Fear

[[Me...]]

My fear is bad today guys. Scared of everything

Scared of sitting by people because I don’t want to contract germs

Scared of new situations

Scared of ever taking medicine again

Scared of highways

 

 

And the sticky thoughts cause me to feel these fears and not be able to think of anything else

[[ea...]]

Meganz,

I didn't read your Sig but can tell you that FEAR/Dread is probably one of the most common benzo wd symptoms. It does feel awful, being scared of everything around you. Weird, isn't it? People on BB refer to this as a "chemical fear." I had it so bad, when I was a newbie here.

Do you understand WHY you feel this way? I sure didn't. But I learned why over my first year here. Benzos work on the Fear Center of your brain, the amygdala. Tiny thing, size of a walnut. the "fight or flight thing" starts there. Your mind tells you something is wrong, you  start to get anxious, then fear sets in and you have to decide to either stand still or run for your life. When one goes off benzos, that tiny part of your brain goes a bit nuts. Its chemicals are out of whack, and will remain so for at least a while. You may have severe anxiety, fear, "The Dreads". A lot of people say its worse in the mornings. For me it was just ALL of the time.

 

I love what you said about "sticky thoughts" that just wont leave you alone. How well said!  its a down to earth way to describe a common wd symptom, "looping thoughts" that just wont go away. Part of your learning is to find out how to diminish them.

That and learning how to cope with all that weird fear. If you need ideas on how to do this, let me know.

east (Annie)

[[Me...]]

Wow Annie, do you know where I could read up more on the amygdala and withdrawal? That really puts things into perspective for me! If I could understand it better, maybe the fear wouldn’t have as much power over me

[[Tr...]]

Meganz: Maybe you have read "What's happening in your brain"/Parker? A very good article, and explains everything.

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=191083.0