Alternatives to Long-Term Benzodiazepines

Can Ketamine Help Benzodiazepine Withdrawal? - Melissa Bond & Dr. Amy de la Garza

In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin speaks with Melissa Bond and Dr. Amy de la Garza about the hidden risks of benzodiazepines, the reality of dependency, and what recovery can require.

Find full show notes and links here: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-350/?ref=278

Melissa shares her experience of becoming dependent on prescribed medication, and the physical and emotional challenges of withdrawal. Dr. de la Garza brings a clinical perspective, explaining how benzodiazepines affect the nervous system and why withdrawal can be prolonged and destabilizing.

The conversation also looks at where conventional care often falls short, and how more integrative approaches are beginning to emerge. This includes the use of low-dose ketamine as a potential tool to support the nervous system during withdrawal, particularly in more complex or prolonged cases.

Melissa Bond is a narrative journalist and poet. Her memoir Blood Orange Night, which chronicles her experience with benzodiazepine dependency, was published by Simon & Schuster and recognized by The New York Times as one of the best audiobooks of 2022. Her work has appeared on PBS, The New York Times Podcast, RadioWest, and TEDx. Dr. Amy de la Garza is a board-certified physician in Family and Addiction Medicine, a certified Functional Medicine practitioner, and co-founder of Nosis Health, a virtual outpatient addiction medicine platform. Her work integrates functional, lifestyle, and emerging therapies, including ketamine-assisted treatment, to support recovery.

Highlights:

• Melissa Bond's experience with benzodiazepine dependency and withdrawal
• How prescribed use can gradually lead to physical dependence
• Why benzodiazepine withdrawal can be prolonged and destabilizing
• The neurological effects of benzodiazepines on the nervous system
• Gaps in conventional approaches to anxiety and addiction treatment
• The role of functional and lifestyle medicine in recovery
• How low-dose ketamine is being explored to support withdrawal
• What a more integrative, whole-person model of care can look like

Episode Links:

• Melissa's memoir, "Blood Orange Night"
• Dr. Amy de la Garza's Website
• Nosis.health

Episode Sponsors:

• The Microdosing Practitioner Certification at Psychedelic Coaching Institute.
• The Practitioner Certification Program by Third Wave's Psychedelic Coaching Institute.
• Golden Rule - Get a lifetime discount of 10% with code THIRDWAVE at checkout

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