I'm glad to see this issue getting some attention. In spite of being one of the lucky ones with an easy withdrawal (I weaned off of Klonopin over the course of

I'm glad to see this issue getting some attention. In spite of being one of the lucky ones with an easy withdrawal (I weaned off of Klonopin over the course of a few months after having taken it for six years) I feel strongly that these drugs are widely misprescribed, causing great harm. I was given Klonopin (clonazepam) for anxiety/panic attacks. I was definitely in the ‘feel anxious, take a pill, feel better,’ mindset, and it made life feel terrifying and out of my control. Not only was I randomly fearful of my life (the anxiety---worrying my heart would stop beating, etc.) but I felt completely dependent on the pills to stave off crippling panic. This resulted in meta-anxieties: what if I forget/lose my medicine? What if it stops working for me? Those were in many ways worse than the root anxiety. Getting of Klonopin was one of the best decisions I ever made. It was as if a fog had been in my brain but suddenly lifted. I could focus again, do well in school, etc. I hadn't realized how fuzzy it made made my thinking while I took it---only when I got off could I realize what Klonopin had been doing to me. My anxiety did increase a little bit. But surviving without Klonopin proved to me that I could handle life! I dealt with the anxiety on my own power. Maybe there are still legitimate uses for these drugs, but my feeling is that is rare. They're a shortcut with high costs in the long term, and as such seem imprudent for general use.