Lawyers on Benzos

[[Co...]]

The following is completely anecdotal...I have no hard data:

 

I'm an attorney and work as an associate for a large multinational law firm.  It's hard to describe the kind of day-in-day out pressure that big law attorneys are put into lay people, but I can tell you from my own experience in which law was a mid-career move, nothing I did in my previous work comes anywhere close. 

 

Ok- on to my point.  I was at the Dr. The other day for a yearly checkup and discuss medication.  She asked if I was still taking Klonopin and I was (but had not started to taper yet).

 

Anyway. She said in her practice every attorney was on some kind of anti-anxiety medition.  100%.  She doesn't have any other groups of patients like this.  I understand alcohol abuse has been a dirty little secret of my profession, but did not realize the extent that lawyers resort to benzos to cope.

 

I started suffering panic attacks in my twenties and occasionally took a Xanax on an as-needed basis only.  But when I started law school in my mid thirties I ended up taking Klonopin every-night.  Ultimatelyi wonder if I'll have to give up my profession to really succeed in becoming benzo free for good.  I hope so because I don't want another caterer change now that I'm leaving my youth behind for middle age.

[[ji...]]

funny you mention the drinking, I'm in AA and we have a boatload of lawyers, teachers and medical professionals. I do believe some proffessions are just high stress and those prone to addiction have a hard time without a crutch. It dosen't mean it can't be done, but if it brings you no rewards but monetay and you can afford to switch careers in this day, maybe you will need to. I know I could not handle certain proffessions without turning to a substance, or it would be very hard.