Benzo Blues: Overcoming Anxiety Without Tranquilizers (Paperback)

by Edward H. Drummond (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Valium. Atvian. Xanax. These benzodiapezines or "benzos" are among the most routinely prescribed medications in our society, used to treat chronic anxiety in millions of people. But these drugs can actually prolong and aggravate anxiety, causing individuals to postpone dealing with core problems and to increasingly rely on addictive medication with extremely debilitating effects. Of the more than 30 million people who take these drugs, more than four million are addicted. Dr. Edward H. Drummond offers hope with a revolutionary program for overcoming chronic anxiety without the use of tranquilizers. His approach flies in the face of established practices, particularly at a time when health care programs offer dwindling support for psychotherapy, preferring the cheaper course of having patients medicate themselves. Certain to inspire controversy, Benzo Blues is the work of a visionary author out to challenge the medical establishment. Its publication will be greeted with enormous interest by the millions of people affected by these powerful drugs, all of whom will find a new way of dealing with a lifelong problem.

Product Details

• Paperback: 316 pages
• Publisher: Plume (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452278260
• ISBN-13: 978-0452278264
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #475,522 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on detoxing from benzodiazepines!, November 26, 1999

By	John A.W. Polsgrove "jacpolsgrove" (Tucson, Baja Arizona) - See all my reviews

For some reason, every site refers to Shirley Trickett's book as "The Bible" to BZD detox. I got it and read it in one sitting and didn't gain much from it. On the other hand, "Benzo Blues" is thorough and raises the standard by which books should be judged in helping those of us hoping to kick benzodiazepines. He has a few too many anecdotes, but the book is useful for chapters 10 and 11 alone. I highly, highly recommend this book to anyone coming off Xanax, Ativan, Valium, and all the other benzos that doctors just love to prescribe. Definitely 5 stars...

30 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SIMPLY A GREAT BOOK AND YOU ARE GOING TO NEED IT IF, April 30, 2000

By	Bill Butler (Tarzana, Ca. USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

YOU HAVE BEEN ON BENZOS FOR LONGER THAN 6 MONTHS! Now this includes Valium, Xanax, Ativan, Librium, Tranxene, Klonopin, and a lot of others. I received a wonderful e-mail from a wonderful lady who will be nameless. She's on Librium. This review is for her. Because I believe I didn't give a satisfactory answer. That I was basically the same as I was a year ago. But I have learned. BUY AND READ THIS BOOK. It's really the best on benzodiazepene addiction. Drummond is a fully qualified pasychiatrist who will help you get off these killers. It tells you HOW to stop. HOW to taper the dosages. Now most doctors and psychiatrists don't know how to do this. So please buy this book. After you are off benzos in 6 weeks ( a program no one recommends now), you will have what they call "rebound anxiety". This means that your anxiety will jump 6 times the normal level. So do the 10-percent solution. You will find this in Peter Breggin's "Your Drug May Be Your Problem". Also buy Breggin's book along with this one. Be a little cautious about Breggin. He is also strongly against Ritalin and Prozac. Drummond's book stands in the middle of this controversy. I went from 24 mgs. of Valium to 18 mgs. I feel so much better. Stable. Less crazy. This is the way it works with BENZO ADDICTS. Get off it and only use them for emergencies. I have a friend in San Antonio named Ed. He is stuck on Xanax. We are doing research on this. We do feel better off these drugs. But they very well might not be the WHOLE answer as Breggin implies. Drummond in "Benzo Blues" does not imply this. He gives many healthy alternatives to the "leveling off" effect of Benzos. Ed and I are having trouble with this problem (I have been a Valium addict for 30 years)because personal problems hit us and WHAMMO! Choke on blood or take a BENZO. Drummond does seem to say that seeing a psychotherapist is mandatory. Maybe YES maybe NO. To date, it hasn't helped Ed nor I. There is one more book that I hope you will order. "Coming Off Tranquilizers" by Shirley Trickett. She has schedules that you can pick among many. And she gives a real healthy view on how to get off. Drummond, Breggin, Trickett. According to my psychiatrist, I should have been off Valium 29 1/2 years ago. It's only caused tremendous damage. And I am fighting for my life. So buy Drummond's book and those two others. Get a good alternative (mine is 2 hours of meditation daily! No, I haven't started yet! Not even 10 minues daily. If the truth be known, I'm scared to get off it. Oddly enough). Now "Benzo Blues" is 300 pages. It IS hard reading. But if you are a BENZO freak, you will need it along with those two other books. I was going to a mental center, and they cut me from Valium without any consultation. They demanded that I come in even though my brother has picked them up before. I alledgedly made a threat because going "cold turkey" off a Benzo can cause seizures. I was put in a booby hatch for 5 1/2 days. Get off this junk. But be wary of the "witch hunters". I don't know whether Trickett and Breggin are such. But with this book, which is quite academic and pragmatic, you can make accurate decisions. And if you've been on benzos for over a year, you are an addict. Don't go through what I did and may never get over. Valium is now part of me, my brain, my perceptions. I wish you very good luck and Godspeed.

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Informative...within all the case stories, June 29, 2009

By	Cameron Caldwin "Cam" (Wilmington, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This has a lot of really good info. that you can't find in many other books (except for maybe Breggin's same lines over and over in his 20 novels, and the opening bits of the Ashton Manual, which is free online). The only complaint I have is, like most others, that their is far too much "personal story" added into the book. However, I guess it would just be The Ashton Manual (and 20 pages long) if it weren't for all of the anecdotal writing. Regardless of this aspect, though, I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is currently on any BZD...especially if you have been on the medication for 3 or more months (and even more so if you want to learn about how this class of drugs can drain the emotion out of your life without your even knowing about it). Lastly, this book gives a good start for how to begin your search to gather the resources necessary for safely getting off of these life-altering medications. Also mentions anti-depressants as well. I would certainly make sure that any of my family members who were taking a BZD continuously read this book, and make sure that they safely discontinue the drugs.