Kat, I'm afraid that Xanax (generic name, Alprazolam) is considered to be addictive. Everything I've read, plus my own experience bears that out. In fact, in the book I mentioned above, Managing Your Mind, there's a whole chapter on the problems with benzodiazepine anti-anxiety drugs and how to go about get off of them.

Benzodiazepine is the active ingredient in Xanax and many other tranquilizers or anti-anxiety drugs, including Valium. The psychiatrist that my therapist sent me to prescribed alphrazolam, but didn't warn me about the addictive aspects of it. In fact, he maintained that it wasn't addictive. But I had some real trouble getting off of it. The poop sheet the pharmacist gave me warned that it was addictive and I checked on the internet and found plenty of addiction warnings about it. For example

Withdrawal effects may occur if alprazolam is stopped suddenly after several weeks of continuous use.

Seizures may be a side effect of sudden discontinuation of the medication.

The shrink prescribed a pretty heavy dose, every four hours. It made me feel like reality was wa-a-a-a-a-ay down the hall, and I wife told me afterwards that when I was taking the stuff, I was spending a lot of time practically comatose.   I cut the doses in half on my own and started feeling more alert. After several weeks with the therapist, I didn't feel like I needed it anymore. But I had one rough time getting off of it. I had to spend about three months tapering off by reducing the dose and spreading out the time between doses. The shrink told me I should keep taking it, even though I felt like I didn't need it anymore. The therapist disagreed with him, feeling that I was the best judge of how I felt, and she helped see me through it.

Several things I read about it agreed that one should not take it for more than a couple of weeks at most.

God, I hate being hooked like that!

The problem with a lot of psychiatry these days, not to mention medical practice in general, is that doctors find it a whole lot easier to just reach for the prescription pad and alleviate the symptoms than it is to take the time to deal with the root of the problem.

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And as for you, Martin Gibson (your real name, of course!), if ever I have an emotional problem, which is rare, I take the steps necessary to solve it, unlike you. If I chose to remain anonmymous in this instance, it's not because of any shame, it's because of people exactly like you, who are in denial about their own severe mental problems, and who try make a weapons out of other people's difficulties just as you are trying to do right now. You've done this a lot, which tells everyone all they need to know about you.

You're the one who needs to get help.