THIS IS KLONOPIN.

I'm watching Lisa Ling's show THIS IS LIFE about the potential hazards of diazepines or "benzos." This includes Klopinin and Valium. They wonder if this might be the new opioid-type crisis in the making.

I can share that when I was told I had GAD, generalized anxiety disorder, I did a lot of research on treatment options -- various meds, psychotherapy, yoga, chanting, exercise, alternative. I visited online discussion boards of people who were taking various treatments. It was very clear to me that a benzo like Klonopin could be addictive and that stopping cold turkey was very dangerous. A simple google search would tell you that. The drug was extremely effective for me, though I always urged my dr. to keep me on the lowest dosage possible. My recovery was not just via meds, but also through buddhist chanting, cuddle therapy, yoga, ACT therapy. I did worry about the day when I might want to go off the med.

After about two years on klonopin, I asked my dr. if I could get off of it. The dr. said that my dosage was so low -- 0.5 mg -- that I didn't need to taper off. I could just stop. That was concerning to me but I took his advice. Happily I stopped my lose dosage and felt no side effects!

On the TV show, one expert said that benzos should only be used for a short time...like a few months. How is it then that my own doctor did not have a similar guideline? Do the guideliness change, are they inconsistent in the industry? I consider myself lucky that I was able to go off Klonopin successfully.

I see on the show, there is one woman who was trying to taper off klonopin with her doctor's help but it didn't work. So they put her on valium. It had led her down a rabbit hole of suffering and she has found an alternative way to taper off. She hopes it works.

Like all drugs, Klonopin can be a miraculous thing to reduce severe debilitating anxiety, often in a matter of 20 minutes. But Klonopin can be dangerous too. One must be proactive in navigating one's way off of it. Read the warnings of side effects and take them seriously. It makes me sad to hear of people committing suicide when going off Klonopin. I feel fortunate, that I am one of the lucky ones who was able to navigate successfully. Klonopin helped me in profound ways that I'll always be grateful for.

I don't take Klonopin anymore and I don't suffer from generalized anxiety. I wanted to share my experience in case it can help someone else.