Zoloft Withdrawal Side Effects: Symptoms, How Long They Last and How to Lower the Risk
Stopping sertraline can bring dizziness, brain zaps and mood changes, especially when it is stopped suddenly. Here is what the label, research and people on r/zoloft describe, and how to lower the risk.
By withClaro Editorial · 2026-10-23 · 5 min read
Medical review pending. Written by the Claro editorial team from the FDA label and published studies.
Key takeaways Common Zoloft withdrawal symptoms include dizziness, brain zaps, nausea, poor sleep, irritability and low mood. In a 2024 review, 31% of people had symptoms after stopping an antidepressant, against 17% after a placebo; a 2025 reanalysis that counted only studies measuring symptoms systematically found more than half. In 100 r/zoloft threads about stopping, anxiety, brain zaps and dizziness were the most common reports. Stopping gradually with your prescriber lowers the risk; how long you have been on Zoloft matters too. On this page
What are the side effects of Zoloft withdrawal? How common is Zoloft withdrawal? What 173 people on r/zoloft said about stopping How long does Zoloft withdrawal last? What happens if you stop Zoloft cold turkey? Is it withdrawal or is your depression coming back? How can you lower the risk when stopping Zoloft? Tracking symptoms while you taper Stopping Zoloft (sertraline) or cutting the dose, particularly abruptly, can cause withdrawal side effects, also called discontinuation symptoms, as the brain adjusts. For many people they are mild and short. For some they are severe or last for months. There is no reliable way to know in advance who will be affected.
What are the side effects of Zoloft withdrawal?
For serotonin antidepressants in general, Zoloft's label lists nausea, sweating, low or irritable mood, agitation, dizziness and sensory disturbances after stopping, along with tremor, anxiety, confusion, headache, tiredness, trouble sleeping, hypomania, ringing in the ears and seizures. Sensory disturbances include brain zaps, brief electric-shock feelings often set off by moving the eyes or head. A seizure, or signs of hypomania such as racing thoughts, little need for sleep and unusual risk-taking, need urgent help, not a note for the next visit.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists adds tiredness, vivid dreams, poor concentration and feeling unreal. Many people say these feel unlike their depression. If symptoms start within days of a dose cut, note them down for your prescriber.
How common is Zoloft withdrawal?
About 1 in 3 people who stop an antidepressant had at least one symptom in a 2024 review of 79 studies and 21,002 people, against about 1 in 6 after stopping placebo. The authors put the share caused by the drug itself at about 1 in 6 to 7, and severe symptoms affected about 3%. In that review, desvenlafaxine, venlafaxine, imipramine and escitalopram were linked to more frequent symptoms, and sertraline was not on that list.
Other researchers think that figure is too low. A 2025 reanalysis kept only the five studies that measured withdrawal systematically, mostly after short treatment, and found 55% had symptoms, with a very wide range and without subtracting placebo. The Royal College of Psychiatrists puts the share at between a third and half of people. So the numbers measure different things: everyone with any symptom, or only the extra share due to the drug. Either way, stopping is worth planning.
Escitalopram was on the 2024 review's list of drugs with more frequent symptoms; Lexapro withdrawal side effects covers it.
What 173 people on r/zoloft said about stopping
These are people's own accounts, not measured rates, and people with a hard time are more likely to post, so they show what stopping can look like rather than how likely each outcome is. We read 100 recent threads about stopping or tapering on r/zoloft, comments included, and 173 people described stopping or lowering Zoloft themselves. Of them, 91 named the symptoms they had, and one person could name several:
Symptoms people described Of 91 people who named one Anxiety or panic after stopping 26 Brain zaps 19 Dizziness 15 Low mood or crying 13 Nausea or flu-like feelings 11 Tiredness 10 Headache 7
Another 20 of the 173 said they had no symptoms or barely any. One person on r/zoloft described the most talked-about symptom:
brain zaps when I came off were the worst
Others came off with little trouble. Another wrote:
I didn’t even notice any withdrawals while tapering
How people stopped varied. Of the 70 who said, 38 stopped all at once. Another 8 tapered over less than a month, and 24 over a month or more.
Of the 101 who said where they ended up:
Where people were People Still tapering 35 Back on Zoloft 30 Off and doing well 20 Off but still struggling 16
How long does Zoloft withdrawal last?
For many people symptoms ease within a few weeks, but not for everyone. Some have more severe symptoms that last much longer, sometimes months or more than a year, according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists. On r/zoloft, of 101 people who said where they ended up, 16 were off but still struggling when they wrote. The label links symptoms particularly with stopping abruptly. Keep a short daily note of symptoms after each change, so you can see whether they are fading.
