(Wall Street Journal) – Psychiatrists and primary-care doctors regularly prescribe the drugs for everything from mild anxiety to insomnia, making benzodiazepines some of the most commonly prescribed psychiatric medications in America. The pills’ omnipresence has left a mark on pop culture, turning up in Lil Wayne songs and HBO’s “The White Lotus” as bearers of chemical tranquility.

But as concerns increase about potential adverse effects of these drugs, some patients who try to quit are suffering what amounts to a hangover they can’t escape.

The problems are far from universal, but a subset of patients are finding it is almost impossible to taper off without suffering through anxiety that is far worse than before, including cycles of agitation that make it impossible to sit still, memory loss, nausea and more. Doctors describe the unique impact of benzodiazepine withdrawal for them as something akin to a neurological disorder. (Read More)