Interest in benzodiazepine alternatives has skyrocketed as the benzo crisis looms ever larger. Anti-anxiety medications are prescribed to women twice as often as to men, but everyone’s goal is to escape without battle scars. Finding ways to safely extricate oneself from this insidious epidemic is needed now more than ever.6,7
Benzodiazepines are in a class of drugs where someone can actually die withdrawing from them. Though death is a real possibility, it is relatively rare. More common is when protracted withdrawal inflicts a struggle for extended periods of time, even years, with some pretty horrendous fallout. More on these concerns and their solutions can be found below.8,9
Does Your Diagnosis
Require Benzodiazepines?
We invite you to look over our published evidence on helping our clients implement alternatives to benzodiazepine drugs. For those who have had difficulty stopping benzos, we provide neurochemistry support through rehabilitating neurochemistry naturally. We are aiming for better natural mental health without drugs. These are sometimes goals that require time and patience, but we have helped thousands of clients and can likely help your situation as well.
15 Years Experience by Professionals Who Understand Your Journey.
Alternative to Meds Center recognizes that holistic benzodiazepine alternatives may offer some safer resolutions for mental health problems, and superior efficacy for reducing and eliminating unwanted symptoms.
Many people struggle with anxiety or other related disorders and cannot tolerate benzodiazepine side effects, don’t want the risks of dependence or addiction, or just find benzodiazepines don’t work satisfactorily. Benzodiazepine alternatives, if delivered skillfully, may be able to avoid these problems and provide a superior solution.
At Alternative to Meds Center, holistic benzodiazepine alternatives are used to help people successfully accomplish benzodiazepine tapering and transition into using natural alternatives to benzodiazepines and remain symptom-free.
Doctors may prescribe benzodiazepines for many reasons, like insomnia, panic, and anxiety. They are invaluable for treating seizures, especially in emergency rooms where seizures present between 1 to 2% of all emergency visits.13,59 The therapeutic value of benzodiazepines for the relief of symptoms is generally pretty profound, especially in acute anxiety.14
But prescribing guidelines indicate that the prescription should be limited to 2-4 weeks and rarely longer in extreme circumstances.12 Beyond a certain time frame, the medication often becomes problematic in various ways, including benzodiazepine dependence which occurs in an estimated 30-45% of chronic users.15 Original symptoms are generally masked by drugs, rather than fixed. At Alternative to Meds Center, we are most focused on fixing the things that benzodiazepines cannot actually correct, such as psychological issues, dietary factors, medical issues, neurotoxic body burden, and lifestyle. We work to find and correct the underlying reasons that are causing the symptoms which resulted in being medicated. Using non-toxic methods and natural substances, our studies have shown that this is achievable long-term for 87.5% of the participants.
Natural Alternatives to Benzodiazepines
Natural alternatives span various methodologies. Talk therapy and counseling have been proven effective for many patients experiencing anxiety disorders such as GAD, panic disorder, social anxiety, acute stress disorder, PTSD, and OCD, and is discussed in more detail below.16
Good sleep hygiene including blue-blocking devices and shutting off the Wi-Fi and other forms of EMFs at night can provide insomnia relief.17,18 Mycotoxin (mold) issues have also been attributed to depression and anxiety,19-22 as have other forms of neurotoxicity such as glutamatergic dysregulation.23 Supplemental support in the form of vitamin therapy also has shown efficacy.1
A summary and a more expanded description of these benzodiazepine alternatives follows.