Slower stops tend to go better, as explained in a guide to tapering off antidepressants safely .
What happens if you stop Zoloft cold turkey?
The FDA label advises a gradual reduction rather than stopping abruptly whenever possible. The NHS says not to stop suddenly, and that your doctor will lower the dose over several weeks or months. Sertraline has a half-life of about 26 hours, in the middle for SSRIs, and its main breakdown product lasts 62 to 104 hours, though it is much weaker.
If you have already stopped suddenly and feel unwell, contact your prescriber and ask whether restarting and reducing more slowly makes sense for you.
The same shrinking-step approach for Lexapro is described in tapering off Lexapro .
Is it withdrawal or is your depression coming back? Clinical section: medical review pending
Timing, the kind of symptom and what happens on the previous dose usually tell them apart. The Royal College of Psychiatrists adds that withdrawal can improve within hours of restarting the medication. Tell your prescriber how many days after the cut it started and what it feels like. The clinical view:
Withdrawal and a return of depression can feel alike, and the difference changes what you do next.
Withdrawal tends to start within days of a cut and includes physical symptoms, like brain zaps. It often eases soon after the previous dose is restarted. A relapse usually builds more slowly, over weeks.
If symptoms during a reduction are hard to bear, talk to your prescriber. The usual step is to go back to the last dose that felt stable, then reduce more slowly.
How can you lower the risk when stopping Zoloft?
Plan the stop with your prescriber, reduce gradually and keep track of how you feel after each step. How long you have been on Zoloft matters: stopping after a few months is a different conversation from stopping after several years. It helps to tell them:
How long you have been on Zoloft, and your current dose. Any past attempts to stop, and what happened. Which symptoms appeared after each cut, and when. Whether your mood or anxiety feels like before treatment, or different. What is going on in your life now, such as stress, travel or exams. To check whether a symptom is common after stopping an SSRI, try the withdrawal symptom checker . If stopping brings thoughts of suicide or self-harm, get help right away: call your prescriber, or in the US call or text 988; in the UK, call NHS 111 or 999; elsewhere, find a crisis line near you .
Tracking symptoms while you taper
Symptoms after a dose cut can come and go, which makes them hard to recall at an appointment. The withClaro app lets you log how you feel each day next to each dose change, so you have a day-by-day record to show your prescriber, and the withClaro taper calculator builds a draft plan with shrinking steps to bring to that conversation.
Open the sertraline taper calculator Worried about brain zaps, dizziness or mood swings when you come off Zoloft? The withClaro taper calculator builds a draft plan with shrinking steps to review with your prescriber. No account needed.
Frequently asked questions Is it safe to go back on Zoloft after stopping it? Often yes, and withdrawal often improves within days of restarting. Whether to restart, and at what dose, is a question for your prescriber.
What do brain zaps feel like? Brief electric-shock or buzzing feelings in the head, often when moving the eyes or head. They are a common withdrawal symptom and usually fade. Note when they happen and tell your prescriber.
Can stopping Zoloft cause anxiety? Yes, it is the symptom people on r/zoloft named most after stopping. Note when it started relative to your last dose change, and share that with your prescriber.
Should you stop Zoloft once you feel better? Feeling better is a good reason to talk about stopping, not to stop on your own. Guidelines often suggest staying on treatment for a while after recovery. Plan the timing and pace with your prescriber.
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Sources ZOLOFT (sertraline) prescribing information, US Food and Drug Administration via DailyMed, revised August 2023 NHS. Common questions about sertraline Royal College of Psychiatrists. Stopping antidepressants Henssler J, et al. Incidence of antidepressant discontinuation symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Psychiatry, 2024 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline r/zoloft: Stopped taking Zoloft abruptly r/zoloft: For those who have stopped taking zoloft r/zoloft: Anyone taper off Zoloft after being on it for multiple years? r/zoloft: Has anyone felt better taking Zoloft for ~12 months and then stopping? r/zoloft: Stopped Zoloft because of weight gain… now I’m wondering if I made a mistake r/zoloft: Stopped taking it. Need to go back on it (PMDD) Moncrieff J, et al. Evidence on antidepressant withdrawal: an appraisal and reanalysis of a recent systematic review. Psychological Medicine, 2025 Claro articles are for self-monitoring and educational purposes only. They are not a medical device, therapist, or diagnostic tool, and do not replace care from your prescribing clinician. If you are in crisis, contact your care team, emergency services, the Samaritans (UK: 116 123), or the Crisis Text Line (US: text HOME to 741741).