Taking them every day is dangerous in terms of: (1) risk of addiction, (2) risk of falls, (3) long term suppression of memory formation. Talk to somebody who uses long-acting BZs and you'll probably notice that they have the same conversation with you that they had 10 years ago. Antidepressants are the first-line choice of anxiety disorders because they don't get in the way of people finding solutions to their problems the way long-acting BZs do.

It's like alcohol though. Chronic use of alcohol will really destroy you, faster than chronic BZ use. Taking a Xanax on the weekend occasionally won't wreck your life and could be safer than drinking.