And the reality is always down a rabbit hole. Welcome to post-modernism.
Anyway, doctors, particularly psychiatrists, do vary in philosophy. In the US, they vary. In Europe, they vary. But there is almost always a stark contrast between what US psychs will prescribe compared to your average European psych. Because US doctors are much more skippy about prescribing benzos long-term. In Europe, it's almost unheard of for benzos to be prescribed for over than about four weeks.
Xanax is kind of another animal. There is credible evidence that because it's so powerful and so short-lasting, that it may in fact catalyze panic attacks. Even if taken in XR form. I am not a doctor. But I tend to shy away from the prospect of xanax. Maybe loprazolam is better because it lasts longer and still has that somewhat independent mood-lifting ability..but not so sure if that trait is a sustained mood lift, or just a high. Also loprazolam is not marketed in the US, as far as I've been told.
For some known reasons and some more mysterious ones, clonazepam tends to be more used in the states, according to my knowledge of across the pond. It lasts a while, has credible hypnotic/anxiolytic properties, may not produce as much depression as others, acts somewhat fast, and relaxes muscles. It doesn't take as much time as librium to kick in, lasts for longer than valium, and is safer for the more people who have had addiction problems.
It's far from common knowledge, but the literature is almost unmistakable in damning long term benzo play. Lots of bad stuff. Maybe for some it works well, though.
I have known some people who have stopped benzo use without much of an issue. High doses too. Once you get into years of being on them, then things get a bit more sketchy. Always taper, if instructed. If someone has a past addiction to drugs that work on GABA-A, then that adds another layer to the conundrum.
