Unless you've been living under a rock, or in some sort of secluded mountain community, you have probably heard of Xanax. It's become a word we hear all the time nowadays, thanks to popular rap artists like Future, Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, Migos, Juicy J, Earl Sweatshirt, Eminem, Nas, Lil Wayne... the list is literally endless.

Commonly referred to as Xannies, benzos, and bars, Xanax is the brand name for the highly potent, addictive and powerful drug Alprazolam. It can be found in the form of round tablets or rectangular pills, and in a variety of colors. Xanax is used to treat a wide array of anxiety and panic disorders, and it does so very effectively due to the extreme feeling of relaxation and carelessness that it produces.

It is also one of the most frequently abused drugs in the entire world.

My first encounter with the drug was right after I turned nineteen. I was hanging out with a bunch of people (admittedly, scumbags) who enjoyed high doses of the drug on a regular basis. I remember being extremely anxious. Call it peer pressure or call it curiosity, but I took a bar anyway.

The thing is, I didn't feel any of the things that I was led to believe I would feel.

I felt nice, actually - I was relaxed, I didn't feel f**ked up. I felt normal.

Everyone around me was slurring their every word, with their eyes rolling back into their heads. I vividly remember one of my friends in the passenger seat of my car, unresponsive, drooling, on the brink of overdose - eyes open but eerily still. He kept slumping over in his seat, struggling to get any slurred words out of his mouth. "Make out with me. Come on. Let's kiss." I'd tell him no, and he'd become entirely unresponsive again. I remember shouting his name as loud as I could, over and over. Slapping him in the face and pulling on his clothes, trying to wake him up. And I remember when he started to choke on his own saliva, and I remember desperately shoving Adderalls down his throat just to try to counteract the effects of the Xanax overdose. It was horrifying what the drug did to him, and even more horrifying was the fact that he didn't remember any of it when he finally came back from it all.

And then there was me. I still felt completely normal. Why, though? Well, the answer is very simple. I have panic disorder.

If you give Hydrocodone to a person that's in a substantial amount of pain, their pain will be relieved. If you give Adderall to somebody with ADD/ADHD, they will focus better. If you give Xanax to someone suffering from anxiety or panic, they will be able to relax. Any of these drugs given to someone who doesn't need them, will really mess them up.

When Xanax is taken by somebody like me, who suffers from panic attacks and a general feeling of anxiety at almost all times, it doesn't make them black out, lose their memory, hallucinate, or any of those things. It simply eliminates the panic very quickly. Since my first (and only) time trying Xanax recreationally, I decided to see a psychiatrist and obtain a prescription. I have been taking Xanax under the supervision of a psychiatrist for almost a year now, and I can say it has changed my life for the better.

But if you're not like me, here's a word from the wise: DON'T.

There is a handful of substances that you can experiment with and no harm will be done. This is not one of them. Xanax is one of the world's most abused drugs for a reason. It's highly addictive, due to it's powerful effects that only last a few hours. Being on Xanax is a nice feeling, which in turn makes sobriety feel not so nice. Eventually, as tolerance builds, you will need it just to feel normal. It is extremely important to always take Xanax in controlled doses under the recommendation and supervision of a doctor, and only when it is truly medically necessary.

Xanax has even been labeled "the new heroin" by some. It certainly has developed a negative connotation in our society, but it is important to remember that it is not the drug's fault. It was manufactured to treat anxiety, and it serves that purpose better than almost anything else available in the pharmaceutical industry. Remember: Guns don't kill people, murderers with guns kill people. Xanax doesn't create drug addicts, drug addicts create themselves.

This is the bottom line - if you do suffer from panic attacks, you may want to consider talking to your doctor to see if Xanax could be a good option to treat your symptoms. If you do not suffer from panic attacks, however, stay the hell away from it (we're looking at you, Future) and stop posting about it on social media. Stop attacking and generalizing all people who use the drug. You never know what is going on in the life of another person. You wouldn't call a cancer patient a crackhead for receiving chemotherapy, so don't do it to those who choose to ease their anxiety with medication. A little bit of understanding and compassion goes a long way.