I have a history of abusing benzodiazapines to alleviate paranoid thoughts. I no longer have access to these substances (as I have admitted to my pdoc that I have addictive tendencies), and I’m very much struggling with delusional paranoia. I simply don’t know what to do. None of the antipsychotics I’ve tried have worked for the paranoia.
Does anything other than antipsychotics help any of you?
-catchme
Sorry mate, paranoia is hell
I’m on antipsychotics and still feel it sometimes, not that severe tho.
My psychiatrist said the medication can’t fully help for paranoid feelings.
I was on benzos (librium) for about 7 years and the thing about these meds is that they are very effective in relieving anxiety associated with intrusive thoughts and paranoia, with fewer negative side effects. I quit them because they were affecting my memory. Benzos are like a big eraser to me. I don’t think I was addicted to them because I rarely exceeded my dosage. I was dependent though because I had withdrawal symptoms. They also tended to make me abuse alcohol more.
What kind of paranoia?
I had terrible problems with interpersonal paranoia - people whispering were talking about me, meetings I wasn’t invited to were about me, etc - and while I never really kicked it, it helped for me to make myself think of other things people could be talking about, meeting about, making those faces about, being rude and distant about, etc. It helped me to move from a perspective that everything was always about me.
Yes, I think this is very important. It’s very important to keep this in mind, but it’s very difficult to do in the moment. My school counselor in the ninth grade made an excellent point: “You think someone is watching you. Someone is: You’re watching you.”