When do you guys start benzos?

I’m an attending a few years into practice, and I feel like psychiatry was one of the weaker areas of my training. I would say most of my attendings were pretty against giving any benzos aside from PRNs for certain cases (e.g. fear of flying).

I obviously don’t want to get someone hooked, but I have a few patients with such severe anxiety and panic disorder, that I think it’s appropriate. Had a patient today come for follow-up with severe agoraphobia and health anxiety. So terrified of physicians that he almost lost a leg because he refused to seek treatment for cellulitis. Tried sertraline for a few months and still extremely anxious. Finally added on low-dose clonazepam today.

So I guess my question is, what’s the line? It seems like the psychiatrists are more willing to initiate benzos in moderate/severe anxiety.