Natural Alternatives to Benzodiazepines include:
Talk therapies, CBT16
Reduce exposure to EMFs and Wi-Fi17
Improve sleep hygiene including blue light blocking18
Reduce exposure to mold in the home and diet19-22
Eliminate MSG, and limit other glutamate-containing foods23
Diet modifications24,58
Test for and address heavy metal and other neurotoxic accumulations in the body.25-27
Relaxing environment with thermotherapy or massage28
Acupuncture29,30
Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)31
Kava (Piper methysticum)32
GABA33
Taurine34,35,56
Glycine36
Niacinamide37
L-lysine and L-arginine38
Magnesium39
Cannabidiol (CBD)40
Melatonin41
Tryptophan, 5-HTP42,43,45
Eliminate aspartame50
Eat organic food51
Use organic, toxic chemical-free hygiene and cleaning products52
Valerian extract — clinical trials show it is safe and effective for anxiety.57
The Environmental Working Group found in excess of 2,000 chemical additives, preservatives, artificial colors, and other chemicals, many of which are considered toxic, are used in conventional packaged foods. Many of these chemicals are poorly regulated and create a toxic burden that the body then has to deal with. Choose foods that are not processed with toxic chemicals, additives, flavor enhancers, and preservatives.
Eating organic reduces exposure to glyphosates and other toxic chemicals used in artificial fertilizers, pesticides, and GMO crops. It may take an investment of focus as well as a bit of extra money to make eating organic part of your daily practice, but doing so can significantly reduce these chemical exposures.52
Glutamate Containing Foods
In 2015, research published in the BiomoleculesJournal discussed the role of glutamate neuropathways as it relates to depression and anxiety. Reviews of the existing evidence led to a novel hypothesis of “glutamate dysregulation.” One aspect of the study noted that the total brain concentrations of glutamate are elevated in the cerebral spinal fluid of those afflicted with OCD. Glutamate is a component of MSG.23
Find out where it is hidden in food products and don’t buy or consume such products. Research the various names that MSG may be disguised by in common processed foods so you can steer clear of them.53
There are many ways to modify and improve the daily diet for mental health as well as physical health.24 At Alternative to Meds Center, we prepare our foods with mostly organic, nutrient-dense, and unprocessed foods that support mental wellness, and avoid these problems. Targeted supplementation is another pillar of healing in all our programs.
Targeted Nutritional Therapy as a Benzodiazepine Alternative
Focusing on diet and nutrition can provide surprisingly effective benzodiazepine alternatives. Staying hydrated, and avoiding caffeine, sugars, and refined carbs are a few key examples. Nutrient deficiencies contribute to mental disorders such as anxiety and depression. Blood sugar issues can cause symptoms resembling “mental illness,” so learning how to manage blood sugar is also vital.46,47
Alternative to Meds Center holds classes that provide detailed instruction in using alternatives to benzodiazepines such as diet and supplements, to assist those recovering from benzos. Learning about the significant positive effects of nutrition, adequate vitamins, minerals, and other supplements can make big differences in how we feel.1,2
Herbal remedies, orthomolecular medicine, and natural therapies are often beneficial for people with anxiety, insomnia, depression, and other mental health conditions. Alternative to Meds Center combines the necessary aspects of traditional medicine with the commonly overlooked aspects of holistic treatment to provide an integrative mental health approach.
Healthy Gut-Brain Axis for Mental Wellness Support
Unlike drug-based doctors, practitioners who focus on the gut-brain axis are more likely to be better equipped to recommend the right alternative mental health treatments involving a healthy gut, because of a deepening understanding of the benefits the gut can produce on mental wellness. This is a relatively new emerging branch of medicine. A fascinating and complex study of it will provide a full appreciation of the importance of a healthy gut. Recommended supports for gut microbiota health include fermented foods, yogurt, omega-3 fatty acids, plant-based proteins, fresh fruits and vegetables, and avoiding chemical preservatives and other chemicals such as artificial sweeteners often used in processed foods that can have adverse effects on gut microflora.60-62
Blending Treatments for Improved Overall Results
Benzodiazepine alternative treatment often includes more than just one therapy. There are many tools that can be utilized as natural benzodiazepine alternatives that can help people overcome anxiety without prescription drugs. Complex treatment programs are customized for each client’s success.
