Valium is very addictive. I do belly breathing for 10 minutes a day, once in the morning and once at night. Breath in through your nose for a count of 7 and exhale through your mouth for the count of seven. Anxiety is normal but it takes time for your brain to catch on that it’s ok. Look around and confirm that you are ok. If there is something worrying you then spell out how you can deal with it. If you can’t do anything about it then cross it off the list. I’ve been clean and sober for 12 yrs now and I’ve had to learn to deal with a bit of discomfort. Give the depression meds a chance to work. You’re safe.

Hi @A MyDepressionTeam Member thanks so much for your detailed reply and apologies for the delay. I am in the UK in Glasgow. Since I wrote the post I have been able to largely stop taking the diazepam as the imipramine has started to help the anxiety and make me more sleepy. The doctor tried this med on me as I found all the Ssris very sedating and I put on a lot of weight on them. I find imipramine a bit awkward as I have to take 6 tablets of 25mg, I have tried taking half in the morning and half at night but I find that if I took them in the morning they made me fall asleep again mid morning so taking them all at night now. I'm still very up and down with them so will speak to the doctor and I would prefer not to be taking so many pills. Thanks again for your information and support, hope you're having a good day, Angie

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A MyDepre...

Hello @A MyDepressionTeam Member firstly can I ask do you live in the UK or US? I work in the UK as a pharmacy technician for a mental health trust & patients on our inpatient wards have benzos written up on the when required section of their drug charts e.g. Diazepam, Lorazepam etc. I would say when required use is fine & unlikely to cause you harm. I would be wary of taking 5mg three times a day, as over a period of time it will become addictive & like with the 2mg, you may feel then you need 10mg. How does your anxiety usually present? Is it common at certain times of the day/linked with certain activities? My GP prescribed me Buspirone but like the benzos it can cause addiction, which when I have previously had an alcohol addiction problem they were reluctant to give me more than a few. Luckily, my psychiatrist stepped in & they went on repeat, just ten a month but some months I barely have more than a couple, then this week I have had four. If you are wary of its addiction side effects, which you seem to be very much tuned into, I don't doubt you would be able to manage your Diazepam dosage when required responsibly. What dose of Imipramine are you on? It is a blast from the past for me & I have looked on my BNF app, which says 75mg daily in divided doses initially but it can be increased to 150mg-200mg daily. It does stress the dose to be increased gradually so maybe your doctor being cautious is the correct thing, despite the frustration for yourself. Hope you feel better soon x

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A MyDepre...

Deciding on what meds are best for you to take. Take's alot of trial and error. Research as much as you can so you don't get stuck in a rut. I went through of meds that didn't work cause of the symptoms of my mental health issues. Bottom line is some meds work better for some, and others don't work at all. Mention CLONAZEPAM to your Dr and ask him about it.

I'm on CLONAZEPAM also known as KLONOPIN. It's been ok. It's 1mg twice a day. They are powerful, at least for me they are. They're in the diazepam group. Like Valium. I've only taking one a day that's when I know I'm going to Walmart or some place with wall to wall people. I'm also agoraphobic. But mostly at night 'fore I go to sleep. I haven't had any problem with e'm. But they're addictive.