About Us
“My life was turned into a battle with my brain to stay alive from this medicine, a battle I could not win.”
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You're Not Alone - The Jonathan Wagner Benzodiazepine Awareness Foundation is a non for profit organization dedicated to helping individuals and their families deal with the debilitating and often tragic effects of benzo withdrawal. Our goal is to be able to offer help and hope to anyone suffering from benzodiazepine addiction, as well as a network for families who have lost a loved one due to the effects of benzos.
A benzodiazepine is a strong, mind-altering drug that, if not prescribed properly and monitored appropriately, can cause severe, debilitating anxiety, tremors, depression, and the ideation of suicide. Some of the most commonly prescribed benzos are Ativan, Klonopin, Valium, and Xanax. Withdrawals from benzos can be devastating with symptoms that can last for months, even years, often ending in suicide.
Awareness Information
We are here to provide awareness for individuals and families living with the Benzodiazepine nightmare and suicide of our loved ones.
We are in the process of restructuring our support system. We are looking for professionals to speak on the dangers of Benzodiazepines and the effects of withdrawals.
Jonathan Wagner was not just our son, but a brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, and friend to all who knew him. He was a compassionate person for anyone in need. After switching shifts at work, he was having trouble sleeping. Jonathan consulted with his family general practitioner for help. His doctor prescribed him Klonopin, a powerful benzodiazepine. Our family's nightmare began when he tried to stop taking the Klonopin on his own. When he reported his withdrawal symptoms to his GP, he was prescribed more benzos (Xanax). This caused his symptoms to worsen. Our once full-of-life son began talking about suicide.
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We didn't know where to turn for help. We took it upon ourselves to do the research to learn about the effects of the drugs Jonathan was prescribed and try to slowly wean him off these drugs.
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On May 5th, 2017 our beloved son took his own life to escape the pain of the withdrawals from the prescribed benzodiazepine. He wasn't an addict. He didn't suffer from depression. He was prescribed something he never should have been, and because of that our lives were shattered.
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Our goal with You're Not Alone is to prevent this devastating tragedy from ever happening to another family. We want to also offer families who suffered this type of loss the chance to speak with, and get support from, people who understand.