"i was prescribed ativan for anxiety due to working in a high stress job (prison). once during a riot at work i had my first ever panic attack, my heart rate was so high that the on call nurse said if i hadn&#039;t taken ativan i would have ended up in the er. however i started treatment with effexor xr and that has ceased all my anxiety, so i have recently been using the ativan to help me sleep, and it works fine to help me relax."