Posted by clint878 on March 11, 2007, at 13:15:42
In reply to Re: Cherry-picking evidence » clint878, posted by linkadge on March 10, 2007, at 20:17:11
I'm still not convinced. I don't doubt you have a problem, linkage - those are serious symptoms. But there are a lot of things that can cause similar symptoms and there are many treatments for those symptoms. It's the cause of the symptoms I would question, not the symptoms themselves.
As for this discussion in general, this board is not a representation of the world as a whole. There is a systemic bias. The only people who are commenting on this discussion are those who actually care about it.
Go to www.benzo.org.uk and you'll read about the "benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome," which supposedly consists of long-lasting cognitive problems and other unusual symptoms that didn't show up in all subjects. But a closer look at this reveals a study by one researcher, who found that only patients for whom benzos were initially prescribed for anxiety experienced these symptoms. There were no patients in a control group for whom benzos were initially prescribed for insomnia AT ALL who developed any such "protracted withdrawal."
Could it be that anxiety or depression is responsible for the large majority of such complaints of "protracted withdrawal?" It's easy to ruminate about what might have happened when your life now isn't what you want it to be.
poster:clint878
thread:739762
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070308/msgs/740151.html