drugs like benzos but not as damaging?

daily i am doing ganja and a beer or two, i was wondering what could i replace benzos with? location is holand my frend is constantly telling me to get off benzos as it is supposedly really bad

>>10492 >my frend is constantly telling me to get off benzos as it is supposedly really bad Benzos are bad because they turn you into brain dead zombie if you use them long enough and they are also prone to causing an addiction easily.

>>10492 Kava in high doses

generally you do benzo if you have anxiety or other problem, and not more than few weeks at a time. You don't abuse benzo because they are "fun" (because they are not - at least alprazolam, etizolam, i was not having "fun" on it so i used only small doses for social interaction). At large doses benzo can make you both act retarded and makes you forget what you did, so you wake up hours later with no recollection what you did, especially if you mix it with alcohol

Gabapentinoids (pregabalin, etc.) are commonly prescribed for anxiety and they do have an immediate effect. Not sure about the damaging part.

What is the benzos for? Anxiety or sleep or seizures or just getting high?

>>10514 benzos help with general anxiety and relaxing muscles. i was prescribed alprazolam (low dose) for half a year because my neck and other muscles were always stiff, and thus i couldn't fall asleep for hours. once i was taking it, i could fall asleep in 10-20 minutes, and could also sleep on the bus. the world became somewhat more peaceful and calm, and i found an unusual urge to tend gardens, watch plants grow and eat veggies. this track is how it feels like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zSYdFmEFCI if we further trust goreshit's artistic ability, this is what a high dose of benzos would feel like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_yA-gaxKak getting off of benzos can make your muscles crampy and tense again, the anxiety will be worse than before you started taking them, etc. if you are taking benzos because you're anxious, you're just coping with and prolonging the situation or behavior that is causing your anxiety, and it won't go away, it will get worse.

>>10518 Try supplementing with magnesium glycinate first before looking into drugs or herbs (which also are drugs if they work). It helps with some forms of anxiety, helps with sleep and relaxes muscles. You just need to figure the right dose.

opiates/opioids are one of the least damaging drugs if you have some self control, see literature on chronic pain

>>10522 Opioids can cause constipation and OP sounds like they need it regularly. They can short term be prescribed a muscle relaxant which is more targeted. If opioids then maybe just kratom combined with some agmantine supplementation to help keep off tolerance longer. But Id still advise my previous suggestion on trying magnesium glycinate before anything else for the specific needs here.

>benzos I'm pretty scared of them now: >A growing number of observational studies have shown the critical role of potentially inappropriate medications for increasing the risk of cognitive impairment. >The authors conducted a nested case-control study of about 2000 older members of a public drug plan in the province of Quebec, Canada. They observed a cumulative dose-effect association between exposure to benzodiazepines (at least 90 days) and risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and found that exposure lasting more than 180 days was associated with a nearly twofold increase in risk. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g5312 >Yaffe, Boustani and Fairbanks (1) commented on a carefully conducted study that showed that exposure to benzodiazepines doubled the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. They found it likely that use of benzodiazepines lead to permanent brain damage, which they called "neurodegenerative disease". >My preference is to call a spade for a spade, which is more easily understood by the patients. It is less clear that we talk about a drug induced harm if we call it a “disease”. >We know that antipsychotics shrink the brain in a dose-dependent manner (4) and benzodiazepines, antidepressants and ADHD drugs also seem to cause permanent brain damage (5). https://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g5312/rr/775731

Phenibut has similar effects, way lighter though. You can get it from a sports supplement vendor. Kratom is sedating at high doses, but it fuarrrks with your digestive system and you will get physically addicted. I use it every day.

>>10666 >and benzodiazepines, antidepressants and ADHD drugs also seem to cause permanent brain damage (5). I wouldn't trust the author of the response you mentioned as a second source that much. (5) is a book length rant about people inventing mental ilnesses and "treating" them with "medicine" and makes many unfounded claims. To top it of they didn't even give the pages they got the information from, despite that being their first critique against the author of the first paper.

This anon likes the meds he gets from his shrink. Sertraline, alprazolam and pregabalin. Anon doesn't take the benzo every day though. Anon finds it hard to live a life without at least mild sedation, abused alcohol for nearly a decade for this reason before. the world is just way too loud and most people are just exhausting to interact with. Also a big fan of earplugs and noise canceling headphones. Silence is love.

