GERALDINE BURNS ON BENZODIAZEPINE AWARENESS

Geraldine Burns is an absolute giant and tireless advocate in the promotion of benzodiazepine awareness and the fight against benzodiazepine harm. During this podcast interview, Geraldine shares her agonizing personal story... why she was originally prescribed benzodiazepines, what happened, how she came to realize that benzodiazepines were worsening her condition/causing symptoms of their own and her attempts to seek professional help. She discusses her connection to Professor Heather Ashton and how she was instrumental in the writing of The Ashton Manual Benzodiazepines: How They Work and How to Withdraw. Geraldine describes her motivation behind starting the first Internet support group in 1999 for people wishing to withdraw from tranquilizers and those who were already off and having problems. She discusses launching the BenzoBookReview.com website in 2006 and what it offers the public. Geraldine shares her motivation behind starting her podcast Benzodiazepine Awareness with Geraldine Burns. She discusses the harmful effect that benzodiazepines can have on a woman's menstrual cycle. Also, the potentially devastating impact of benzodiazepines on the parent-child relationship and the family's financial situation. We touch on her current involvement with legislation in the state of Massachusetts. We discuss her role in the upcoming documentary As Prescribed, due out in 2022, a documentary film project about benzodiazepine dependency and discontinuation syndrome.