09/18/2026
Amazing Story
My name is Jamie, and this is my story.
Before this happened to me, I was a normal, healthy, functioning person. I had an amazing life. I was an athlete. I loved hiking, swimming, and biking, and I wanted to become a triathlete. I have a master's degree and worked in functional medicine. I was independent, adventurous, and genuinely loved being alive.
I was the picture of health.
Then a doctor prescribed me Klonopin for ringing in my ears.
Yes, ringing in my ears.
I did not have depression. I did not have an anxiety disorder. I did not have a personality disorder or a serious psychiatric illness. I had tinnitus and some insomnia, and I trusted my doctor.
I took Klonopin as prescribed for approximately 12 to 13 years. When I eventually tapered off, I entered a level of suffering that I did not know was humanly possible.
I developed hundreds of symptoms. Akathisia. Ataxia. Paresthesia. Anhedonia. Depersonalization. Derealization. Severe cognitive problems. Shaking and internal vibrations. Horrific insomnia. Constant neurological and spinal pain. My legs feel as though they are constantly moving inside, even when I am not visibly pacing.
I also developed relentless suicidal thoughts that were completely foreign to the person I had been my entire life.
I want people to understand something about akathisia that is still so often misunderstood. Akathisia is not simply walking around a room or visibly being unable to sit still. It can exist on a spectrum, and much of the suffering can be internal. A person can look relatively still while experiencing unbearable internal agitation, terror, dysphoria, physical restlessness, cognitive disruption, and an overwhelming need to escape what is happening inside their own body and mind.
For me, the mental component is just as devastating as the physical component.
I have anhedonia. I cannot feel happiness or pleasure. I have depersonalization and derealization. I no longer experience the world the way I on