Supplements Used as Benzodiazepine Alternatives
The Nutritional Journal published an article in 2010 where authors claim that “based on the available evidence, it appears that nutritional and herbal supplementation is an effective method for treating anxiety and anxiety-related conditions without the risk of serious side effects.”15 This truly encapsulates the basis of our work in benzodiazepine and other medication alternatives.
Passiflora
In 2001, the Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics compared passionflower (Passiflora) extract to the benzodiazepine oxazepam and found that both were equally effective. The oxazepam created an impairment of job performance whereas Passiflora had a low to non-existent impact. The researchers concluded that Passiflora extract was effective for the management of generalized anxiety disorder, and even had an advantage over the benzodiazepine due to Passiflora’s low incidence of impairment.31
Kava
A Cochrane review of seven randomized clinical trials (RCTs) using kava for the treatment of generalized anxiety found a significant reduction of anxiety on the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale for kava compared with placebo. The mechanism may be because of its effect on modulating GABA. They note that this medicinal plant from the South Pacific is “a non-addictive, non-hypnotic anxiolytic with the potential to treat GAD.” The evidence for the efficacy of kava in treating anxiety has been affirmed through clinical trials and meta-analyses.32
GABA
Abdou et al’s study on GABA for treating anxiety showed that GABA reduced anxiety and increased relaxation in humans.54Frontiers in Neuroscience’s 2020 review also showed that there was low to moderate evidence for GABA’s ability to produce a reduction in stress.33
Taurine
In a 2019 rat study published in Redox Biology, researchers found that taurine demonstrated a protective role against anxiety, Specifically, taurine reduced the stress makers dopamine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, and noradrenaline and reversed elevated glutamate and corticosterone levels.34 Henry Emmons MD, as stated in Natural Mental Health, identifies taurine as an amino acid that increases inhibitory glycine and GABA to ease anxiety. He notes that it also protects against anxiety by reducing the neurotoxic effects of excess glutamate.56 And the Journal of Physiology, in a 2002 article, describes how β-Alanine and taurine assist the inhibitory glycine receptors in the in vitro hippocampus of rats.35
Glycine
In 2009 the Neural Plasticity Journal, researchers followed one chronic OCD and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) patient being administered high dose glycine for a five-year period. They found a large reduction in OCD/BDD symptoms while the patient was properly adhering to the treatment, and that relapses in symptomatology would resume when he would stop the glycine therapy. They discuss the mechanism of glycine and its profound anti-anxiety properties. Inhibitory receptors for glycine occur throughout the CNS and spinal cord and brain stem areas and are equally distributed throughout mammalian tissues. Glycine also suppresses the release of norepinephrine, an excitatory neurochemical, thus mitigating anxiety, and panic.36
Niacinamide
Hospital News in 2005 concludes that niacinamide (a niacin variant) has anti-anxiety effects comparable to the benzodiazepine class drugs. They claim that niacinamide appears to express this anti-anxiety phenomenon by modulating neurotransmitters that are commonly unbalanced in anxiety.37
L-lysine and L-arginine
A 2007 Biomedical Research study describes a week-long oral treatment using slightly over 2.5 grams of L-lysine L-arginine in one hundred eight Japanese adults. The results showed that lysine was effective in reducing chronic anxiety. This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study that further validated earlier findings that a combination of L-lysine and L-arginine were useful dietary interventions in humans experiencing high subjective levels of mental stress and anxiety.38
Magnesium
Nutrients in 2017 published a systematic review examining previously published evidence for the efficacy of magnesium supplementation for the alleviation of stress and anxiety in subjective evaluations. They found that the evidence suggests that magnesium exerts a beneficial effect on anxiety and stress responses.39
CBD
Neurotherapeutics published what they called “strong evidence” in 2015 supporting CBD as a viable treatment for multiple anxiety disorders including generalized anxiety, panic disorders, social anxiety disorder, OCD, and PTSD. Very few medications cover such a wide range of approval for multiple anxiety presentations. Please note CBD and THC are NOT the same. Though both elements are derived from the same plant (cannabis sativa), THC products are NOT viable alternatives to benzodiazepines as they are clinically shown to worsen IQ, worsen symptoms of PTSD, impair memory and mood, and increase depression, and the likelihood of developing or relapsing psychosis symptoms.40,68
