oddly enough...

even though Valium (diazepam) has a bad reputation, its less addictive than xanax or klonopin, easier to taper than ativan...

some people swear by ssri drugs. im not a fan, they make me too apathetic and make my mood swings worse. gabapentin isn't an amazing cure all, but its not addictive and it gets the job done.

lyrica is a lot like gabapentin, but there is a a definite withdrawal syndrome after long term use. kinda lame, i know. having said that, its currently less restricted than the benzodiazepines. The benzodiazepines are in Schedule IV of the DEA system, Lyrica is in Schedule V, so I guess the available data shows fewer problems (?).

some people take benzodiazepines for years upon years, no major problems. then you have horror stories, too, so...??? A lot of the horror stories seem to be from careless prescribing and/or excessively rapid tapers, so...there's that to consider...