New on the blog: Stopping an Antidepressant Safely: Avoiding Discontinuation Syndrome and Brain Zaps

Escitalopram (Lexapro) and sertraline (Zoloft) fall in between: they tend to cause milder symptoms than paroxetine or venlafaxine, but more than fluoxetine, which leaves the body slowly.

There is no one-size schedule. Many people do well tapering over several weeks; others need months. It depends on the medicine, the dose, how long you have taken it and how you responded to dose changes before.

Duloxetine (Cymbalta) leaves the body quickly and, like venlafaxine, often needs a slow taper. Talk with your prescriber before making any change.