>>10502 Interesting, I read somewhere about this 'Kava' and it seems to be intriguing, especially the fact that it is relaxing and non-addictive. Can you tell me something more specific?

>>10736 Tastes like soykaf and feels pretty good. Basically its alcohol but better.

I have no idea why people are recommending opioids which are even more addictive than benzos.. >>10492 Something literally like benzo and not as damaging is Zolpidem/ambien it binds to half the same receptors, its not as sedative but can be a trippier experience, its very alike.

Which benzo is least likely to cause addiction but still works for anxiety? I have Diazepam prescription atm but I'm thinking about possibly asking for Clonazepam prescription. >>11000 >Zolpidem/ambien I wouldn't use it because it can cause sleepwalking. Zaleplon/Sonata and Zopiclone/Imovane belong to the same class of drugs (z-drugs) but they don't cause sleepwalking AFAIK.

>>11299 Lorazepam worked wonders for me i think the commercial label was Tavor, i took it for sleep with prescription when i had a major depressive episode alongside Vortioxetine for antidepressant. Very successful in their purposes for me both.

benzos in moderation are better than alcohol in moderation they're too easy to get used to, then you've used them too much tone it down

>>11000 >I have no idea why people are recommending opioids which are even more addictive than benzos.. because theyre the obvious answer to the question. less damaging than anything else i can think of. and similar in some ways if you have self-control then the addictive qualities doesnt matter

Does anyone have experience with both Restoril/temazepam and Imovane/zopiclone? Is one better than the other? I have been thinking whether I should switch Restoril to Imovane, but is Imovane really less unhealthy? >>10492 >>10518 I would definitely try some magnesium because for me it helps with cramps and joint pain. Magnesium citrate is cheap but I have heard that magnesium glycinate (and other magnesium compounds that contain an amino acid) are better absorbed.

Kava is your best bet for a GABAergic. Not particularly habit-forming either.

nah, most of them are damaging I would suggest phenibut but seriously nah thats more damaging

>>10492 Some herbal teas have anxiolytic effects Just take care that some of these can have interactions with other medications https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Alexander-Panossian/publication/51155063_Herbal_medicine_for_depression_anxiety_and_insomnia_A_review_of_psychopharmacology_and_clinical_evidence/links/59d9e1c40f7e9b12b36d6046/Herbal-medicine-for-depression-anxiety-and-insomnia-A-review-of-psychopharmacology-and-clinical-evidence.pdf

>>10505 i mean, for me, the "fun" that benzos bring come from the fact that it makes my state of constant anxiety and ocd (i suffer from pure o ocd) cease completely, and i take the lowest dose possible which is 0.25mg. so it i dont get cautious, i will start taking it without even noticing, its just so good when my intrusive thoughts finally stop and i can function again, i was taking 0.25mg alprazolam almost every day now

>>11658 its actually fun when you mix this 0,25 mg with some low dose opioid - tramadol or codeine for example. Its peak comfy, you can feel like you are in heaven. One can say this combination is breathtaking (sick!). Obv watch out with doses

phenibut might be worth a shot.

>>10666 >antidepressants and ADHD drugs also seem to cause permanent brain damage This part is AFAIK not true and cites a popsci book written by someone who isn't even in medicine, so I'm inclined to disregard the whole article.

I switched from Xanax to Gabapentin. It is just as addictive I suppose but it does not fuarrrk me up like Xanax used to. It also has less potential for abuse as if I take a lot I do feel high but not a euphoric high. I don’t think I can stop taking it at this point. It does manage my anxiety but I really don’t think there is anything out there that will help you feel better without also getting you addicted.

I will catalog your options as I’m in the same position. - Kratom It will get you heavily addicted, give you stomach issues, but it will eliminate your anxiety - Phenibut It will also get you somewhat addicted, maybe mildly, but you will feel less anxious although extremely horny and basically drunk. -CBD It really does not do anything at all. -Gabapentin/Lyrica It will work. But the potential for addiction is very high. You will get physically addicted within 2 weeks, and the withdrawals are awful. -Kava It’s honestly soykaf. It doesn’t really do anything.