A benzo withdrawal is an alcohol withdrawal same receptors. Xanax is the most addictive, and slowest withdrawal, I know a psychiatrist who actually slowly files the pills for Xanax withdrawal.
Opiates? Like a bad flu. But it is over with and treated symptomatically. No big deal.
The first time I quit Xanax, I quit cold turkey and suffered terrible withdrawal. I’m lucky I didn’t die honestly.
Of course, being as incredibly stupid as I am, I then abused Xanax two more times after that, developing a lesser addiction than the first, but an addiction nonetheless. So I backslid twice basically.
Those two subsequent times I quit by reducing dosage until I was taking a .5 mg piece and cutting that piece into 4 crumbs and taking 1 crumb per day. After a plateau at that dosage, I was able to drop taking it with no problem.
The second time I found myself reducing dosage like that, it occurred to me that boy I really am a frickin’ idiot for continuing to mess with this poison, so I finally stopped permanently that time.
My friend in New Orleans, whose name is Rocky, is the person I started into this junk with, and he has been addicted to Xanax and taking large doses on a daily basis for about 15 straight years that I know of.
I tried to help him quit by imparting what I had learned and how to gradually reduce intake, but it was no good. I couldn’t help him.
He’s the only one who can do it, he is the ultimate guardian of his own body, but he can’t.
Very sad.