My advice: Don't underestimate the substance, but also don't give too much importance to stories of people that overdid it and had a terrible time. People have been using Phenibut for long periods of time without getting dependent -- provided they space out the "Phenibut days" enough. Of course that requires some self-knowledge: If you are the kind of person who would have trouble keeping it to "not more than twice a week maximum (ideally not more than once a week) at reasonable dosages", then Phenibut can easily turn into a slippery slope to physical dependence, with horrible withdrawals.

If you know yourself enough not to overdo it, it's not _that_ terrible a thing; though your individual response to it will of course vary, which is where the "self-knowledge" comes in again.