In my opinion, I think Ativan would be best, My Mom took it for acouple of years. But if your friend Is still taking the xanax, She might need some help from a proffessional as to how much to take and be able to stop the xanax without having to go thru those horrible sounding withdrawls. I have not had xanax to know how horrible they are, but I have read here they are. Maybe someone that knows better could reply? Good Luck.............