"effexor helped me see the reality of my life when i couldn&#039;t. i took zoloft for a while (up to 150mg) and i felt more numb than &quot;happy&quot;. when i switched to a family doctor from my psychiatrist, they recommended effexor xr; i&#039;ve been taking 75 mg a day for the past four months and my life has done a complete 180. no depression, very little anxiety, and i finally have confidence. i have more friends now than i ever did, a wonderful new relationship that i could never have foreseen myself happening, and i&#039;m performing really well academically. best decision of my life was taking effexor- i can immediately see a difference in my thought processes when i forget to take it for two days at a time."