I suppose that they really are just a crutch. But from what I've experienced (and I know this sounds like an addict), I'm pretty good at coming down off of meds. Neurontin is supposedly physically addictive, but I actually went off of it FASTER than my doc told me to just to stop it from making me so slow-witted and stupid and I had no ill effects. Coming off of Lexapro, however, did leave me with some pretty bad withdrawal. Like the entire world was spinning and I had a tremor for months. But I'm pretty good at knowing when enough is enough. I don't know if they can, but isn't there a way for them to prescribe a minimal amount of a medicine? Like maybe 5 emergency Ativan a month or something, just so the temptation isn't there?