I took Effexor XR for about 6 months while I was in college. It helped a lot with the depression and anxiety. However, it made me shake so bad that one time I fell out of the chair in class. I also got severe "brain zaps" and had some depersonalization issues. I eventually had to go off of it due to the shaking. It was unsafe for me to drive like that. I definitely had to taper off the medication and it was still bad. I was prescribed Serzone to help me taper off but I think that's off the market now...???