My Benzo Story

I never used a single recreational drug — then one careless prescription made me physically dependent on clonazepam in a month, and no doctor recognised the withdrawal that followed. This is the whole story, with receipts. If you're in it now and can't imagine it ending — start here. It does end.

Start reading — Part 1 →

The whole journey, in nine parts

Part 1

Dependent in a Month

A careless prescription, a tired doctor, and the night my nervous system caught fire.

Part 2

Hospitals & Paperwork

Hospitals and psychiatrists that didn't help. A system built for paperwork, not people.

Part 3

Going It Alone

A 1% daily microtaper. A milk-tapering disaster. Night terrors. Communities that saved and hurt me.

Part 4

Predators & Dead Ends

A taper plan that was wrong. A "healer" who exploded at suicidal people. A guru with no reviews.

Part 5

The $600 Protocol

Peter Smith's six-hundred-a-month protocol, the voices warning me against it, and the red flags.

Part 6

A Maze of Services

A year of doors onto other doors, and a system that made me feel like a criminal.

Part 7

The People Who Showed Up

Narcotics Anonymous as the man who never used a drug; the support workers who showed up.

Part 8

Reaching the Experts

I reached the closest thing withdrawal has to an authority while begging for help.

Part 9

What Finally Worked

Fiona, the CBD clinics, a dreaded root canal, Stabilium, and the taper that finally worked.