There are people that are able to live on benzodiazepines long term without significant health impact. There are a lot of medications that are suitable for a lifetime of use in the SSRI and anti anxiolytic family that do not have the potential for habit forming either (and that's habit in the sense of your body becoming accustomed to it).It's great that you're concerning yourself with the well-being of other people, but please allow concern over the use of medications to be between people with significant mental health issues who are taking those medications and their doctors.
anewcolor|11 years ago
I'm coming at this from a perspective of one doctor who advocated for long term use, only to meet with (several) other doctors years later who highly disagreed with the approach. In other words, there's lot of contradicting information out there and not every doctor is an expert.
This is me as a data point saying - if you're being lead down a path of long term benzo use - be aware that its a possibly dangerous trajectory and in some places its not even really allowed (UK).
Benzodiazepine withdrawal is hell at best, and at worst it can kill you. This is not something you often hear in a doctor's office.