Lucinda symptoms and conditions

I had extreme anxiety so the dr. gave me .5 Ativan. i have been taking it for a month now 2 times a day. it worked great up until last Friday. Since then my heart has been pounding and i have extreme anxiety again, not as bad because i still am taking the meds but the rapid heart beat has taken over my life right now. I can't sleep, eat, concentrate on television. i barely go to work. I don't know what to do. Another doctor i went and saw told me that Ativan is only used temporary and that if you keep using it as a long term thing you are going to have to keep uping the doses and depend on it more and more until you go to the highest dose and it dosent help at all. Now I am scared about depending on them and not being able to get off them. PLEASE SOMEONE HELP. i need some help through this.
i am going to a therapist and all she can say is practice deep breathing so it doesn't really work 100% for me.