Getting off Effexor

I used to take effexor for about 3-4 years also. I had my fair share of problems growing up, most of them were family problems that still haven't resolved. I took the pill because I felt depressed and could never understand why. My mother wanted to help me out (she being a nurse) and decided that I needed Anti-Depressants. The doctor put me on Effexor and to be honest I don't really think it helped at all, besides costing alot and tasting nasty (like all pills). I eventually decided to quit it cold turkey. I never knew of any ill effects of quitting an anti-depressant right off the bat. Well the first time I quit was absolutely terrible. I never had chills or a fever, instead I had a crazy dizziness that lasted for about a week. It felt as if someone was mashing my brain up and down all day 24 hours a day. It was the weirdest and worst 1 week headache I ever had. I eventually went back on it but at a lower dosage. The dosage before was 150mg, when I went back on effexor I stayed at 75mg. Up until about a few months ago, I had just figured a lot about myself and life out. I decided that I didn't need a pill to tell me I felt good. If I want to feel good about myself, I need to get my butt out their and make it happen. I wasn't going to let myself have a pill influence my life. So I quit again and this time for good. Since it was only 75mg, the side effects of quitting cold turkey weren't as bad as before, but they were still present for about a week. I only hope to tell you that you don't need a pill to make yourself happy.