"i&#039;ve had depression for years and very high anxiety which at one point i could barely breathe and i had to focus on my breath  to calm down at all. i took xanax for 6 months a year ago. it helped a little with anxiety but not for depression very well. i got off xanax last year and took nothing at all. i felt like i was losing my mind and had thoughts of just ending my emotional and mental agony. i went back to my dr and he gave me lexapro and xanax. for the first time in years my face doesn&#039;t grimace in emotional pain and i feel happy. i don&#039;t know if lexapro could do that by itself,  but with xanax it&#039;s saved my life."