Hi Tony, I took Buspar for anxiety. It is a different class of drug than the benzodiazepines (klonipin, xanax, valium, ativan). The benzos can result in drowsiness and addiction, but many people use them very successfully longterm. Buspar is not a benzo and it does not help quite a few people who try it. But it does help some. The advantage is it is relatively benign and does not cause drowsiness or addiction. It might be worth a try just because it is so harmless. But you need to take it each day. (I took it for only 3 months, then stopped, as it lost its effectiveness.)

The benzos can be taken every day or on as "as needed" basis so if you are looking for something just for spot use, this may be a good bet. I have a Xanax prescription and rarely take it as I've got my anxiety under better control now. I take it when an extremely stressful situation is coming up or when I am lying awake endlessly at night obsessing about something. It acts within minutes. I think I end up taking it only about 2-3 times each month. The problem is even the lowest dose tends to knock me out, so it is a great sleeping pill, but hard to take during the day (for me, YMMV).