Axis 3: Autonomic Instability in Benzodiazepine Withdrawal

Loss of GABA restraint disrupts sympathetic–parasympathetic balance, destabilizing autonomic regulation.

Common Axis 3 features include:

• HR/BP variability

• Dizziness or faintness

• Heat/cold waves

• POTS-like episodes

Axis 3 reflects stress-driven autonomic dysregulation — not deconditioning and not anxiety.

Week 5 of my 12-week Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Biology series.

Open-access preprint (mechanistic framework):

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.07.25336923v1.full-text