How to Get Off Zoloft Safely: Steps, Withdrawal, and Timeline

Alternative to Meds Editorial Team
Medically Reviewed by Dr John Motl MD

How do you get off Zoloft safely?

The safest way to get off Zoloft (sertraline) is to lower the dose slowly, in steps, with a plan made and monitored by your prescriber. The FDA label says to reduce the dose gradually rather than stop suddenly whenever possible, because stopping can cause withdrawal symptoms.¹

UK guidelines say most people stop antidepressants successfully, and that it is usually necessary to reduce the dose in stages over time.³ How fast depends on your dose, how long you’ve taken it, and how your body responds to each step.^3,4

Zoloft helps many people, and staying on it is the right choice for some. This guide is for people who have decided, with their prescriber, that it is time to come off. For more background, see our hub guide on how to come off antidepressants safely.

Want medical support while you taper? Learn how our residential medication tapering program in Sedona works, or call (888) 907-7075.

Before you start: is now the right time?

Short answer: the best time is usually when you have been feeling well and stable for a while, your life is fairly calm, and your prescriber agrees. People stop for many reasons, including feeling better, side effects, or the medication no longer helping.⁴

It helps to talk through the risk of depression coming back. In a large UK trial of people who felt well enough to stop, 56% of those who came off their antidepressant relapsed within a year, compared with 39% of those who stayed on it.⁶ The risk of relapse may be higher if you have had several episodes, recent or severe depression, or symptoms that never fully went away.³

Questions to bring to your prescriber:

• Why am I taking Zoloft, and has that reason changed?
• What is my risk of relapse, and what are the warning signs?
• How slowly should we go, given my dose and how long I’ve taken it?
• How often will we check in, and who do I call if I feel worse?
• What else can support me, such as therapy, sleep, exercise, or nutrition?

Your prescriber can also check whether long-term side effects are part of the picture. Our article on the long-term effects of Zoloft covers this in more depth.

How to get off Zoloft, step by step

Short answer: work out a plan with your prescriber, lower the dose in small steps, give each step time, track how you feel, and slow down or pause if symptoms become hard to manage.^3,4

Here is how a supervised taper usually works. Your prescriber sets the actual doses and timing. Please don’t build your own schedule from what you read online.

1. Make a plan together. Your prescriber considers your dose, how long you’ve taken Zoloft, past attempts to stop, and your current health.³
2. Lower the dose in steps. UK guidelines describe reducing in stages, with each step a fraction of the current dose. Steps often get smaller as the dose gets lower. Research on how SSRIs act in the brain suggests the same cut has a bigger effect at low doses than at high ones.^3,7
3. Give each step time. Guidelines suggest allowing 1 to 2 weeks to see how a reduction feels before deciding on the next one.³
4. Track your symptoms. A simple daily note on sleep, mood, anxiety, and physical symptoms helps you and your prescriber spot patterns.
5. Adjust the pace. The next step should come only once withdrawal symptoms have settled or are tolerable. If a step is too hard, your prescriber may hold the dose or slow down.^3,4
6. Keep check-ins going. Your prescriber should monitor you for withdrawal symptoms and for signs of depression returning throughout the taper.³
7. Plan for after the last dose. Stay in touch with your prescriber for a while after you finish, and know who to call if symptoms return.³

Guidelines recognize that coming off can take weeks or months.³ A slower taper is not a failure. Research suggests longer tapers that go down to smaller doses before stopping may cause fewer withdrawal symptoms than short tapers.⁷

For more on dosing strategies your prescriber may discuss, see our Zoloft tapering guide.

Can you cut Zoloft in half?

Zoloft’s 25 mg, 50 mg, and 100 mg tablets are scored, which means they are designed to be split. Zoloft also comes as an oral solution (20 mg per mL) that must be mixed with a specific drink before taking.¹ Liquid forms can help with small steps, and UK guidelines suggest considering them when tablets can’t make the step small enough.³

Ask your prescriber or pharmacist before splitting tablets or switching forms. At ATMC, our medical team plans each dose step, using half tablets or liquid preparations as needed.

What Zoloft withdrawal feels like

Short answer: many people feel dizzy, queasy, irritable, or anxious, sleep poorly, or notice brief electric shock-like feelings called “brain zaps.” Some people have few or no symptoms.^1,3,4

Symptoms the FDA lists after stopping serotonergic antidepressants:¹

• Body: dizziness, nausea, sweating, tremor, headache, and tiredness
• Senses: tingling or electric shock-like sensations, and ringing in the ears
• Mood: low or irritable mood, agitation, anxiety, and mood swings
• Mind and sleep: confusion and trouble sleeping
• Rare: hypomania and seizures

UK guidance adds unsteadiness, vertigo, panic attacks, tearfulness, restlessness, palpitations, and aches in joints and muscles. In rare cases, people have suicidal thoughts.³ The Royal College of Psychiatrists also describes vivid dreams, a sense of things not feeling real, and trouble concentrating.⁴ Learn more about brain zaps.

How common is it? A 2024 review of 79 studies found about 31% of people had at least one discontinuation symptom after stopping an antidepressant, compared with 17% after stopping a placebo. Severe symptoms affected about 3%.⁵ We can’t yet predict who will have a harder time.⁴

Tell your prescriber about any symptom that worries you, even if it isn’t on these lists.

Zoloft withdrawal timeline

Short answer: symptoms usually start within a few days of a dose cut and often fade within 1 to 2 weeks. For some people they last several weeks, and occasionally several months.³

During a taper, this pattern can repeat after each dose step. That is one reason each step is given time before the next.³ For a detailed look at symptoms, read our Zoloft withdrawal guide.

