A cause I care about needs help
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My name is Patrick Hallahan. I struggled my young life with social anxiety's and could not figure what was going on with me.
After many different challenges in my life my father William Hallahan passed away when I was 21 years old. This sent me into a very dark confused place. I masked my emotions with alcohol and could not shake the anxiety and uneasy feelings I dealt with on a daily basic. You could say I took the easy way out and was prescribed Klonopin, a form of Benzodiazepine to help my restless thoughts and insomnia.
What I didn't advocate for myself/take into consideration was what this medication was doing to my brain. This drug greatly effects your GABA in your brain and the central nervous system. I hit rock bottom and the klonopin's were the last thing I thought was causing me harm. I took refuge in treatment to get help and better understand what I was going through abusing alcohol.
This was what I thought going to be clear sailing from then on out. The rehab facility took me off of Benzo's within three days ignoring my doctors orders of tapering me off, in which he was going to do in 2 weeks (come to find out it should have been years, even the doctors are unaware of this!) This caused me much suffering for 3 years. This is called PAWS (post acute withdrawal symptom.)
The stigma around these drugs is very misunderstood and this could happen to anyone. The first year would be a fight for my life, as I was suffering from depersonalization, hallucinations, lack of interest, and a fear for everything around me. This could of been very much avoided with the proper treatment and taper, to which I thought I was doing.
This medication dropped my white blood cell count to almost nothing, dropped my testosterone way beyond normal levels and made every day functioning almost impossible. I was looking for anything to help ease me of these symptoms and one day I went for a long run; I got back and my head felt a little more clear.....the next run I went further and the head felt a little more clear! Soon I was doing fitness challenges I never thought possible for myself. This is what saved my life.
Not everyone has this outlet which is why many take their own life when coming off of this drug. There is basically very little information and very little studies past 2 years of how the brain recovers which make many uneasy including myself. I would like to be a voice for this and get the word out. I grew sick of going through waves of PAWS; I would feel fine for 3 months and be on the right path to instantly be set right back into the same feelings out of the blue.
I am taking a stand for people like myself who could not take a stand for themselves. I will be running 50 miles May 4th 2019 on my 31st birthday to raise awareness for this cause. This will represent all the struggles I have faced and continue to push my body and mind further than ever thought possible; for nothing else in life I will experience will be as bad as these withdrawals and I could not find anything more appropriate to represent all the pain and suffering I have endured. Please spread the word and remember to embrace and learn about what you don't understand rather than shed a negative look on it. Thank you. Update I am working with the President of www.benzoinfo.com Janice Curle in which all proceeds will be donated! She and I are are so thrilled and thankful for all the donations! thank you thank you thank you!
After many different challenges in my life my father William Hallahan passed away when I was 21 years old. This sent me into a very dark confused place. I masked my emotions with alcohol and could not shake the anxiety and uneasy feelings I dealt with on a daily basic. You could say I took the easy way out and was prescribed Klonopin, a form of Benzodiazepine to help my restless thoughts and insomnia.
What I didn't advocate for myself/take into consideration was what this medication was doing to my brain. This drug greatly effects your GABA in your brain and the central nervous system. I hit rock bottom and the klonopin's were the last thing I thought was causing me harm. I took refuge in treatment to get help and better understand what I was going through abusing alcohol.
This was what I thought going to be clear sailing from then on out. The rehab facility took me off of Benzo's within three days ignoring my doctors orders of tapering me off, in which he was going to do in 2 weeks (come to find out it should have been years, even the doctors are unaware of this!) This caused me much suffering for 3 years. This is called PAWS (post acute withdrawal symptom.)
The stigma around these drugs is very misunderstood and this could happen to anyone. The first year would be a fight for my life, as I was suffering from depersonalization, hallucinations, lack of interest, and a fear for everything around me. This could of been very much avoided with the proper treatment and taper, to which I thought I was doing.
This medication dropped my white blood cell count to almost nothing, dropped my testosterone way beyond normal levels and made every day functioning almost impossible. I was looking for anything to help ease me of these symptoms and one day I went for a long run; I got back and my head felt a little more clear.....the next run I went further and the head felt a little more clear! Soon I was doing fitness challenges I never thought possible for myself. This is what saved my life.
Not everyone has this outlet which is why many take their own life when coming off of this drug. There is basically very little information and very little studies past 2 years of how the brain recovers which make many uneasy including myself. I would like to be a voice for this and get the word out. I grew sick of going through waves of PAWS; I would feel fine for 3 months and be on the right path to instantly be set right back into the same feelings out of the blue.
I am taking a stand for people like myself who could not take a stand for themselves. I will be running 50 miles May 4th 2019 on my 31st birthday to raise awareness for this cause. This will represent all the struggles I have faced and continue to push my body and mind further than ever thought possible; for nothing else in life I will experience will be as bad as these withdrawals and I could not find anything more appropriate to represent all the pain and suffering I have endured. Please spread the word and remember to embrace and learn about what you don't understand rather than shed a negative look on it. Thank you. Update I am working with the President of www.benzoinfo.com Janice Curle in which all proceeds will be donated! She and I are are so thrilled and thankful for all the donations! thank you thank you thank you!
Organizer
Patrick Hallahan
Organizer
Cazenovia, NY
