I did not know this could have been life threatening. That's... comforting...

[1] https://qz.com/677980/opioids-arent-the-most-dangerous-drug-...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine_withdrawal_synd...

Doctors are often ignorant of the need to taper benzos over a long-term period, and not rapidly. Some might see you coming to them with a problem quitting an often abused drug as a sign that you need to be taken off of it as soon as possible. Sometimes instantly.

Of course you should always let your doctor know when you're taking less medication than you're prescribed. I suggest consulting with a specialist before trying to quit with a GP or your run-of-the-mill psychiatrist.

I ended up moving my prescriptions to my GP and managing the tapers myself, because the doctors don't really know how to do it.

My partner started taking sertraline (Zoloft) for depression, and started grinding their teeth at night. Their dentist asked if they'd started taking any new medicine lately, and was like "oh yeah that'll do that."

My partner's psychiatrist literally did not believe that the medication could cause this - despite it being right there on WebMD, not exactly secret knowledge.

Currently looking for a new psychiatrist.

That happens in every field. It’s just shitty when you’re depending your health on them instead of a deadline.

I've had a lot of complaints about various psychiatrists, but one constant even among the worst has been that they were always very, very cautious about the need to taper and the possible risks involved.