[maddyboo]

I have battled with severe anxiety and panic disorders for years. At my worst, I was often unable to get out of bed for days at a time due to fear of having a panic attack outside the safety of my home.

Taking an SSRI has helped a lot, but there are times where I can feel a panic attack coming and know the only way to stop it is with a Xanax.

I regard benzodiazepines with a lot of respect. Their power is a blessing and a curse. Used responsibly, I believe they can be a very effective and safe tool to live a normal life free of panic attacks.

At this point, I rarely take them - one dose every month or two at most. But the knowledge that I have a tool to quell a panic attack, should I need it, has actually done more for me than the pills themselves. Knowing I’m not powerless gives me the strength to overcome the panic attacks on my own.

Recently, I’ve noticed doctors becoming more and more apprehensive about prescribing benzodiazepines. This is definitely a good thing - I think they should be reserved for severe cases as a last resort. But I also worry about a future where people who could have benefited greatly from them without abuse are denied a prescription.

[jnovek]

I'm similar -- thankfully, when I panic I can frequently get through it without taking a benzo, but I do have clonazepam on hand for the situations where it might be very useful.

There are times where I would've likely made poor decisions during an acute panic attack that was aborted quickly by benzos. The ability to say "stop now" -- hell, even the security of know there's a way to say "stop now" -- is important to coping with anxiety.

[mackey]

I see my doctor every 6 months and until recently was seeing the same doctor for about 10 years. I have been refilling a 10 pill .5mg prescription of Ativan for about 6 of those years.

I took them infrequently at the beginning, like you now, 1 or 2 a month max and the past few years, I haven't taken any. I didn't even realize the connection to "Benzos" until ~6 month ago when a construction worker friend said all his coworkers were on it and I connected the dots.

Just having access to the pills for me is enough to keep my anxiety in check, hopefully something I can stop relying on some day. My doctor is moving, so I need to find another one who will be just my 3rd doctor in my 32 years of life. I hadn't thought about it until just now, but I am hope my new doctor will be as facilitating.

[psergeant]

Beta blockers have been a great SSRI top-up for me after I lost a year to a benzo problem

[brbrbrbrbr]

I have to second that having a fallback tremendously decrease anxiety.

While techniques like CBT, meditation, diet have helped me a lot to fight my fears, there have been situations which I had to rely on meds to power thru - I call it going nuclear.