Side effects of benzodiazepines
Some people experience side effects from the use of benzodiazepines. These are the most common ones:
- drowsiness, sleepiness
- being less alert, concentration problems
- weak muscles
- low mood
- no wish for contact
- memory problems
- less interest in sex
- an empty feeling
- underestimating dangerous situations
- little wish to undertake anything
- being quickly irritated by the people around you
- shortness of breath
- stumbling and falling more easily
- coordination problems
Do not keep it to yourself
Contact your doctor, psychiatrist or pharmacist if side effects trouble you a lot and you are worried.
Read more about tapering off and stopping benzodiazepines.
Prof. dr. Jim van Os, Chair Division Neuroscience, Utrecht University Medical Centre. Jim works at the interface of ‘hard’ brain science, health services research, art and subjective experiences of people with ‘lived experience’ in mental healthcare.
Jim has been appearing on the Thomson-Reuter Web of Science list of ‘most influential scientific minds of our time’ since 2014. In 2014 he published his book ‘Beyond DSM-5‘, and in 2016 the book ‘Good Mental Health Care’. In 2026 he published 'Wat psychisch lijden is'.
Want to read more?
Blogs by Jim van Os can be read here
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