My story - Surviving Benzodiazepine Dependence & Helping Others

My name is Guy, and I help people going through what I once thought I wouldn’t survive.

In 2023, living on the Gold Coast, I was prescribed clonazepam (Klonopin) for anxiety during a difficult time in my life. Nobody warned me about dependence. Nobody told me how incredibly hard it could be to come off.

Within weeks, I found myself physically dependent on the medication — suffering terrifying withdrawal symptoms any time I tried to reduce.

Doctors didn’t disbelieve me — they just didn’t know what to do. Some gave bad advice. Others left me to figure it out completely on my own. Government agencies failed me. Mental health services failed me. And even many of the so-called “experts” within the benzo withdrawal community — people others trusted — gave reckless advice, sold false hope, or pushed fear instead of solutions.

So I became my own researcher, experimenter, and advocate.

Coming from a background as a senior programmer and data analyst, I used those skills to create a self-scheduling taper tool in Google Sheets — a flexible, calculated way to plan and track slow, personalised dose reductions. I used this tool to successfully complete my own taper, and I now share it freely with others.

But healing wasn’t just numbers.

Despite all the fear-mongering in withdrawal communities about supplements or alternative methods, I found things that genuinely helped my nervous system cope: Agmatine, CBD oil, Stabilium, and other natural aids. I embraced exponential tapering. I practiced meditation, grounding, Qi Gong. And above all — I found connection and community.

Today, I am benzo-free — and I’m not just surviving. I’m at the best place mentally I’ve ever been in my life. Calm. Strong. Clear. Ready to be the rock for others going through their darkest hours.

That’s why I offer 1-on-1 peer support and tapering guidance — not at inflated “coaching” prices, but at low, accessible rates. Not because I see myself as less skilled — but because I know from personal experience how financially draining withdrawal can be.

I want to be the person you can talk to in the middle of the night when no one else is there — without worrying about it costing a fortune.

I’m also studying for a Certificate IV in Mental Health Peer Support here in Australia, to formally build on my lived experience and professionalize my ability to help others.

And I work hand-in-hand with doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, and other health professionals — not against them. My role is to help you be heard, respected, and understood within the system. I know how to speak both languages: the language of someone suffering... and the language of medical professionals.

Beyond 1-on-1 sessions, I also run small online group sessions (5-15 people) — safe, supportive spaces where people going through withdrawal can meet, share, laugh, cry, connect, and take things off their chest. It's a place to make "benzo friends" and not feel so alone. Each group ends with a gentle guided meditation for grounding and calm.

This journey gave me more than it took. It gave me purpose.

Please reach out — or have a look at the services in my booking section. I’d love to meet you.