All psych drugs come with risks. Often underplayed risks. I have had no side effects with diazepam other than maybe some balance issues but I’ll take some balance issues over being a complete recluse who can’t walk out the front door without having a panic attack. I’ve been on 20 psych meds and I’d say including diazepam only two others have given me no side effects. Others have given me mild very tolerable worth it side effects. Some have been severe and almost cost me my life.

I have psychosis so me being on antipsychotics is reasonable but diazepam actuality helps me more. Literally just going outside exacerbates my psychosis and any kind of stress. Antipsychotics reduce the symptoms but don’t get rid of them for me unless I’m at doses where I can’t have quality of life. I’ve been the least symptomatic I have been in a long time since having a long term diazepam prescription. I’m much more relaxed in general is what I would attribute that to. I managed a period of being off them and just using them as needed in crisis situations. Using diazepam is much more reasonable than trying antipsychotic after antipsychotic that all come with potential severe side effects. I already deal with severe fatigue from my depression, I don’t need bigger doses of antipsychotics to add to it. I can tolerate a low dose at the moment. I’m lucky in that the only side effect I get from this medication is fatigue. Many people have it much worse and especially when being treated for non psychotic disorders, it’s arguably worse than an as needed benzo prescription. Daily maybe not, but at the very least as needed.

People just parrot what they hear too without actually being informed. Other psych medications have helped me so I’m not against them but I just think it’s ridiculous some of them come with really severe side effects and an as needed benzo prescription is treated like the worst possible thing ever.

I’m lucky my psychiatrist prescribes me them and even though it helps me so much, she said her concerns when prescribing them were not abuse in my case but:

Tolerance and having to up the dose. Reasonable, right? I mean I do agree in a sense but I also end up on the maximum dose of every antidepressant that works and I get a year and a half to two out of them. Other than the one that worked the best I had to come off for physical health reasons after about three months.

I don’t take them every day. I use different doses when I do take them. I’ve gotten seven months in without needing to up the dose. The same can’t be said of pregablin which I’m nearly on the maximum dose of and not convinced it does anything. No concern there though.

Memory and cognitive issues. Again, understandable. I’m willing to have worse memory and cognition for quality of life though I don’t experience either yet anyway, that could come over time who knows. I was on a tricyclic antidepressant (the one that worked I had to come off) and I put up with it absolutely trashing my memory because it worked and my depression is so severe and life threatening as well as treatment resistant. No concern there though. TMI but it also gave me almost hospital level constipation and my bowel functions are still messed up after months.

Balance issues. I’m not sure I even need to comment on this one with all of the other psych meds I’ve been prescribed that this can be an issue with but there’s no concern there.

There’s just so much hypocrisy. She has never mentioned concern with any of my other medications when one antidepressant caused me to attempt to take my life I had such a bad reaction to it and received no support when I asked for it before the attempt. Again, not demonising antidepressants, this is a risk I knowingly take when taking them and I know this is prone to happening for me even if they do end up working once I get through the worse before better period, but tell me how that’s worse than an as needed benzo prescription. I’m also on a high dose of pregablin and I’m not convinced it does anything and will now have to deal with coming off 500mg at some point or at least lowering the dose but it’s not a benzo so who cares, right.

Before people come in with the withdrawal talk which yes serious, I am also talking about in today’s current landscape with what we know now and not when they were prescribed without any informed consent or knowledge of risks and withdrawal and tapering. Which is the way many other psych medications are prescribed now even if they are necessary.

I know the risks. I happily accept them as I do with my other psych medications so I can have any quality of life and to even still be alive in the first place. I’m not saying this is the way for everyone or that it should be first line treatment to have a long term prescription especially if it’s a daily one, but you should not have to suffer for almost a decade after initially seeking help to experience any quality of life again. I did have short term prescriptions here and there but no one was interested in hearing how much it helped.