Melatonin
Garzon et al’s study on the effects of melatonin on the elderly showed that melatonin worked better than a placebo sugar pill to improve sleep and decrease symptoms of depression and anxiety. The results of this study suggest that melatonin administration significantly improves sleep and behavioral disorders in the elderly and facilitates discontinuation of therapy with conventional hypnotic drugs.41
Tryptophan & 5-HTP
5-HTP is a clinically effective precursor to serotonin, according to Birdsall, published in the 1998 Alternative Medicine Review. In other clinical studies, researchers published a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical study of 45 DSM-III diagnosed anxiety patients in International Clinical Psychopharmacology. This study demonstrated that 5-HTP showed a moderate reduction of anxiety and related symptoms on the 90-item symptoms checklist (SCL-90) and the State Scale of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The results provided support for the theory that serotonergic pathways are involved in the development of anxiety and panic disorders including agoraphobia.43,45
Practice Good Sleep Hygiene
Clinical research on blue-light-blocking glasses has shown significant benefits for insomnia and reducing the time of sleep onset. 18
Healthy sleep habits include:*
Go to bed and get up at the same time, even on weekends or during vacations.
Get to bed early enough so that you can get at least 7 hours of sleep.
Only go to bed when sleepy.
If you are unable to sleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed.
Establish a bedtime routine that evokes relaxation.
The bed is for only sleep and sex, not other activities especially work, problem-solving, or fighting.
Design the bedroom to be relaxing, and well-ventilated, and keep it at a cool, but comfortable temperature.
Limit exposure to bright lights, TV, computer screens, and cell phones, before retiring.
Turn off phones, WiFi, and other electronic devices in the home at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
Avoid eating a large meal before bedtime. Eat a light healthy snack instead.
Exercise regularly.
Maintain a healthy diet
Avoid caffeine in the late afternoon or evening.
Abstain from alcohol before established bedtime.
Stay adequately hydrated, but do not drink a lot of fluids before bedtime.
* Source: American Alliance for Healthy Sleep17
Physical Treatments for Anxiety and Insomnia
Massage
The American Massage Therapy Association describes a small clinical study on the effectiveness of massage on persons afflicted with generalized anxiety disorder and noted that subjects in the study reported decreased anxiety.28
Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine
Acupuncture in medicine: The Journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society in 2007 reported positive findings for acupuncture while treating generalized anxiety disorder and anxiety neurosis but felt there was insufficient evidence within the research for definitive conclusions to be drawn. The authors performed a systematic review of what they could find in the relevant research regarding acupuncture in the treatment of anxiety disorders.30Medical Acupuncture’s published findings in 2013 were based upon illustrative cases that traditional Chinese therapies (TCM) including acupuncture did provide relief for anxiety and depression as well as sleep disorders and PTSD.29
Learned Relaxation Techniques
Other important parts of benzodiazepine alternatives include learning how to relax, and methods of relieving stress in healthy ways. There are many easy, positive ways to learn how to achieve relaxation. Meditation, for example, is something we all do every day whether we realize it or not, as everyone practices meditation in their own way. This is undoubtedly a wonderful exercise to practice on a conscious level regularly. Meditation is calming, balancing, and tends to put things in perspective. Fortney and Taylor’s review of the literature on meditation describes it as a healthy mind-body practice widely known and accepted in the scientific community as well as by the public at large for its many health benefits.55
Talk Therapy — Symptom Reduction and Benzo Recovery
Talking with a counselor, or support group is an opportunity to openly discuss your feelings and find empowerment and release emotional baggage. Counseling can encourage you to stay positive and allow you to comfortably connect with someone and verbally share your feelings. Through counseling, you can start to challenge your anxiety, rationalize your negative thoughts and fears, and overcome uncertainty.
