The Science of Benzodiazepine Tapering: insights from Benzo Warriors' Dr. Barbara ConnollyThe Science of Benzodiazepine Tapering: insights from Benzo Warriors' Dr. Barbara Connolly
The Rehab
In this episode of The Rehab, Dr. Mark Leeds sits down with Barbara Connolly, PhD, the Senior Admin of the Benzo Warrior Community, a peer-support group of more than 5,000 members navigating benzodiazepine withdrawal and recovery. A retired political...
1:13:59•18 Apr 2026
The Rehab: Science, Support and Slow Benzodiazepine Tapers with Dr Barbara Connolly
Episode Overview
- Safe benzodiazepine tapering usually means slow, hyperbolic reductions based on current dose rather than fixed linear cuts.
- Patients may need to educate open-minded doctors using recognised deprescribing guidelines and simple printed tools.
- DIY approaches such as pill-cutting, jeweller’s scales, and water or milk tapers are often used when compounding or liquid forms are unaffordable or unavailable.
- Long holds and patient-led pacing can be essential when people feel stuck, instead of forcing the taper to move faster.
- Calm, science-focused peer communities and, where possible, coaching support can make complex tapers less frightening and more manageable.
“It’s a difficult thing for people to realise that they’re taking poison, but they can’t give up the poison too quickly.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation between Dr. Mark Leeds and Dr. Barbara Connolly, Senior Admin of the 5,000-strong Benzo Warrior Community, focuses on what safe benzodiazepine tapering actually looks like in real life.
Readers hear how Benzo Warriors was started by the late Michelle Gulovich after a brutal cold-turkey experience left her disabled and confused, and how the group grew into a calm, science-focused peer space for people coming off benzos and other psychotropic meds. Barbara explains that their mission stretches across support, education and a touch of activism, all while keeping anxiety and fear as low as possible. The heart of the chat is practical tapering.
They talk through tools like the Ashton Manual, the Maudsley and ASAM deprescribing guidelines, and resources from benzo-focused organisations, but also why those long, dense documents need to be broken down into plain language. Barbara describes helping members work with open-minded doctors, arming them with printed guidelines, or, when necessary, learning to taper more independently using scales, water or milk suspensions, or compounding pharmacies.
You’ll also hear about hyperbolic tapering, long holds, and why cutting in a straight line almost guarantees hitting a wall. As Barbara puts it, “It’s a difficult thing for people to realise that they’re taking poison, but they can’t give up the poison too quickly.” The pair compare benzo tapering with opioid tapering, touch on medication sensitivities, sleep struggles, and low-risk supports like grounding, gentle supplements and non-drug coping skills.
Throughout, the tone stays honest and non-alarmist, aimed at people on benzos, their families, and professionals who want to understand withdrawal better. If you’re wondering how to step off these medications more safely, this thoughtful, science-aware chat gives plenty to think about and some concrete ideas to start from. What might a slower, more informed taper change for you or someone you care about?
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