GERALDINE BURNS ON BENZODIAZEPINE AWARENESS
September 14, 2021
Hosted by Dr. Patricia Halligan
[Download MP3] [itunes] [Bookmark Episode]
Guest Information
Episode Description
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.
RECOVERY…THE HERO’S JOURNEY
Archives Available on VoiceAmerica Health and Wellness Channel
RECOVERY: THE HERO’S JOURNEY provides best practice information and support to people struggling with Substance Use Disorders/Process Addictions and Prescription Drug Dependence. We confront the stigma surrounding Opioid Use Disorder and Benzodiazepine Dependence, understanding that both are the direct result of an overprescribing epidemic. We discuss Buprenorphine, a first line, long term treatment for Opioid Use Disorder. We validate people struggling with Benzodiazepine Dependence (ie-Xanax/Klonopin), and offer resources and a recovery plan.
Experts explore Eating Disorders, Sex Addiction, PTSD, and the effects of today’s Cannabis on teens and young adults, offering guidance and resources to individuals struggling with these issues and their families. This podcast gracefully combines interviews with experts in the field and patient stories of recovery and redemption. The show is about connection, reclaiming personal integrity and hope.
Dr. Patricia Halligan
Dr. Patricia Halligan is an Addiction Psychiatrist, who specializes in the treatment of patients diagnosed with Substance Use Disorders, Prescription Drug Dependency and Process Addictions. She completed a residency in Psychiatry at Cornell-The New York Hospital, followed by a Fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina in 1998. Dr. Halligan is double board certified in General Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry and is a trained CSAT (Certified Sex Addiction Therapist). Believing in the healing power of connection, she trained at the Center for Group Studies in NYC and runs modern analytic group therapy for people in recovery.
Dr. Halligan has been prescribing Buprenorphine in her private practice since 2003 and continues to be a strong advocate for patients with Opioid Use Disorder throughout the Opioid Epidemic. She has spent the last two decades in the trenches of two tragic epidemics caused by the overprescribing of both Opioids and Benzodiazepines.
Aware that the lack of addiction training in medicine has largely contributed to both epidemics, she has resolved to devote some time to teaching. She creates CME accredited addiction education videos and training workshops for health care providers. Dr. Halligan decided to create this show to support people who are taking the hero’s journey into recovery and their families. You’ll hear interviews with experts surrounding best practices, and embrace the elimination of stigma.
Episode Directory
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
- 9/28/2021: BUILDING EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE IN GROUP THERAPY Listen Now
- 9/21/2021: DR. LISA NAJAVITS: TREATING PTSD AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS Listen Now
- 9/14/2021: GERALDINE BURNS ON BENZODIAZEPINE AWARENESS Listen Now
- 9/7/2021: THOMAS MOORE ON SPIRITUAL AWAKENING AND SOULFUL LIVING Listen Now