Through cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), you can learn how to undo negative and anxious thinking patterns and replace them with more positive and rational outlooks. Published in a 2011 Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience article, researchers found that CBT was efficacious in randomized controlled trials for the treatment of adult anxiety disorders.16 When you start to feel anxious or get into a negative thought pattern, you can ask yourself “Is there a better way to look at this situation?” Studies have shown that CBT has a superior therapeutic value to drug-based therapy and that the positive results last much longer.4,5
Toxic Heavy Metals and Psychiatric Symptoms
Effects of Toxins On CNS Chemistry
Underlying causes of anxiety can include neurotoxins, toxins that can build up in an individual’s system over their lifetime. The toxins can produce overstimulated nervous system effects.25-27 A good example of the mechanics of this effect is found in pesticides. Pesticides like organophosphates are created to kill insects — think grasshoppers — and work in the following way: the toxin is absorbed into the exoskeleton, and then it finds its way into the nervous system. A pesticide will cause acetylcholine nervous system channels to open, and these channels remain stuck open. Acetylcholine is a stimulating neurotransmitter that will cause a grasshopper to jump. The pesticide creates a constant release of acetylcholine and this puts the grasshopper into an over-excited state of continuous motion, and then catatonia, followed by death. This is the way pesticides kill pests. Accumulation of this toxin occurs very similarly in humans, as the human nervous system also uses acetylcholine for stimulation. 48,49 Other toxins such as heavy metals, molds, MSG, mycotoxins, aspartame, and literally thousands of others in processed food and hygiene products have similar effects. One of the best benzodiazepine alternatives is to reduce the toxic body burden so that the body can self-regulate.
Our goal is to teach clients to be their own experts on mental health.
Lead and Cadmium Involved in Anxiety Pathogenesis
The North American Journal of Medical Sciences published an article in 2014 reviewing the effects of lead and cadmium on mental health. Of the over 400 articles on the subject they reviewed, 60 met the inclusion criteria. They found that increased bone lead concentrations in middle-aged and elderly women led to an increase in depressive and phobic anxiety markers. They also found cadmium followed these same psychiatric involved trends. They discovered that cadmium exposure in utero had been sufficiently documented to cause depression, anxiety, mood disorders, and even schizophrenia. And of particular interest, they found lead debilitated the production of energy which normally comes from the mitochondrial biochemical cascade. These mitochondrial impairments then manifested as psychiatric disorders including depression and anxiety and skewing of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, (HPA). Like the transmission and gears in your car, the HPA is the primary nervous system and endocrine system interface and helps regulate how these systems function in relation to stress responses.25
Can Mercury Cause Anxiety, Insomnia, and OCD?
At Alternative to Meds Center, we have noticed a clinical correlation between mercury burden on a provoked chelation challenge, and the incidences of anxiety, OCD, and insomnia. Mercury is a known neurotoxin, suspected to possibly debilitate the serotonin-melatonin pathway. In animal studies using adult zebrafish, researchers may have found such a correlation and published their findings in 2011 in the Journal of Neurotoxicology and Teratology. The zebrafish were subjected to an acute insult of methylmercury. They were subsequently tested by two separate methods for anxiety. Even at low doses, the zebrafish showed high anxiogenic markers in both test types. Curious to us, these effects were accompanied by a decrease in extracellular levels of serotonin, and tryptamine-4,5-dione, which is a serotonin metabolite.26
In 2001, the Journal of Toxicological Sciences published an article about long-term mercury exposure in human populations. They noted that long-term exposure to mercury has been attributed to impairments of the central nervous system, particularly memory loss, depression, and anxiety. Human subjects possessing the V66M polymorphism, which is involved in the gene encoded brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), were particularly vulnerable to the psychiatric neurobehavioral impairments inflicted by mercury.27 A 2000 article in Industrial Health discusses what is called “mercurial erethism,” a set of behavioral changes in response to mercury that includes memory loss, insomnia, and abnormal mental excitement and irritability.44
Personal products and Toxicity Risks
A good rule of thumb is “if you can’t eat it, don’t put it on your skin.” Much of what we put on our skin ends up in our body and can act as hormone mimickers, endocrine disruptors, neurotoxins, and affect our energy metabolism. A shortlist includes phthalates, PCBs, parabens, fragrance, propylene glycol, triclosan, and literally thousands of others.51 An excellent resource for learning more is the Environmental Working Group’s website called Skin Deep which catalogs the chemical profile of over 77,000 different hygiene products and provides toxicity profiles including the physiological targets of these poisons. Becoming aware is the first step to making better choices as consumers.
