Hi Reesie. I wish I had the answer for you. I know what you mean about the Catch-22. I've wondered the same thing about my long-term Clonazepam use. My anxiety got much, much better but I developed depression -- after not having been depressed in ages. I read that benzos can cause depression, so I wondered if the Clonazepam might be a contributing cause of my depression... but I couldn't stop taking the Clonazepam or BAM! the anxiety came back. I used to be on Celexa (I took it for anxiety, not depression) too, but I stopped taking it about a year ago... was still taking Clonazepam... 0.5 mg/day though.

Now I'm on Lexapro (went on it for the depression that hit me in the fall). It's helping so much with my anxiety (haven't had a panic attack since I started taking it). So, since I'm less anxious, I'm using a lot less Clonazepam. My depression is also quite a bit better... but of course, I don't know if it's because I'm using less Clonazepam or if it's because of the Lexapro. Maybe I'll never know.