I’m not super familiar with mood stabilizers, but my boyfriend has buspirone and it works well for him. I’ve looked it up and it works similarly to xanax despite being a completely different drug

I'm on buspar. I take it twice a day now but when I started it was as needed. So far it's been ok

Buspar doesn't work quite the same as a benzo would. Buspar has to build up in your system and works more for long term anxiety and prevention. There's hydroxyzine which is actually technically an antihistamine but is used for anxiety and in higher doses it is used for anesthesia purposes. It works quicker than buspar and is more for sudden symptoms as well as preventative. The most effective thing for a lot of ppl in panic is a benzodiazepine. They are harder to get due to addiction but are the most sedating. There are 3 main benzos for anxiety. Xanex is the fastest one and is great for panic attacks but is also harder to get due to its highly addictive properties. It is most effective for 4-6 hrs, Its half-life is around 11 hrs. Then there's Ativan which stays in your system longer than Xanex with a half life of about 25 hrs and is at its mostly for 10-12 hrs. And Klonopin is the longest-acting one and can be moderately sedating/most active for up to 14 hours, depending on the person, and it has a half-life of 40 hours. I'm sure there are others but those are the most common for anxiety. I hope you get some relief. Good luck!

xanax or clonezepam. be careful though. heavy stuff