I'm sorry to ask this but: why only 167 success stories over 5,252 members?

[[...]]

Hello buddies,

 

I don't want to polemize at all. I appreciate A LOT the work of the moderators and the help of all members. I do not participate as I would like because I have very big difficulties in writing in english and a brain fog.

 

It's just that I can't understand why so few success stories: 167 of 5,252 members today, that is 0,03%! Of course I know that some people that gets better don't post in the Success Stories forum and that there is a big part of members that sign in an never participate, people still tapering (like me), etc...  But only 167 success stories seems to me ridiculously low.

 

I have the theory that maybe most of us get a permanent brain damage because of benzos and that Professor Asthon was not very acurate when she concluded that MOST of people improves a lot after benzo withdrawal.

 

I'm suffering a living hell like a lot of us and I'm losing all hope, so I'm begining to think that I have a physical brain damage that will last forever. Sometimes it's better to know the harsh reality :S

 

Thanks for you feedback.

 

[[Wa...]]

Hello buddies,

 

I don't want to polemize at all. I appreciate A LOT the work of the moderators and the help of all members. I do not participate as I would like because I have very big difficulties in writing in english and a brain fog.

 

It's just that I can't understand why so few success stories: 167 of 5,252 members today, that is 0,03%! Of course I know that some people that gets better don't post in the Success Stories forum and that there is a big part of members that sign in an never participate, people still tapering (like me), etc...  But only 167 success stories seems to me ridiculously low.

 

I have the theory that maybe most of us get a permanent brain damage because of benzos and that Professor Asthon was not very acurate when she concluded that MOST of people improves a lot after benzo withdrawal.

 

I'm suffering a living hell like a lot of us and I'm losing all hope, so I'm begining to think that I have a physical brain damage that will last forever. Sometimes it's better to know the harsh reality :S

 

Thanks for you feedback.

 

 

Wow you sure asked a good question here!!! I can’t wait to hear some of the answers you get in here myself, I hope and pray to God that that what you are saying is not true as far as you being brain damaged, how long have you been off the benzo’s? I have been off 9 months now and still suffering a great deal but I do get windows of relief from time to time.

I think you will be alright in time, it’s just that these benzos are the worst thing in the world to get off of!!!

 

God hold you

Watchman

 

[[lo...]]

One has to take into consideration that a majority of accounts can be contributed to spammers or trolls. I'm sure as many find their legs they leave but I'm sure not all are completely determined and therefore relapses.

[[de...]]

i'm curious to know if there is a way of checking how many of the 5,252 members are actually visiting this sight or participating.  i have a feeling many join to never return.  either found another support group, stayed on benzo's, or just left cause they healed and forgot to return and tell us about it...at least that's what i hope.

[[BY...]]

One has to take into consideration that a majority of accounts can be contributed to spammers or trolls. I'm sure as many find their legs they leave but I'm sure not all are completely determined and therefore relapses.

 

You may want to see what Colin has to say about the numbers.Forum Activity

[[JJ...]]

I think that percentage is not accurate...from my viewpoint, almost one year off, I think what's going on is that you are looking for evidence to back up the belief you have right now, which is that you're permanently damaged and won't ever get better.  I was overwhelmed with this feeling of hopelessness and despair, as well, for a LONG time.  I would go online and google things like 'benzodiazepines and brain damage' and then spin myself into a state of hysterics.  It was awful. I believe that we do heal, it is just that when you are feeling SO lost to yourself, so gone for so long, that it starts to seem like the only logical explanation..that you aren't ever coming back.  Plus, it is such a SLOW process that it makes it even harder to endure.  Stay the course, one day at a time, and you WILL get better.  But you're sick right now, remember that.  The farther out I get, the more I realize that I was really, REALLY sick and compromised in every way.  And, also..it's ok to feel like you're never gonna get better. That's all part of the withdrawals and healing, I think. The off-the-charts fear and irrational beliefs and being completely out of touch with reality.  I'd look at my hands and have to tell myself  'These are my hands', that's how extreme my DP/DR was, so OF COURSE my mind would stray into that territory of 'Oh, F#%K, I'm doomed'....but that's not true...you cannot trust your own thinking process right now, so rely on those who've been through it....you WILL GET BETTER  :)

[Guest [Si...]]

I have noticed this for sometime. I just didn't want to acknowledge it.. and now that I'm at the end of my taper, which I will be off soon.. It concerns me. The success stories all over the net, well there's not too many out of millions of ppl who have came off Benzo's. I think if I was better, I would write one. I get scared about things like this. My guess is most are healed and went on, some probably reinstated and still on it, and some probably didn't want to look back.. just my guess.

