works great for me in comparison to other benzos (diaz is just the only one I have taken for extended period).

But, I believe you but I'm not purchasing the study the first link leads to (regarding withdrawal?), and the 2nd link is comparing clonaz to other non-benzo antiepileptics in children.

Anyway, sorry it didn't work out for ya
Click to expand...

The articles discuss, along with many other things, that clonazepam is the benzodiazepine most commonly associated with mood disturbance.
 
^^^ Indeed it is.
Benzodiazepines aren't for everyone, and they are actually supposed to be prescribed short term anyway(or PRN for insomnia, anxiety etc). They can and will cause, and exacerbate depression, but rarely are tge actual cause of it without heavy abuse.

Seriously, I highly doubt someone taking 5-10mg diazepam several times a month is going to get depressed off of that, in fact it's borderline silly.
 
If I have a sudden spike in my benzo usage I notice that in the days that follow I definitely feel more "down" then usual. Not sure if it's directly caused from using benzo's, but it is a pattern that has happened a few times now.

It is more noticeable if I've already been feeling depressed. The days after higher usage will leave me feeling even more depressed. If I was feeling fine before and during the heavier period use then I probably won't feel as depressed in the days that follow. There's probably a bunch of different factors that I'm not including in here that are having an effect on my mood as well, so it's difficult to tell what is from what.
 
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