Having trouble #meditating? The problem might be lurking in your medicine cabinet. #Benzodiazepines literally act like meditation-blockers. 1/17
We know that brain wave patterns change during meditation. The normal alert resting state of the brain dominated by alpha waves shifts to theta, delta, and gamma frequencies. States of flow in extreme athletes are likewise correlated with theta waves. 2/17
Psychedelics like psilocybin, LSD, ketamine, and DMT/Ayahuasca also change brain wave patterns. We can predict with good certainty that changing the state of consciousness involves changing brain wave frequencies. 3/17
Teenagers glued to their iphones? Yup, you guessed it. Beta waves. Feeling stressed and chronically run down? Yup, more beta waves. Chillaxing in the hot tub with friends? Shifting to alpha. Focusing on a creative project? You shifted to alpha. 4/17
We know that benzos trigger a brain wave state dominated by beta waves. Pop a benzo like Valium, Ativan, or one of the z-drugs like Ambien (Zolpidem) or Lunestra (eszolpiclone) and a pathological brain wave state is triggered characterized by dominance of beta waves. 5/17
This is well known. Old science, with studies published as far back as the 1960s, right around the time benzos were introduced. Benzodiazepines were and still are marketed as anxiolytics, i.e. drugs to help lower anxiety. 6/17
Since hitting the market they among the best selling prescription drug worldwide. In the past two decades numerous warnings have come out regarding the dangers of chronic-use, however the nature of these dangers is of special relevance to those of us that meditate. 7/17
Benzos have widely varying half-lives, from a few hours to a few days but regardless of the half-life, the changes that arise from long-term use, which affects the GABA pathways, the dominant relaxation or calming hormonal pathway, stick around, in some cases, for years. 8/17
Yup, that's right, years. Studies have shown that pre-baseline levels of GABA pathways can take up to 2 years to re-stabilize to baseline following cessation of the drug. 9/17
No matter how much energy and time you put into trying to meditate if you are a chronic-user of benzos you will not be able to achieve the meditative state. The drug literally acts like a relaxation-blocker, a meditation-blocker. Ironic, isn't it? 10/17
A drug that was marketed as an anti-anxiety medication actually blocks you physiologically from achieving a relaxed state of mind. The sensation of numbing that accompanies taking benzos a bit like the paradoxical effects of alcohol. 11/17
If your brain is stuck in beta, your mind is stuck in worry, rumination, and fear. The stress response, at its core, is a shift in hormones like adrenaline and cortisol that trigger a change in brain waves: from alpha (relaxed alertness) to beta (flight, fright, freeze). 12/17
The body might feel relaxed after a Valium but what is actually happening is that the body has been told to 'feel relaxed' but all the while the brain has shifted into panic mode (beta waves). 13/17
It is like your brain is saying "run, hide, escape" but the body is like, "nah...too tired...all is good, don't stress". On benzos we somatically feel safe (i.e. in our bodies) b/c our heart rate has not increased, our breathing hasnt quickened, we havnt started sweating; 14/17
but the brain is telling a different story. Its almost like taking benzos chronically causes one to get stuck in flight-fright-freeze mode. Thus, if you are a chronic-user of benzodiazepines you will have difficulty reaching what we think of as a meditative state. 15/17
When all this sinks in, and it will, and you will likely be pretty horrified, go to the ultimate medical guide for weaning off benzodiazepines authored by Dr Ashton. benzo.org.uk/manual/index.h…. 16/17
Dr. Ashton spent the last 30 years designing treatment programs for benzodiazepine tapering. 17/17
Free your mind, literally. You cannot reach higher states of consciousness easily if your brain is stuck producing beta waves. 18/17 (smiles!)
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