# CBT with benzo's?



## dustinfergy (May 19, 2015)

could benzos and cbt be combined? cbt would provide longterm relief but takes time to do so, while bnzos should ony be ûsed short therm. so the patient could work on longtrm relief while béing comfortable for the timé bing, or would bezôs screw up te CBT? 


sorry for spelling, using ipad to type.


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## acidicwithpanic (May 14, 2014)

Yeah it's a common treatment. I'm on it myself and it works quite well. Of course it takes some time to find the right medication and therapist; it took me more than two years, but a lot of people are quick to give up after one bad trial of prescriptions or a couple of useless therapy sessions. The possibilities are endless, so you have to be willing to take an experimental approach to improve your condition.

With benzos, yes, you are correct. You can easily get addicted to them so it's suggested that you use them sparingly. Some SSRI's are good, but they don't work as quickly and they need to be taken regularly.


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## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

Benzos can interfere with progress when used as-needed since they can become a safety behavior. You can unknowingly reinforce the idea that you're in danger and "need" something to be safe.

They also have inhibitory actions on a lot of brain areas that are used in learning or unlearning fear responses.

Having said that, they can be helpful in short-term situations when you're doing something way too intense for you at the time (for example if you're new to therapy and have a job interview or are giving an important speech). It's important to carefully find the right one with the right dose so that you aren't impaired, but still get maximum benefit.

They can also be used a night to help people sleep, although they tend to stop working after a while and you become tolerant to them.

They can be used to short-circuit panic attacks as well if that is a problem. Panic also responds to therapy, but again - until you're ready - sometimes they help a lot.

Yes I suppose sometimes they are a "crutch" but when your leg is broken, a crutch helps you get by until the leg heals. It won't heal any faster by sitting on the couch! And our anxiety won't get better if we're so impaired in our functioning that we become depressed.

[We/you used abstractly in this message.] Just my two cents!


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## AbsenceOfSound (Nov 29, 2011)

I took benzos for about a year and a half, and also did CBT during that time. My psychiatrist prescribed the benzo for long-term use. I finally dropped the psychiatrist and found another one who put me on an SSRI. 

This is ONLY my personal experience here, but I found the benzos did nothing for my anxiety. They just made me loopy and I think there was probably a bit of a placebo effect because I believed they were going to help me. Everyone has such different brain chemistry though....maybe it works for some people. In theory, the concept of short-term benzo use coupled with exposure therapy or CBT might be useful.


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