Is benzo withdrawal normal or are we just unlucky?

[[di...]]

There's something I always wonder about people who say they hopped on and off benzos multiple times and report little to no withdrawal symptoms. Obviously something prompts the return to benzos and the implicit assumption is that it's due to circumstances that one would return. I wonder how much a weakened/dysregulated CNS following cessation of a benzo factors into the equation. We know that it can take several months, sometimes years to heal after tapering a benzo, so it seems fair to speculate that dysregulation of the CNS could be a factor and you simply couldn't know. I don't doubt what people are saying, that they stopped and experienced no significant symptoms. My thought is that they are nevertheless compromised and as a result more vulnerable to stress. Then something stressful occurs and you think "well, I'm the sort of person who experiences excessive anxiety so I need to take the benzo again".

 

I'm sure that what I am describing is plausible and must happen on some level to a significant number of people. I'm also sure that there's no easy way of testing this and no appetite from the medical community to explore this area, because it goes against vested interests.