Withdrawal FAQs

From fear to clarity

1. Can withdrawal cause anxiety?

✅ Yes. Anxiety is one of the top symptoms. It’s caused by an overactive nervous system (weak GABA brakes, strong glutamate gas). This is not your “true personality”, but a temporary state that improves as your system recalibrates.

2. Am I permanently damaged? ❌

No. Benzos don’t kill brain cells. They cause functional changes (receptor sensitivity, network balance). Those changes reverse with time and neuroplasticity. Healing is slow, but it happens.

3. Why do symptoms change all the time? 🧠

Withdrawal is non-linear. Symptoms move around, shift in intensity, and appear/disappear. That’s recalibration in action. It's different systems balance at different times.

4. How long will withdrawal last? 🕰️

There’s no fixed timeline.

• Acute: days–weeks

• Subacute (waves & windows): weeks–months

• Protracted: some experience longer symptoms, but still trending forward
  
  Time + nervous system retraining = healing.

5. What is “BIND”? 🧠

BIND = Benzodiazepine-Induced Neurological Dysfunction. It’s a descriptive term for lingering withdrawal symptoms. It’s not a new disease and not forever. It just means recalibration may take longer.

6. Why do mornings feel worse? 🌞

Your cortisol (stress hormone) naturally peaks in the morning, as do norepinephrine levels.  With weak GABA braking, this feels like anxiety or dread on waking. It eases as balance returns. We must learn to navigate our mornings with leadership, rhythm, and grace. Things will improve with time and work.

7. Can withdrawal cause strange body sensations (burning, tingling, vibrations)? 🔥

✅ Yes. They’re signs of overactive nerve signaling, not nerve death. Uncomfortable, but reversible. Glutamate spikes and misfiring happen not only in the brain, but in many other areas of the body as we withdrawal and heal. This isn't dangerous, but can be scary.

8. Is it normal to feel like I’m going crazy? 😳

✅ Yes. Derealization (world feels unreal) and depersonalization (feeling detached from self) are common. However, not everyone experiences these things in withdrawal. These symptoms are not psychosis, but protective states that resolve with healing. Do not fear them. You will NOT go crazy, nor are these symptoms "all in your head." Things will improve.

9. Why can’t I sleep, and why are my dreams so vivid? 🛌

Benzos disrupt the brain’s sleep architecture. In withdrawal, sleep circuits are jumpy: harder to fall/stay asleep, plus intense or vivid dreams. This is normal and improves as rhythms reset. Glutamate (gas pedal) spikes in withdrawal and our brake pedal (GABA) is weaker. This often leads to more hypervigiliance, thus making it hard to sleep. It will improve. Be patient. Dont' fight it!

10. Why do symptoms flare up after exercise or stress? 🏃‍♀️

Your system is in hyper-reactive mode. Stress hormones, exertion, or even joy can temporarily spike symptoms. This doesn’t mean exercise or stress is bad. It means you need pacing and recovery time until your nervous system strengthens. Often, your limbic system needs to recalibrate and gradually build tolerance to exercise. It's ideal to begin very small, and gently build over time.

11. Why do symptoms get worse at night? 🌚

Most people report the evenings feeling easier, but not everyone. At night, there are fewer distractions, cortisol levels can spike, and fatigue lowers resilience. The Bear tends to roar louder in the quiet, especially in people who have had insomnia or previous bad experiences with sleep. Nighttime surges are common and temporary.

Additionally, our Default Mode Network (DMN) is often most active at night. This is the part of our brain that reflects on our day, ourselves, and our place within our tribes. It's easy to become to self aware at night and get stuck overthinking before bed.

12. Can withdrawal cause depression or flat emotions? 🥺

✅ Yes. With low GABA tone, the nervous system can feel “stuck” in low mood or numbness. This isn’t proof you’re permanently depressed, it’s just part of the recalibration process. As we taper and heal, our wonky nervous system can bounce between hyperarousal (fight, flight) and hypoarousal (freeze, shutdown). This can feel like depression, flat emotions, hopelessness, and as though everything were gray and numb or cold. It will pass.

13. Why do I get adrenaline surges out of nowhere? ⚡️

This is called an autonomic surge. Without strong GABA brakes, the body sometimes dumps adrenaline suddenly, like an internal lightning strike. Scary, but not dangerous. The body and brain can also learn this and it becomes a bit of a neurological tick. The more we fear it, resist it, or try to stop it, the more it often emerges. Learn to accept and not resist it, and it will gradually improve.

14. Why do I feel worse when I eat certain foods, drink caffeine, or take supplements? ☕️

Your CNS is hypersensitive right now. Stimulants (like caffeine) or even benign inputs (vitamins, herbs) can exaggerate responses. This doesn’t mean you’ll always react this way, just that it’s part of the temporary hypersensitivity of withdrawal. Avoid bad foods, alcohol and caffeine if you're sensitive to these things.

15. Why do I feel hopeless when I know I’m healing? ❤️‍🩹

Hopelessness is a symptom of withdrawal itself. The limbic system misfires threat and despair signals. Knowing this is part of healing (not truth) helps you ride it. Hope naturally returns as balance does, but remember, hope also needs a path forward! This recovery program helps offer you that.