Toxic Mold Syndrome
Bill Rea, one of the true godfathers of environmental medicine, published the results of a 100-person clinical trial in the 2003 Archive of Environmental Health. Results showed that mold exposure had affected 80% of participants who tested positive for abnormal T and B cells. A sub-group of 67 participants suffered respiratory dysfunction such as wheezing, and 70% of the participants suffered from a neurological impairment such as short-term memory loss and deficits in hand-eye coordination.20 People who reside in mold environments tend to have more depression, as found in a study of 5,882 adults, published in a 2007 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.11 The Amen Clinics, on the subject of toxic mold syndrome, claim toxic mold exposure has also been attributed to severe long-term problems like memory loss, insomnia, anxiety, depression, confusion, and inability to concentrate.21 More on the subject can be found by reading Mold Warriors: Fighting America’s Hidden Health Threat by Ritchie C. Shoemaker.19
We’ve Been Down This Road, We Know What Works
Our benzodiazepine alternatives may be diverse for this specific type of medication, but they include very careful medically-supervised benzodiazepine weaning and titration techniques, neurotoxin removal, peer support, natural substances to create neurochemical support, orthomolecular nutrition, and many beneficial alternative mental health treatments such as acupuncture, massage, and sauna which are designed to induce relaxation and stability.
We find that in the majority of cases of chronic anxiety, there is an accumulation of neurotoxins. Typically these include toxic heavy metals in the anxious individual. Until purged, these trapped toxins may overstimulate the nervous system. Add other stressors to that, like increasing demands at work, floundering relationships, and financial or other upheavals and you have a recipe for unwanted symptoms to emerge. Any and all of these stressors can be too overwhelming. Often this is when a person goes to the doctor who prescribes anti-anxiety medication. Benzodiazepines are our most common class of medications we address at the center. Coming off benzos without support can be extremely difficult. We can help you get off benzodiazepines with less discomfort and provide many newly learned skills so that you can live without ongoing anxiety or the need for medication.
Are Benzodiazepines the Next Opioid Crisis?
David Fiellin, MD, internal medicine and addiction medicine specialist at Yale Medicine published a study showing that between 1996 and 2013, the number of adult prescriptions for benzodiazepines climbed by 67% to 135 million prescriptions per year, and that the actual pill volume of benzos prescribed per person more than tripled during that time frame. He observed that doctors get in a hurry prescribing these medications and noted that primary care doctors may lack the training to prescribe benzodiazepines but do so anyway. But they often fail to do a full history and ask in-depth questions, and may not get a chance to educate the patients on the risks of these medications.6
Drug overdose deaths involving benzodiazepines rose from 1,135 in 1999 to 11,537 in 2017, often in combination with other drugs.10 The American Journal of Public Health notes that benzodiazepine overdose deaths in the span of a decade have seen a 5-fold increase from 1999 to 2010.11
Coming off benzodiazepines must be well-managed to avoid protracted withdrawal. Heather Ashton, from the Department of Pharmacological Sciences at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, has published and documented the struggles of benzodiazepine protracted withdrawal for many people coming off benzos. Withdrawals lasting much longer than the abbreviated pharmacological withdrawal period, indicate that possible neuronal damage may have occurred.9
When we combine the skyrocketing prescription numbers, overdose deaths, and the problems of protracted withdrawal, one can clearly see a crisis that is in full bloom. Alternative to Meds Center’s holistic benzodiazepine alternatives can provide help for reducing unwanted symptoms, helping with safe benzodiazepine withdrawal, and improving natural mental health without relying on prescription drugs.
