Can benzodiazipines be used without causing brain damage?

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Maybe not the right word....but as many know they are supposed to decrease brain function or memory or something along those lines.

Is that for everyone who uses them or just a few or most?
Do different types cause more then others?
What if only used once a week-twice a week?

You really need to ask a psychiatrist. We are not qualified to make that recommendation. I would imagine that a dose ranging from relatively low to barely a trace compared to normal dosing instructions might work for you. A real doctor would need to verify this. I was given xanax for a while once and used .12mg a night and still got addicted.

You need to be more specific. Benzo's have been around for a long time (1950's IIRC), and though not harmless (no drug is), they've been taken by millions of people. They are notorious for being addictive. (I didn't have trouble with Xanax, luckily, but many people have.)

They basically increase what happens at GABA receptors, and GABA is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter of the brain. Not sure if that's what you mean by "decreasing brain function." If a person takes too much the brain will end up so inhibited that the person dies.

They can cause retrograde amnesia, or IOW interfere with the formation of new memories, but not it is not a permanent effect. Might not be good for someone in school or at a job that requires a lot of memorization. They did seem to make my already-poor short term memory a little bit worse.

Overall, I'm not sure how to interpret your question, though.

I recall hearing of some strange barbituate-like drug that some people used in Vietnam in the 1960's. Apparently, it commonly lead to permanent brain damage. I can't imagine a drug like that being allowed in the USA, though.

Benzos don't cause brain damage. They can interfere with short-term memory formation, meaning you may be a bit foggy about specific details of things that tooknplace while you were taking the drug. This stops when you stop taking the drug, and it doesn't happen to all patients.

Professor of Psychopharmacology, Malcolm Lader, reported that brain scans done on a small group of patients who had been taking diazepam for a number of years had produced evidence suggesting that their brains had been damaged.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sid ... y-minor-tr

Some other articles related
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 27504.html
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Neurology/ ... how/295855

Basicly some people think that they cause permanent brain damage but there is not sufficient research. Primarily in making new memories and decision making ability.
I would assume if there is any truth to this then it would be dose dependent so if you only took it twice a week at most then you would be safe...but at regular intervals 5-7days a week you would be more at risk.

"Linked with permanent changes to the central nervous system."
http://www.benzo.org.uk/vot4.htm

Some state it's not permanent but it will last a long time...around 5 years to fully recover from heavy use.
But if that's true then maybe even minor use could cause problems for around a year if it's around 1/5th of the usage.

This will vary tremendously based on the half-life of the particular benzo.

Infrequent use will do no more damage than infrequent use of moderate amounts of alcohol.

Frequent use can be quite disabling, and discontinuation is a nightmare.

Stick to infrequent, as-needed use.

Daily use results in rapid tolerance to all anxyolitic effects.

There was recently a study conducted on elderly people who had used this brand of medication for years. The results? These individuals were twice as likely to suffer from alzheimer's disease than those who did not poison themselves so their "doctors" could make a profit. I will try to find this study online when I have time. I just heard the results presented on a news channel (not in English) that I watch. These neurotoxins are increasingly prescribed to children so that the most incompetent teachers at public schools, or even their own parents who are supposed to make the best decisions for them, do not have to deal with inconvenience.

Even treatments like ritalin, presumed to be harmless because of their common consumption, have been proven to stunt the development of the frontal lobes. As if these quacks never suspected their "cures" had any permanent consequences? What can one expect from a practice which has altogether failed to denounce shock treatment? One in which practicioners overtly admit that brain trauma from this barbaric treatment is better than whatever condition preceded? Why is it not internationally banned?

Even after only two months of being prescribed a low dosage (of ssris) I learned how harmful medication can be. I could not eat or sleep until their use was phased out. I do not understand why hypochondriacs waste money on toxic pills.

Reject any "help" from strangers and embrace your agency to capitalize on the situation you are in. Unless someone is teetering on psychosis, it is healthier to attack whatever anxiety exists from within. I am convinced that willful change of thought can affect the neurochemistry behind anxiety more soundly than these toxins which pass for medication.