pachyderm is right, i think. some meds are dangerous when stopped suddenly. some are not effective when not taken regularly. i prefer taking meds on an as needed basis, like aspirin for a headache, but at times i have taken maintenance meds till i am stable, then i slowly taper down and discontinue them. i guess i have lost faith in psychiatry generally, the Dr.s' insistences that a person will decompensate if not on a ridiculous cocktail of drugs for the rest of the person's life.

what i know about the benzo's like xanax is that when taken daily you can have a rebound effect if you suddenly stop them. with antidepressants and mood stabilizers, they have to build up over time to be effective, so taking them once in awhile is not going to do a person good..