Been taking/abusing xanax every day for about 2 years. Have tried tapering, right down to half a pill a day and substituting valium etc. The withdrawal is SO BAD that even LOWERING the dose or changing to Valium still produces insomnia, hallucinatory anxiety, fear of impending doom, physical stiffness - the whole lot. I'm kind of worried that my best option is to weather it out and see if I can get used to lower doses and eventually phase it out altogether, but does anyone have any experience with this? I know I've earned the withdrawal from overusing, but I didn't plan on spending six months or a year trying to get off them. But the withdrawal is unbearable and at times, very frightening.