Blankedonia Databaseblank mind · numb emotions
RecoveredBoth symptoms clearreddit.com, reddit.com/r/anhedonia, reddit.com/r/benzorecovery3 posts by one person

222-reddit-18tkwwu-benzo-wd-blank-absent-thought-emotion

Author: u/PriorityTop1252

Open original source ↗

All sources (3)

“By far my worst symptom is lack of spontaneous thoughts, I can’t hold a thought in my head whatsoever, it feels like I’m just a pair of eyes, such a horrible feeling to not feel your own presence within your own body, it’s by far my worst symptom and it’s seriously anxiety provoking. ... Anyone else feel like this? Just empty, absent of thought and emotion and generally just not present?”
Cause
Same person u/PriorityTop1252 across posts: 2023 breakdown (DPDR, panic, depression) → venlafaxine + Abilify for DPDR (Sep 2023 post: lost inner monologue, no emotions, no spontaneous thoughts), worse on clomipramine; overall 9 antidepressants incl. venlafaxine and 2 antipsychotics; diazepam 5–10mg daily >1 year, then benzo withdrawal (Dec 2023 post: empty, absent of thought and emotion). Writer frames illness as prolonged/worsened by medication.
Duration
from ~2023 (on venlafaxine/Abilify by Sep 2023) through benzo taper/jump ~Jan 2024; blank inner monologue still noted Oct 2024 (~9 months off); recovered by Jan 2025–Jan 2026 (~1–2 years off)
Recovery notes
[2026-01-04, post 1q42a3o] 2 years after benzo jump: stopped antidepressants, 6-month diazepam taper; now runs own business, 'live a normal life again', 'very little anxiety/depression', 'no DPDR, just normal' (blank mind/emotions not separately named — global recovery claim). Earlier: Jan 2025 'things absolutely do get better'; Mar 2025 '427 days... living a normal life again'; Oct 2024 still lost inner monologue. | No recovery claimed in OP. Asking if others feel the same. Replies described gradual improvement with time/PAWS (not this OP). No later OP recovery update Enriched from arctic-shift full OP selftext (2026-09-13).
Recovery history
  • 2023-09-18: Unknown
  • 2023-12-29: Unknown
  • 2026-01-04: Recovered
Source URL
https://www.reddit.com/r/benzorecovery/comments/18tkwwu/mind_feels_completely_blank/

Posts (3)

Every logged post by this person, oldest first. Older case links redirect here.

  1. reddit.com/r/anhedoniaopUnknown
    “Loss of internal monologue. Had this since I took Venlafaxine & Abilify which I took to try and rid myself of DPDR. Now I feel nothing, no sense of time, no emotions, no spontaneous thoughts, no memory, just stare into space until I go to sleep again.”
    Cause:
    venlafaxine + Abilify (for DPDR); worse on clomipramine, then much worse tapering diazepam 5mg/day (8 months)

    Open post ↗

  2. reddit.com/r/benzorecoveryopUnknown
    “By far my worst symptom is lack of spontaneous thoughts, I can’t hold a thought in my head whatsoever, it feels like I’m just a pair of eyes, such a horrible feeling to not feel your own presence within your own body, it’s by far my worst symptom and it’s seriously anxiety provoking. ... Anyone else feel like this? Just empty, absent of thought and emotion and generally just not present?”
    Cause:
    Reddit r/benzorecovery first-person OP u/PriorityTop1252: benzodiazepine withdrawal (subreddit benzo-recovery framing; specific benzo not named). Attributes lack of spontaneous thoughts / can't hold a thought / just a pair of eyes + empty, absent of thought and emotion / not present to benzo WD. Unused BenzoRecovery BOTH; distinct from 1ta4pee (klonopin-named CT).
    Duration:
    Duration on/off benzo not quantified; still blank+absent-emotion at posting
    Recovery notes:
    No recovery claimed in OP. Asking if others feel the same. Replies described gradual improvement with time/PAWS (not this OP). No later OP recovery update Enriched from arctic-shift full OP selftext (2026-09-13).

    Open post ↗

  3. reddit.com/r/benzorecoveryop-recovery-updateRecovered
    “So, where am I now? 2 years off... I can leave the house, travel alone, sit in meetings, walk miles and live a normal life again, free from crippling physical issues and very little anxiety/depression... Life just becomes life again, no over analysing, no DPDR, just normal”
    Cause:
    recovery story: 2023 breakdown → SSRI, 9 antidepressants incl. venlafaxine, 2 antipsychotics, diazepam 5–10mg >1y; stopped ADs, 6-month diazepam taper, jumped ~Jan 2024

    Open post ↗

Other posts by this author

Known same-author posts that were not logged as cases.

  • 2024-10-10 · https://www.reddit.com/r/benzorecovery/comments/1g0j69j/ · Oct 2024 ~9 months off benzo: lost inner monologue, 'my mind is just blank' (blank pole only)
  • 2025-01-05 · positivity post: 'things absolutely do get better'
  • 2025-03-06 · '427 days since my last benzo & living a normal life again' (image post)

More from reddit.com

Not recoveredreddit.comsame person (2 posts)
“Currently on olanzipine but trying to taper off it, my mind is blank, I have no thoughts no emotions I don't know what to say to people I'm constantly zoned out. I can't remember anything short term…”

Cause: Olanzapine (Zyprexa), forced on in hospital, 17.5 mg/day for nearly a year (sertraline added after reporting feeling nu…

View case →
Not recoveredreddit.com
“Trigger warning; bad experience Fluoxetine has completely altered my brain chemistry and erased my emotions. I took it for little less than 2 months. I did not like the blunting effect so I came off…”

Cause: Reddit r/prozac first-person OP u/Philosophical-noob97 (same person also posted r/antidepressants 1rhtx6o and r/Anxiety…

View case →
Not recoveredreddit.comsame person (2 posts)
“Its driving me nuts...to have completely blank mind all the time. Its like my brain is not working anymore after all this medications i had., Zyprexa, loqueen, seroquel, Abilify Maintena, Vraylar. I…”

Cause: Antipsychotics: Xeplion/Invega (paliperidone) injections for 9 months, then Abilify Maintena; she also lists Zyprexa, L…

View case →
Unknownreddit.com
“I’ve been on it for 2 months. First month of 9mg oral and now I’m taking 3mg oral for about another month. * Blank mind - feeling like you have no thoughts * auditory issues - can’t block out noise,…”

Cause: Reddit r/Antipsychiatry first-person OP u/Smart_Literature2003: paliperidone oral 9 mg first month then 3 mg ~second mo…

View case →