"too make a long story short, a little over 2 weeks ago after an mri, we were told our daughter had a birth defect called chiari which required brain surgery, which is scheduled for september 9, 2011.  my anxiety was so bad i couldn&#039;t function normally and couldn&#039;t stop crying, couldn&#039;t sleep, had chest pains and my head was so lightheaded i thought i would pass out. xanax stopped all of it. i only rate it an 8, not because of how it works, but because of me. i still can&#039;t control my anxiety without help from xanax. now i can sleep, breath and only cry once a day if at all. i&#039;m seeing a shrink and feeling stronger so maybe soon i will be in control of myself again and handle my families life again as a strong mom and woman."