16. Do symptoms always get harder the lower we get in our dose?

❌ Not necessarily. Some people not Without strong GABA brakes, the body can suddenly dump adrenaline, like an internal lightning strike. Scary, but not dangerous. The body and brain can also learn this and it becomes a bit of a neurological tick. The more we fear it, resist it, or try to stop it, the more it often emerges. Learn to accept and not resist it, and it will gradually improve.

17. Is it going to take me years to heal? ⏳

For most people, no! Acute withdrawal lasts weeks to months. Some experience lingering or “protracted” symptoms, but even these trend forward with time. Healing can feel slow, but the nervous system is always adapting and improving.  Nobody is stuck in acute forever!

More times than not, when someone is years off and still dealing with percieved symptoms, it's more related to lymbic system fear loops or trauma response (or other conditions such as health anxiety, obsessive rumination, agoraphobia, or insomnia). It's common to get 'stuck' in recovery, but this doens't mean you have brain damage or that your receptors are broken. We can absolutely learn to get unstuck.

18. Can I take supplements? 💊

Supplements are not magic pills. Some people find gentle support from things like magnesium, omega-3s, or certain vitamins; others feel no benefit, or even flare symptoms. In withdrawal, the CNS is hypersensitive. The rule of thumb is start low, go slow, and remember: supplements can support recovery, but they don’t drive it.

Generally, Coach Powers recommends avoiding GABAergic and Serotonergic supplements, and sticking to lower doses of the generally more effective and better tolerated supplements: magensium, Omega-3s, D3, Vitamin C, and Creatine Monohydrate.

19. Can I still heal on other medications, such as my antidepressant? 💊

✅ Yes. Recovery from benzos is about the brain recalibrating its GABA system. Other meds (like antidepressants) may change the experience, but they don’t block healing. Most do not even work on the same receptors. Many people recover fully while staying on other prescriptions. Always adjust medication with your prescriber, but don’t let fear tell you you’re doomed if you’re not “med-free.” Ideally, tapering one medication at a time is wise.

20. Why can’t I stop worrying about this? 😱

Because withdrawal turns up the brain’s alarm system, the limbic system keeps flagging threat signals, so worry and rumination feel constant. Rumination is your brain's attempt to 'solve' the problem, thus reducing danger. It doesn't understand that trying to solve the problem is a huge part of what makes us feel so terrible! This isn’t a personal flaw, but a withdrawal symptom itself. As balance returns, the brain naturally quiets, and worry no longer feels inescapable. However, hope needs a path forward. That's where our recovery program comes in.

BONUS: How can this school and recovery program actually help me recover?

Most people try to face withdrawal alone, or they end up in online spaces full of fear, hopeless stories, and confusing advice. That only feeds the Bear, which spikes glutamate and withdrawal symptoms and slows recovery. The Benzo Recovery School was built to do the opposite. 

Here’s how it actually helps you heal:

• Retraining the Bear: Withdrawal isn’t just chemistry, it’s also fear. The Bear (your limbic system) learns to treat every sensation as danger. Here, you’ll learn how to rewire fear circuits by changing your relationship with fear itself. Instead of fighting it, you’ll retrain it. That’s the heart of recovery.

• Stage-Based Program: You won’t be left wandering. This is a structured, stage-based recovery program, designed by a PhD in Clinical Psychology who not only studied the science but also lived and healed from withdrawal. Each stage has clear goals, tools, and checkpoints.

• Positive Co-Regulation: Healing doesn’t happen in isolation. Unlike fear-driven forums, this school is a place where positive, rational, safe connection actually helps your nervous system calm down and re-learn safety.

• Evidence-Based Tools: You’ll get practical strategies — daily checklists, mindfulness, exposure, and neuroplasticity-building exercises that help your brain and body adapt faster.

• Live Support: Weekly lessons, group Zoom calls, and one-on-one coaching mean you’re never alone. You’ll always have a guide and a community that gets it.

• Hope + Direction: The most important ingredient in recovery is hope paired with a believable path forward. This program gives you both.

This isn’t just about tapering slowly and waiting. And it's not about white-knuckling it through withdrawal, or doing a ton of scary exposure and pushing too hard. It’s about actively retraining your nervous system, rewiring your fear circuits, and reclaiming your life with the guidance and support of someone who’s been there. Recovery is a delicate, rhythmic process of lulling down the nervous system and gently pushing back against the Bear (fear boundaries). The art of recovery is reclaiming your leadership.

Lastly, healing is a multidimensional process, one that encompasses many areas of one's life, from their tapers, to their diet, nutrition, body, mind, spirit, emotions, identity,  self-efficacy, social connection, and self-belief.

Bottom Line

• Withdrawal can mimic anxiety, depression, nerve problems, or even mental illness, but it’s none of those things permanently.

• Symptoms = recalibration, not damage.

• Healing is messy but continuously forward-moving.

• When in doubt, remember: This is withdrawal. It’s not forever. I’m healing.

• Fear itself is your BIGGEST obstacle in withdrawal

• The quicker you make peace with the process, the quicker you heal.