What We Do at Alternative to Meds Center
We use natural, scientific, and drug-free approaches to balance brain function.4,5 We provide the following services in our benzodiazepine alternatives programs:
and much more which can be found in more detail on our services page.
Through counseling, lab testing, and alternatives to psychiatric methods, we can discover where your anxiety stems from and help you get rid of anything that no longer serves you. The benzodiazepine alternative treatment that is most successful is one that finds the real underlying reasons that cause symptoms of anxiety and personalizes treatment on an individual basis.
Want to Find Out More About ATMC?
Our programs are delivered in a pristine, comfortable inpatient social setting. The camaraderie found in a group of like-minded individuals can provide support and confidence in persevering through to a successful outcome. Although the therapeutic and clinical aspects of the programs are all about precision, bear in mind that mindful relaxation and positive focus are also important ingredients to healing.2,3,5 For example, the center’s locale offers many opportunities for easy walking trails in the beautiful red rock mountains, stunning photo ops, visiting the shops and galleries of Sedona’s artisan-based community, and so many other pleasant excursions to choose from.
At Alternative to Meds Center, our scientific approach to discontinuing benzodiazepines and stabilizing brain function has helped thousands of people become mentally healthy. Whether you are young or old, in-between or “ageless,” our wide range of therapeutic options, holds the potential for healing and positive changes for every one of our clients. We invite you to call us and find out more about how the correct and comprehensive use of benzodiazepine alternatives could be the exact assistance you or a loved one have been searching for.
7. Olfson M, King M, Schoenbaum M. Benzodiazepine use in the United States. JAMA Psychiatry. 2015 Feb;72(2):136-42. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.1763. PMID: 25517224. [cited 2022 June 28]
8. Greenberg, M. I. (2001). Benzodiazepine Withdrawal: Potentially Fatal, Commonly Missed: Following benzodiazepine cessation, withdrawal symptoms may begin within 24 hours or take up to two weeks to develop. Emergency Medicine News, 23(12), 18. [cited 2022 June 28]
13. Medical News Today The benefits and risks of benzodiazepines Medically reviewed by Alan Carter, Pharm.D. — Written by Joseph Nordqvist — Updated on November 8, 2020 [cited 2022 June 28]
15. Meier PJ, Ziegler WH, Neftel K. Benzodiazepine–Praxis und Probleme ihrer Anwendung [Benzodiazepine–practice and problems of its use]. Schweiz Med Wochenschr. 1988 Mar 19;118(11):381-92. German. PMID: 3287602. [cited 2022 June 28]
46. Acute Hypoglycemia Presenting as Acute Psychosis Tanveer Padder MD, Aparna Udyawar MD, Nouman Azhar MD, Kamil Jaghab MD From the Department of Psychiatry, Nassau University Medical Center, 2201 Hempstead Turnpike, East Meadow NY 11554 USA.First Published December 2005. [cited 2022 June 28]
61. Bermúdez-Humarán LG, Salinas E, Ortiz GG, Ramirez-Jirano LJ, Morales JA, Bitzer-Quintero OK. From Probiotics to Psychobiotics: Live Beneficial Bacteria Which Act on the Brain-Gut Axis. Nutrients. 2019 Apr 20;11(4):890. doi: 10.3390/nu11040890. PMID: 31010014; PMCID: PMC6521058. [cited 2022 June 28]
63. Shrivastava, A., Johnston, M., Terpstra, K., & Bureau, Y. (2014). Cannabis and psychosis: Neurobiology.Indian journal of psychiatry, 56(1), 8–16. https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5545.124708 [cited 2023 Mar 23]
This content has been reviewed and approved by a licensed physician.
