Posted by jay on November 28, 2001, at 18:30:37
In reply to Re: Am I copping out by asking for a Benzo? » Krazy Kat , posted by jazzdog on November 27, 2001, at 22:36:50
Maybe somewhat true, and I can understand your horoor and pain. I am an addiction counsellor, so I have some different views on this. It doesn't make mine right or yours wrong.
The frame of mind you have to remember is, and this is VERY big in addictions, is 'Harm Reductiuon'. Alcohol may have SOME similarities to benzos, but I have never read any scientifc literature that indicates they act in the same way.
I f alcohol weren't so intoxicating, and so physically destructive, I don't think it would be such a bad thing. But benzos don't have most of those effects, and alcohol has been proven far more damaging than benzos.
In some ways, it's like Heroin users going to Methadone, but not quite on the same scope. I am honestly perplexed by all of this indication that benzo's "do this and cause that", when there is almost no scientific proof to back it up.
SO, no I don't think alcohol in a pill is a good analogy. In 20 or 30 years of use, we rarely heard stories similar to the prozac-backlash ones, on the same magnitude. Many on here have been on and off the Same dose, or smaller, of benzo's often 10+ years, and still earmark benxzos as being the "lifesaver" when all hell breaks loose.
Anyhow...best wishes..I hope you are getting the help you need, and not settling for second-best because of little fear.
Jay
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> I know that people on this thread are very pro-benzo, but I feel I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you what any accredited rehab, such as Hazeldon or Betty Ford, as well as AA, has to say about alcoholism and benzos. Basically, benzos are considered alcohol in pill form - they access the same receptors in the brain and can substitute for one another. That's why a benzo will kill a hangover. An alcoholic can substitute benzos for booze, but sooner or later a cross-addiction will kick in - the person will either become addicted to benzos or revert to alcohol or - and this is very possible - end up addicted to both. As a recovering alcoholic-addict, I can tell you that this is what happened to me. As someone who has worked with alcoholic-addicts for several years, I can tell you that I have seen this cross-addiction occur dozens of times. I do not know a single reputable addiction counsellor who would say otherwise.
>
> - Jane
poster:jay
thread:85243
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011123/msgs/85451.html