Just my opinion....... short acting benzos like Xanax, Tranzene, Serax and
especially Ativan are not good meds for more than a couple of days or
for very occasional use as anxiolytics in people who have occasional panic
attacks.  The problem with these short acting benzos, when taken for anxiety
is that they come on strong and quick, are usually euphorogenic and when
they wear off in 4-6 hours you have rebound anxiety that is worse than when
you took the damn pill the first time.

Klonopin, Diazepam and Librium are longer acting benzos and have much less
liklihood of "rebound" anxiety since they have active metabolites and wear
off
much more slowly.  Their longer half life often prevents this rebound even
when
the "therapeutic" level or feeling has worn off.

My brother is a psychiatrist and his opinion is that Ativan (lorazepam) is
the
worst offender in this class for the above reasons.  Great stuff for an
acute
problem, but not for a 30 day script.

Patrick