In short, yes, benzo dependence sucks (I sometimes can't go to sleep without my Xanax), and tolerance sucks more (doc won't up the dose, obviously). I see benzos as nothing more than a quick fix for your mood for a few hours. It does NOTHING GOOD for me long-term. Just gets me hooked.

I'm lucky that my Lithium and Wellbutrin make me sleepy enough that I can try to go sleep, but on most days, I need my Xanax.

I've taken:
- Lorazepam/Ativan (1 mg) daily for a few months ... LOVED IT ... short half-life is also great !
- Alprazolam/Xanax (2 mg) daily for more than a year ... used to work right away, but I've developed a tolerance for it, so it doesn't hit me very hard anymore
- Clonazepam/Klonopin (1 mg) once in a while, as needed (when I feel like crap) ... I don't like the long half-life of Klonopin