Benzodiazepine Dependence

Summary Benzodiazepines, the most widely used of all drugs, are powerful anxiolytics, anticonvulsants and muscle relaxants. Dependence is difficult to induce in animals but has been induced by high doses in man. Case reports of benzodiazepine dependence are rare compared with the usage of these drugs, but do not provide a proper epidemiological framework for the estimation of risk. Patients taking these drugs for four months or more may develop a physical withdrawal syndrome, characterized by anxiety, dysphoria, malaise, depersonalization, and by perceptual changes such as hyperacusis and unsteadiness. In our experience drawn from over 20 patients, withdrawal from therapeutic doses of a benzodiazepine may be attended by a fully‐developed physical withdrawal syndrome.