"alprazolam offers a &quot;cleaner&quot; anxiolytic effect for me compared to ativan. the &quot;waviness&quot; in lorazepam isn&#039;t present in xanax, though at the 0.75mg dosage level and above i do get a bit of confusion sometimes. 0.5mg works well in a subtle way, though it can be tempting to want to bring up the dose a bit - i had a panic attack while on the medicine at 0.5mg and i couldn&#039;t get rid of it until i had taken 1.5mg - and i fell asleep. all in all, xanax works for anxiety."