Dr. Samuel Lee
Dr. Samuel Lee is a board-certified psychiatrist, specializing in a spiritually-based mental health discipline and integrative approaches. He graduated with an MD at Loma Linda University School of Medicine and did a residency in psychiatry at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. He has also been an inpatient adult psychiatrist at Kaweah Delta Mental Health Hospital and the primary attending geriatric psychiatrist at the Auerbach Inpatient Psychiatric Jewish Home Hospital. In addition, he served as the general adult outpatient psychiatrist at Kaiser Permanente. He is board-certified in psychiatry and neurology and has a B.A. Magna Cum Laude in Religion from Pacific Union College. His specialty is in natural healing techniques that promote the body’s innate ability to heal itself.
Lyle Murphy is the founder of the Alternative to Meds Center, a licensed residential program that helps people overcome dependence on psychiatric medication and addiction issues using holistic and psychotherapeutic methods.
Medical Disclaimer: Nothing on this Website is intended to be taken as medical advice. The information provided on the website is intended to encourage, not replace, direct patient-health professional relationships. Always consult with your doctor before altering your medications. Adding nutritional supplements may alter the effect of medication. Any medication changes should be done only after proper evaluation and under medical supervision.
Our Success Stories
Medication Withdrawal Success Stories
Can you imagine being free from medications, addictive drugs, and alcohol? This is our goal and we are proving it is possible every day!
Talk therapies, CBT 16
Focusing on diet and nutrition can provide surprisingly effective benzodiazepine alternatives. Staying hydrated, and avoiding caffeine, sugars, and refined carbs are a few key examples. Nutrient deficiencies contribute to mental disorders such as anxiety and depression. Blood sugar issues can cause symptoms resembling “mental illness,” so learning how to manage blood sugar is also vital.46,47
Go to bed and get up at the same time, even on weekends or during vacations.
Talking with a counselor, or support group is an opportunity to openly discuss your feelings and find empowerment and release emotional baggage. Counseling can encourage you to stay positive and allow you to comfortably connect with someone and verbally share your feelings. Through counseling, you can start to challenge your anxiety, rationalize your negative thoughts and fears, and overcome uncertainty.
The North American Journal of Medical Sciences published an article in 2014 reviewing the effects of lead and cadmium on mental health. Of the over 400 articles on the subject they reviewed, 60 met the inclusion criteria. They found that increased bone lead concentrations in middle-aged and elderly women led to an increase in depressive and phobic anxiety markers. They also found cadmium followed these same psychiatric involved trends. They discovered that cadmium exposure in utero had been sufficiently documented to cause depression, anxiety, mood disorders, and even schizophrenia. And of particular interest, they found lead debilitated the production of energy which normally comes from the mitochondrial biochemical cascade. These mitochondrial impairments then manifested as psychiatric disorders including depression and anxiety and skewing of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, (HPA). Like the transmission and gears in your car, the HPA is the primary nervous system and endocrine system interface and helps regulate how these systems function in relation to stress responses.25
Bill Rea, one of the true godfathers of environmental medicine, published the results of a 100-person clinical trial in the 2003 Archive of Environmental Health. Results showed that mold exposure had affected 80% of participants who tested positive for abnormal T and B cells. A sub-group of 67 participants suffered respiratory dysfunction such as wheezing, and 70% of the participants suffered from a neurological impairment such as short-term memory loss and deficits in hand-eye coordination.20 People who reside in mold environments tend to have more depression, as found in a study of 5,882 adults, published in a 2007 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.11 The Amen Clinics, on the subject of toxic mold syndrome, claim toxic mold exposure has also been attributed to severe long-term problems like memory loss, insomnia, anxiety, depression, confusion, and inability to concentrate.21 More on the subject can be found by reading Mold Warriors: Fighting America’s Hidden Health Threat by Ritchie C. Shoemaker.19
Our programs are delivered in a pristine, comfortable 
