# Do Benzos help depression?



## Bribarian (Nov 30, 2010)

*Can Benzos help depression?*

I get a lot of mixed signals on this.

On one hand I hear they are sometimes prescribed for depression as well as anxiety.

On the other hand people say they cause depression after long term use.

So from personal experience ? Which is it?


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## bmwfan07 (Jun 3, 2007)

Over time, they can indeed cause dependency and long-term effects including major depression and, possibly, suicidality. They actually reduce norepinephrine and serotinin, from what I understand.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

I've never heard of a benzo that helps depression in the 6 years of reading mental health forums. They help anxiety however and are pretty good at it. I personally recommend against daily use of benzos and would only use them on a PRN basis. I have used them like this for 4 years now and have never had a problem with them, depression nor withdrawal.


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## orbit55 (Apr 23, 2008)

bmwfan07 said:


> They actually reduce norepinephrine and serotinin, from what I understand.


I'm not sold on that...

Benzo's don't help depression chemically but if you are depressed because of anything anxiety-related and they help, then they help your depression lessens.

They can also cause depression when tolerance or withdrawal become an issue. It's like drinking a 6-pack everyday for years and then when you stop you will obviously become depressed.

Daily benzo's did a lot for me for about two years and I was able to feel normal. I moved to a big city, traveled the world and met tons of people but in return they turned me dependent and since my dose has been the same from Day 1, I doubt they are doing anything except keeping me from going into withdrawal.

If I had to do it all over again, I would have preferred to try an SSRI/SNRI with a benzo prn just in case. I went the opposite route and I am currently on my first ever SSRI and I feel great. I really want to start my benzo taper but I know it's going to be hell, so I want the SSRI to be working 100%.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

They seem to do just the opposite, although I believe I've heard of one person on here saying that klonopin helped with their depression and OCD even.


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## martyboi (Sep 18, 2009)

Heres some evidence that clonazepam exclusively, upregulates 5ht1 receptors....

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2418653

which would explain why it makes people depressed.

Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 1993 Jul;17(4):663-77.
Modulation of 5HT1A receptors in the hippocampus and the raphe area of rats treated with clonazepam.
Lima L, Salazar M, Trejo E.

Laboratorio de Neuroquímica, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas, Caracas, Venezuela.
Abstract
1. Clonazepam is one of the most potent benzodiazepines known to decrease the activity of the central serotonergic systems. The acute and subchronic administration of clonazepam reduced serotonin (5HT) turnover rate in the hippocampus of the rat, as determined by the ratio of the monoamine and its metabolite, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid. 2. The modulation of 5HT binding sites and 5HT1A receptors by the administration of clonazepam for various periods of time were studied in the hippocampus and the raphe area by experiments with radioligands. 3. The density of [3H]5HT recognition sites increased in the hippocampus of clonazepam-treated rats in a dose- and time-dependent manner. This increase was impaired by the simultaneous administration of the 5HT agonist 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine. The affinity of this binding did not significantly change. This observation might indicate an increase in some of the 5HT receptors or an increase of the uptake site. 4. The binding parameters for [3H]DPAT, Bmax and Kd, decreased in the hippocampus but not in the raphe area of clonazepam-treated rats. It seems that the presynaptic reduction in 5HT function, resulting in the decrease of its availability at the synaptic space, modifies the corresponding 5HT recognition sites. 5. These changes could be related to the anxyolitic activity or the withdrawal symptoms of benzodiazepines.

I wonder if this would also apply to diazepam or xanax as well....


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## leon21 (Nov 8, 2009)

martyboi said:


> Heres some evidence that clonazepam exclusively, upregulates 5ht1 receptors....
> 
> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2418653
> 
> ...


I wonder if this would also apply to humans...


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## martyboi (Sep 18, 2009)

leon21 said:


> I wonder if this would also apply to humans...


haha good point


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## Bribarian (Nov 30, 2010)

My issue has always been one of anxiety all my life.

And it seems like when I take ativan I feel less depressed. But everyone seems to say it's the opposite.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

It's certainly possible, benzo's can reduce the production of stress hormones in the brain, so this may be a possible mechanism by which they could help with depression since an excess amount of stress hormones such as cortisol can lead to and exacerbate depression.


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## Canadian4Life (Sep 27, 2010)

Benzos used in short term can help depression linked to severe anxiety. Long term use with svere anxiety or not will cause depression..in "my" case


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## nesteroff (Nov 14, 2003)

Benzos made my depression much worse. I was suicidal off and on the several years I took them. That and they were highly addictive to me. They gave me temporary relief from anxiety, but when I look back on the side effects of major depression and addiction I don't think it's worth it at all. if a doctor offered them to me now, I think, no matter how tempting, I would turn them down. I think the addiction to them is almost as bad as the depression. The withdrawal was HELL. Unless you NEED them, I would stay away. My mind is so much clearer now without them, too. People often don't mention how slow your mind becomes on benzos, how fuzzy... not fun.

It's too bad, because they really helped my insomnia.


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## Bribarian (Nov 30, 2010)

Well if people usually build a tolerance to benzos and eventually they don't work as good, is it actually the lack of the benzo working that causes the depression and anxiety long term? Or do we just think the lack of excitement and sedation is what causes it?


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## Himi Jendrix (Mar 24, 2010)

Based on my experience: 

Xanax helps depression. I take a xanax and I will feel really happy. Take 2 and feel even more happy. Go without xanax for a day and feel sad. Its a good med but its a rollercoster ride. 

Klonopin always made me more sad but it definitely messed me up in a bad way. Even when on it I wasnt particularly happy. 

Ativan was just too weak for me to truly judge how well it works. I only took 2mg per day and I thought it sucked for everything except for causing amnesia.


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## Bribarian (Nov 30, 2010)

Ya I've heard xanax can help, however I didn't like it. It actually caused me more anxiety and panic. Figure that one out?


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## gordonjohnson008 (Nov 2, 2008)

Klonopin alone exacerbated my depression. If you taking a benzo and are depression-prone, it's probably best to take an antidepressant alongside it.


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## bben (Oct 24, 2009)

martyboi said:


> Heres some evidence that clonazepam exclusively, upregulates 5ht1 receptors....
> 
> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2418653
> 
> ...


This is the reason clonazepam is used for depersonalization disorder over all the other benzos. After 1 year of using clonazepam my DPD went away, although coming off of it was a near death ordeal that lasted months.


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