Withdrawal or relapse? How to tell

Withdrawal and returning depression can feel alike. The Royal College of Psychiatrists points to a few clues:⁴

• Timing. Withdrawal usually starts within days of a dose change. Depression or anxiety returning usually takes weeks or months.
• New symptoms. Brain zaps, dizziness, and other physical symptoms you never had before point to withdrawal.
• Response to the old dose. Withdrawal symptoms usually improve quickly, within hours or days, if the previous dose is restarted. Antidepressants take weeks to lift returning depression.

Don’t try to sort this out alone. Your prescriber can help you decide whether to hold, go back a step, or keep going.

Can you stop Zoloft cold turkey?

Short answer: it isn’t recommended. The FDA label advises a gradual reduction rather than abrupt stopping whenever possible, and UK guidelines note that withdrawal can be severe when an antidepressant is stopped suddenly.^1,3

Missing doses or taking less than prescribed can also cause withdrawal symptoms.³ If you have already stopped and feel unwell, call your prescriber. Don’t restart or change your dose without their advice.

There are times a faster stop is medically necessary, such as a serious side effect. That decision belongs to your doctor.³

Mistakes to avoid when getting off Zoloft

• Stopping on your own. MedlinePlus advises not to stop sertraline without talking to your doctor.²
• Skipping doses to “wean down.” Uneven dosing can trigger withdrawal symptoms.³
• Copying someone else’s schedule. A taper that worked for a friend, or a chart online, may be too fast for you.^3,4
• Adding St. John’s wort or other serotonin products. Combining serotonergic drugs and supplements with Zoloft raises the risk of serotonin syndrome. St. John’s wort is one of them.¹ Check any supplement with your prescriber.
• Tapering during a crisis. A move, a breakup, or a new job is a hard time to also change medication.
• Going it alone. Tell someone you trust that you are tapering, so they can help you notice changes in mood.¹

Antidepressants carry an FDA boxed warning: in short-term studies, they increased suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children, teens, and young adults. The FDA asks for close monitoring at times of dose change, which includes tapering.¹ If you have thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 any time.⁸

Tapering Zoloft at home vs. at ATMC

Get help coming off Zoloft

Alternative to Meds Center is a residential treatment center in Sedona, Arizona, with about 20 years of experience helping people reduce or come off psychiatric medications. Our program lasts about 60 days on average.

Every resident has a medical assessment and lab testing on arrival. Your taper is paced to how you respond, and our medical team plans each dose step, using half tablets or liquid preparations as needed. Alongside the taper, care may include neurotransmitter support with an individualized supplement plan, whole-food nutrition, counseling, and dual diagnosis care when anxiety or depression is part of the picture. Supplements support the plan; they don’t replace medical treatment you need.

Our Medical Director describes how the team works:

“Our medical and nursing teams collaborate closely to monitor each client’s tapering plan, assess progress, and make adjustments as clinically indicated. The team regularly evaluates symptoms, sleep patterns, mood, and overall well-being to support a safe and individualized process. Our naturopathic team provides complementary support through individualized supplementation and supportive wellness therapies to help clients manage symptoms that may arise during tapering.”
Kimberli Galloway, PMHNP-BC, Medical Director

Read more about Zoloft tapering, the long-term effects of Zoloft, and our complete guide to coming off antidepressants.

Getting off Zoloft FAQs

Sources:

1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration / DailyMed. ZOLOFT (sertraline hydrochloride) tablets and oral solution, prescribing information. Viatris Specialty LLC. Label version August 2023. [cited 2026 Oct 20]

2. MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. Sertraline. [cited 2026 Oct 20]

3. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Depression in adults: treatment and management (NG222), Recommendations. June 2022. [cited 2026 Oct 20]

4. Royal College of Psychiatrists. Stopping antidepressants. [cited 2026 Oct 20]

5. Henssler J, Schmidt Y, Schmidt U, Schwarzer G, Bschor T, Baethge C. Incidence of antidepressant discontinuation symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Psychiatry. 2024;11(7):526-535. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(24)00133-0. PMID: 38851198. [cited 2026 Oct 20]

6. Lewis G, Marston L, Duffy L, et al. Maintenance or Discontinuation of Antidepressants in Primary Care. N Engl J Med. 2021;385(14):1257-1267. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2106356. PMID: 34587384. [cited 2026 Oct 20]

7. Horowitz MA, Taylor D. Tapering of SSRI treatment to mitigate withdrawal symptoms. Lancet Psychiatry. 2019;6(6):538-546. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30032-X. PMID: 30850328. [cited 2026 Oct 20]

8. 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. 988lifeline.org. [cited 2026 Oct 20]

This content has been reviewed and approved by a licensed physician.

Dr. John Motl, M.D.

Dr. Motl is currently certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Psychiatry, and Board eligible in Neurology and licensed in the state of Arizona.  He holds a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in biology and minors in chemistry and philosophy. He graduated from Creighton University School of Medicine with a Doctor of Medicine.  Dr. Motl has studied Medical Acupuncture at the Colorado School of Traditional Chinese Medicine and at U.C.L.A.

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Diane Ridaeus

Diane is an avid supporter and researcher of natural mental health strategies. Diane received her medical writing and science communication certification through Stanford University and has published over 3 million words on the topics of holistic health, addiction, recovery, and alternative medicine. She has proudly worked with the Alternative to Meds Center since its inception and is grateful for the opportunity to help the founding members develop this world-class center that has helped so many thousands regain natural mental health.