Due to the severe nature of adverse effects and/or withdrawal from benzodiazepines, many of the victims of iatrogenesis report significant losses. The following list, compiled by the withdrawal support community from submissions from the victims themselves, details just some of those losses:
I lost…
My home
My income
Loved ones
Parenting time
Being a daughter, son, friend, mother, parent, etc. (relationship roles)
Friends
Retirement funds
Health insurance (with job loss)
Security
Dignity
Independence
Ability to drive
Ability to finish schooling
Social life/Relationships
Hope
Joy
Confidence
Respect from others (who misunderstand)
Young adulthood (due to the duration of the protracted withdrawal)
Ability to have family (due to dependence/withdrawal during childbearing years)
Memory
Cognitive function
Creativity
Sleep
Relationship(s) with children
Physical health
Mental Health
Emotional Health
Sense of belonging or mattering in the world
Thyroid (misdiagnosis)
Ability to go outside (agoraphobia)
Ability to function away from another person (monophobia)
Weight
Children’s births ruined
Missing milestones in children’s lives as a parent
Marriage
Credibility with the world (as most misunderstand the illness)
Physical attractiveness (hair loss, skin changes, etc. from illness)
Safety due to the withdrawal syndromes causing vulnerability (causing abuse)
Soul
Feelings (due to drug/withdrawal-induced anhedonia/apathy)
Happiness
Ability to attend important events (e.g., weddings, births, etc.)[Text Wrapping Break]Ability to walk normally
Comfort (due to debilitating symptoms of pain, etc.)[Text Wrapping Break]Patience
Ability to mourn deaths or grieve properly[Text Wrapping Break]Last years of life with someone who died
Ability to complete tasks
Coordination
Stamina
Reputation
Ability to travel
Ability to exercise
Ability to have or enjoy sexual intimacy with a partner
Custody of child(ren)
Professional licenses
Mind
Freedom
Nails
Hair
Self-trust (can’t trust your own feelings)
Car
Good credit
Pleasure
Ability to read
Ability to watch TV
Ability to hold engaging conversation
Trust in the medical field
ME
Peace
Uterus (or other unnecessary surgeries)
Faith
Ability to trust
Pride
IQ
Sanity
Spirit
Ability to self-care or perform Activities of Daily Living (ADL’s)
Ability to shop for myself/cook
Ability to sit
Ability to use limbs (e.g., arms/legs due to pain or spasticity)
Precious years of life that cannot be recovered
And the most devastating and permanent loss of all…some have lost their lives.