Simplify your method and be patient

[[Ma...]]

   I just wanted to share a little mini success story and what has helped me.  I was someone who was convinced I would be off these drugs after just a couple weeks, even after lurking here for a long time and seeing how hard many have it.  I started cutting in July last year and realized after just a couple weeks that wasn’t going to work.  Nevertheless, while I slowed down, I was stubborn about continuing to cut.  I went from 1.0 mg Clonazepam to .375 in about 3 1/2 months - it did not go well.  I had to reinstate to 0.5 and held there for over two months before finally feeling stable enough to make a cut again.  And I actually felt way better after this long hold, better than I had when I started tapering (so to those who don’t think a long hold can help, for me anyways it did).  
    So since early February, instead of trying to make cut after cut again, I basically make a rule that I would do a 5% cut of my current dose every 7-10 days ONLY if my symptoms are still pretty mild.  If they aren’t, I just stay on whatever my last dose was for an additional 7-10 days.  Simple as that.  I’ve gone from .5 to .42 in the last 5-6 weeks which I would have said was way too slow last July.  Now I look at that and think:  Progress! I think the biggest lesson I’ve had to learn is not to think ahead about how long it’s going to take.  Just find a plan/rate that you can handle and don’t be afraid to change/slow down/hold.  
    Most of all, don’t spend a ton of time thinking about it, including getting on benzo sites.  There are great people on here helping others, but unless you’re dealing with a very specific issue, it can be very stressful/anxiety producing to spend too much time on here.  Get out and live your life as best you can and remember tomorrow is always gonna be a new day. 

Edited March 7 by [Ma...]
Typo

[[Ta...]]

Wow! This is such practical, good advice! I started tapering off of trazedone, Effexor and Ativan in April of 2020. I got down to .125 of Ativan last year, then dropped to .1125, and it didn't go well, to say the least. I updosed to .375, and I've been sitting here for a few months. I think that I tapered too fast all along, and I've been holding to "catch up." This would have seemed like a great tragedy to me before, but now, I see it as progress.

Being stressed is really the most detrimental thing in this whole process. And constantly reading about other people's Benzo misery only makes ME miserable. I like to help if I can, but if someone's story triggers me I just move on. I got extremely stressed yesterday, and went into a Benzo "thunderstorm" last night. I was trembling and felt jolts of electricity all over my body. I hadn't been that intensely in acute w/d in over two years! It was so scary! But, I keep a little 3x5 card with me that lists all the things that help me, and I got out of the storm. It took a few hours, but I made it out.