World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day 2019 - Part 1
Mad in America: Rethinking Mental Health
Mad in America
4.7 • 212 Ratings
🗓️ 11 July 2019
⏱️ 54 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week on MIA Radio, we present a special episode of the MIA podcast to join in the many events being held for World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day, July 11, 2019.
2019 represents the fourth annual awareness day and each year it's held on July 11 which is a significant date because it is the birthday of Professor Heather Ashton. Dr. Ashton is a world-leading expert in benzodiazepines and wrote the highly regarded Ashton Manual which aims to aid clinicians and patients in coming off benzodazepine drugs safely. She also spent many years personally assisting and supporting those who had experienced protracted benzodiazepine withdrawal.
Around the world there are many activities and events taking place as part of W-BAD, so to follow along with events and to get involved yourself, head over to World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day's Facebook page and look out for the hashtag #WorldBenzoDay on social media.
In our two-part podcast, we hear from W-BAD volunteer and Project Manager for W-BAD Rocks of Kindness, Janelle. We also chat with physician and Director of the Benzodiazepine Information Coalition Christy Huff MD. Finally, in part two, we hear from Stephen Wright MD, addiction specialist and medical consultant to the Alliance for Benzodiazepine Best Practices.
Rockin' Against Benzos (closed Facebook group)
A Rockin' Creative Outlet That's Raising Benzodiazepine Awareness
#WBADROCKS – 1 Month, 5 Things We've Learned
W-BAD Rocks on Twitter and Instagram: @wbadrocks
On social media, look for the hashtag #WBADROCKS
A Xanax Prescription That Should Have Been Rejected
10 Tips To Help Patients Through Benzodiazepine Withdrawal
Dr. Huff's Blogs and Media Appearances (Scroll down below her bio and click on logos)
BIC on Facebook @bzinfocoalition
BIC on Twitter @BZInfoCoalition
The Alliance for Benzodiazepine Best Practices
Benzodiazepine Related Problems: It's Almost Never Addiction
Benzodiazepines and Z Drugs for Pain Patients: The Problem of Protracted Withdrawal Symptoms (PWS)
How Chronic Administration of Benzodiazepines Leads to Unexplained Chronic Illnesses: A Hypothesis
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Mad in America podcast, your source for science, psychiatry and social justice. |
| 0:13.4 | Hello, this is James and welcome to the Madden America podcast. And this week we present a special |
| 0:19.5 | episode to join in the many events being held for |
| 0:22.3 | World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day. July 11th, 2019 is the fourth annual W-Bad, and it's also |
| 0:29.2 | the 90th birthday of Dr. Heather Ashton, author of the Ashton manual and a prominent figure in the |
| 0:34.9 | benzodiazepine community. Dr. Ashton's birthday was chosen for W. Bad |
| 0:39.9 | because of her passion and drive to get the problems of benzodiazepine injury recognised. |
| 0:45.6 | She is now retired, of course, but in her working years, she spent a great deal of her clinical time |
| 0:51.0 | personally helping and supporting those who are having difficulty from prescribed |
| 0:55.6 | benzodiazepines. If you'd like to get involved and follow along with the awareness events |
| 1:00.2 | occurring all day to day, then head over to World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day's Facebook page |
| 1:05.6 | at Facebook.com forward slash World Benzodiazepines. Or or on Twitter follow them at World Benzo Day. |
| 1:13.2 | Also on social media you can follow the hashtag World Benzo Day and you can also visit |
| 1:18.5 | WBAD online at w-BAD.org. |
| 1:22.9 | And before we get started with interviews, I just want to thank Nicole Lamerson. |
| 1:31.9 | Nicole is lead operations volunteer and Virginia representative for W Badd, |
| 1:35.7 | and without her help and support, this podcast wouldn't have been possible. |
| 1:40.4 | So later in the podcast, we'll hear from physician Dr. Christy Huff, who talks of her own experiences of taking and withdrawing from Xanax and Valium, |
| 1:46.1 | and also her work with the Benzadazapine Information Coalition. |
| 1:50.1 | We also hear from addiction specialist and medical consultant to the Alliance for |
| 1:54.5 | Benzadazepine Best Practices, Dr. Stephen Wright. |
| 1:57.7 | But first, I'm delighted to have had the chance to chat with Janelle. And Janelle is a |
... |
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