"i&#039;ve been on paxil for  approximately 15 years now, and i absolutely believe it has saved my life.  after only about 2 weeks, i had the first &quot;good day&quot; i could ever remember having.  until taking paxil, i never realized that people could actually be genuinely happy.  there have been a few times during the first 5 years or so when i tried to stop cold turkey.  the side effects were really awful and i almost immediately went back into severe depression.  i&#039;ve since just accepted that i&#039;ll be on medicines the rest of my life. small price to pay for the benefits.  however, i think i am in the minority in that i didn&#039;t experience any particular side effects while on paxil; only when trying to stop."