[[...]]

People come here when they are really sick and desperate.  Then they move on with their lives when they start feeling better and they want to forget about benzo withdrawal.  I am certain that the number of success stories posted does not represent the number of people on this board who have fully recovered from this.

[[An...]]

If you are on the board more than a few months, surely you can see that many of the familiar and regular names who used to write regularly, have gone, even if they haven't written a success story.  This means they have got better.

 

I've been here since April this year and I can think of quite a few who were suffering dreadfully who no longer post.

 

We all heal, some quicker than others.

 

Angel

[[re...]]

Ashton was no incorrect. We all heal. Even Reggie Pert healed eventually. (if you dont know his story, Google it.)

Why ask why that there are not many success stories? We will never know why some people join, never post, or get off and don't post.

 

Focus on healing. Focus on the positives. Don't worry about the number of success stories. Just know in your heart you will be one of them, one day.

[[Pa...]]

One has to take into consideration that a majority of accounts can be contributed to spammers or trolls. I'm sure as many find their legs they leave but I'm sure not all are completely determined and therefore relapses.

 

Our membership totals are valid, we take great care to weed out spam accounts.

[[Re...]]

Biel,

 

There are many reasons there aren't more success stories out there. I think so many just want to move on and to even talk about it in a success story can be difficult.....By counting the members and counting the success stories you are setting up to scare yourself even more. Out of all those members how many have even posted a significant amount of posts for us to even get to know them?....I spend a lot of time going thru old timer posts....Many say that they are off and so many are positive that I can only assume they are doing well....Listen to recovering - focus on the healing and the positives....Try to stop scaring yourself.....

 

Remember only the people that have trouble start posting here..There are many that can get off this stuff that don't need forums.....This is hard work and thinking positively is a huge key....

 

We all will heal but it is hard work.....

[[Ka...]]

One has to take into consideration that a majority of accounts can be contributed to spammers or trolls. I'm sure as many find their legs they leave but I'm sure not all are completely determined and therefore relapses.

 

Our membership totals are valid, we take great care to weed out spam accounts.

 

Pam, I had read a recent post of yours where you did mention the attention being paid to preventing the slime element from trying to gain control regarding BB.  I highly appreciate your diligence.  This is a well-run, classy forum.

 

Kat

[[Ho...]]

Hello buddies,

 

I don't want to polemize at all. I appreciate A LOT the work of the moderators and the help of all members. I do not participate as I would like because I have very big difficulties in writing in english and a brain fog.

 

It's just that I can't understand why so few success stories: 167 of 5,252 members today, that is 0,03%! Of course I know that some people that gets better don't post in the Success Stories forum and that there is a big part of members that sign in an never participate, people still tapering (like me), etc...  But only 167 success stories seems to me ridiculously low.

 

I have the theory that maybe most of us get a permanent brain damage because of benzos and that Professor Asthon was not very acurate when she concluded that MOST of people improves a lot after benzo withdrawal.

 

I'm suffering a living hell like a lot of us and I'm losing all hope, so I'm begining to think that I have a physical brain damage that will last forever. Sometimes it's better to know the harsh reality :S

 

Thanks for you feedback.

 

 

I look forward to reading your success story one day. 

[[de...]]

i wish there was a like button on BB cause i like all the responses to this question 

[[Ni...]]

Hi Biel,

 

There are a lot of buddies that are still here and have posted  in different sections, such as their blogs, that they are healing or have healed and just have not written a success story. I've seen many members who start feeling better not post as often because they start getting busy with their lives when they feel better.

 

I look forward to seeing your success story at BB someday too.

[[Me...]]

I understand your concern.  But it depends on how serious people are about getting off the benzo's

 

Out of 5,252 'members' 1650 never made a post

 

another 630 'member's made only 1 post

 

another 430 made 2 post

 

That means 2700 people made 2 post or less.......thats less than half of the 5252 'members'

 

and only about 1600 ppl have made 10 post or more

 

Then add to that the huge amount of people who leave once they are well, or just forget about it

 

And the gradual nature of healing can make people forget about it

 

Personally I am suprized that people post success stories at all.  Its like those who survive wars, they don't want to talk or think about it anymore

 

I think it takes a huge unselfish act to come back and tell other of there success.  Especially when there naturally so caught up in FINALLY living a life they have been waiting forever to live.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[[el...]]

