There are primarily 5 subunits that benzodiazepines display varying affinities for in the GABAA receptor complex. They look for benzodiazepines that have high affinities for α2 and α3 and lower affinity for α1 because benzos with high affinity for that subunit are more sedating, cause more impairment, cause more ataxia and are more reinforcing (addictive). The α2 and α3 subunits are associated with more anxiolysis.
Temazepam has moderate α3 affinity showing that it does provide decent anxiolysis but it's more sedating and slightly more 'addictive' that most of the benzos they prefer to use for as anxiolytics.
Since you only took it once, it might have been something situational that made it seem like it was more effective for you than it really is, it may have been from incomplete cross-tolerance or you might have just found it more sedating and enjoyable and equated that with anxiety-relief. The last possibility I mentioned seems especially likely given that you are not taking them as prescribed and have probably come to associate getting more fucked up on them with 'anxiety-relief'.
If you want benzodiazepines to be truly useful for anxiety, you really need to treat them with respect and use them as sparingly as possible. Ideally, the best use for benzodiazepines is in a limited context to treat the worst of the anxiety while you learn more sustainable ways of managing the it. If used regularly over the long term, benzodiazepines are more likely to make things worse and have a hell of a withdrawal and PAWS associated with them.
Be careful, man.
