My Xanax really helps tons. But I had to pay the price. After all those years on it, I can't skip a dosage even if I feel fine. I would so much like for it to exist a med you couldn't get physically dependent on. It feels dumb to have to take a pill even if I don't need it anxiety wise, because otherwise I go into withdrawals.

Benzos are used the best just now and then so there is no dependence. But that can create a problem, for me they were just to survive the worst panic attacks at first and taken as needed. But I was allowed after a while to take them every day because they improved my constant stress, anger, feeling overwhelmed so much my life got so much better on them.

Should I have just kept them to survive or was it right to also start using them to do more than exist? I have no real answers here.

As for being brain damaged, antihistamines has a worse record for that. But docs wont address that. Sure, I admit not to being as sharp as I was. I probably sold a few IQ points for feeling OK and not like in a constant crisis. Was it worth it? No idea.

But for docs to not even mention benzos anymore... not a fan of that. Here they basically stopped all new prescriptions of benzos. So everyone these days who is new to anxiety can only get Vistaril, SSRIs and neuroleptics. Neuroleptics is really popular where I live. (They make me super depressed and I sometimes dissociate on them so no thanx....)