Your question reminds me of the story in the Bible about the 10 lepers. They all came asking for healing, and all were healed, but only one returned to thank the One who healed him. The rest probably were so joyous that they went to participate in life again with friends and family - something they could not do for all the years they had leprosy. All were healed, but only one thought to return and thank the Healer.

 

Think of how joyous you will be once you are healed. You will be able to reestablish all your former relationships and do all the things you have had to put on hold while in w/d. Will you remember to return and “thank” all of the others in the forum who were supporting you and agonizing with you, or will you be rejoicing so greatly that you “forget” to write a success story? As horrid as this experience has been, I honestly don’t know that I will  remember to post a success story or not. I have missed so much in my life these several months that I may just want this completely behind me with no reminders. I truly don’t know what I will do when I get through this, but I do know that I will get through it. We have to understand that our thinking on the other side of w/d literally will not be the way it is now. Things that seem so important now (like how we and others going through w/d feel) may be insignificant to us then (because we feel better). How others feel then will probably not loom so big in our minds simply because we have endured the torture of w/d and feel well again. 

 

Anyway, I actually believe that 167 success stories is a surprisingly large number, and those stories serve to affirm that healing occurs - sometimes fairly quickly and sometimes very slowly. Mathematically, what is important is the total (167) rather than the 3% ratio which has no mathematical meaning because, as others have pointed out, nothing is really know about the status of most of the other 5085 individuals (5252-167). Certainly, the most important thing about those success stories is the content of each story. Most (if not all) were written by individuals like yourself who feared (and were almost certain) that they would never heal - that they were permanently damaged. Yet, they healed just as each and every one of us who perseveres and endures will also heal.

 

[[Re...]]

I understand your concern.  But it depends on how serious people are about getting off the benzo's

 

Out of 5,252 'members' 1650 never made a post

 

another 630 'member's made only 1 post

 

another 430 made 2 post

 

That means 2700 people made 2 post or less.......thats less than half of the 5252 'members'

 

and only about 1600 ppl have made 10 post or more

 

Then add to that the huge amount of people who leave once they are well, or just forget about it

 

And the gradual nature of healing can make people forget about it

 

Personally I am suprized that people post success stories at all.  Its like those who survive wars, they don't want to talk or think about it anymore

 

I think it takes a huge unselfish act to come back and tell other of there success.  Especially when there naturally so caught up in FINALLY living a life they have been waiting forever to live.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow Metherol66,

 

Very well said....That took a lot of time to

do that research....I know that days I am

feeling better I don't spend as much time

here....

 

I could not have said that any better myself....

 

I'm a little different thou.....I can't wait to write

my success story....I have written one and I tweek

it all the time...It makes me excited one day to actually

post it....I know I will get my ticker before my birthday and

that will be the greatest present besides my medical bracelet

saying that I am allergic to benzos.....

 

Again fabulous post......

[[wh...]]

Ashton was no incorrect. We all heal. Even Reggie Pert healed eventually. (if you dont know his story, Google it.)

Why ask why that there are not many success stories? We will never know why some people join, never post, or get off and don't post.

 

Focus on healing. Focus on the positives. Don't worry about the number of success stories. Just know in your heart you will be one of them, one day.

Amen to that!

[[km...]]

Eli1111 very well put!!

 

Hugs

Kmarie

[[Pr...]]

I just joined up today, and for this very reason. I frequented this board a bit while going through my taper and withdrawal, but I didn't join until now. I'm now 54 days out, and I hope to post one of those success stories. I'm not yet fully right, but I'm doing well. I imagine that what others have said is true -- many others leave after they're doing better. I just felt most motivated to get involved after I was off benzos.

 

The brain damage thing is very disturbing to me, as I am a philosophy professor and my career depends on me thinking well. Ha. Well, I've found that I've been very unmotivated these past 3 months. But, I don't think my cognitive abilities themselves have suffered too much. It just takes me a lot more effort to use them.

[[de...]]

And what about people like me? I am a HORRIBLE writter, I always have been. Moved around alot and missed so much schooling when I was young being moved to foster home to foster home. Writing for me is really frustrating... I am working on it though

 

Honestly if I make it off this ride I do plan to make a success story but I am warning you now, it is going to SUCK !

[[km...]]

Demetra no success story will suck....nobody cares about the grammar just the story itself so write away and be proud!!!

 

Hugs

Kristin

[[Re...]]

I agree with Kristin, Demetra.....You could say I'm off and feeling well and we will all rally around you....