SSRI Withdrawls

From reading many forums it has come to my attention that this is a serious issue.  Can anyone tell me how long the withdrawls from stopping a SSRI cold turkey is?  Is quiting cold turkey vs. taper beneficial either way?  Any comments would be helpful!  

[benisnotmyname]

A Harvard professor has a book out about the lack of warnings about SSRI withdrawal symptoms (they can mimick severe depression symptoms and others, depending on the particular drug, the individual's response, length of use, etc.).  He wisely, in my experience, recommends tapering off as gradually as possible even if your doc says "oh, just cut the pill in half for 10 days and then stop taking xxx altogether."  Some docs say it will take at least 2-3 weeks before the effects of cutting back is felt, but it is very common to feel some withdrawal effects like dizziness, fuzziheadedness, shakiness, etc. even the same day you cut back (you'll know if this is the case for you if you have ever missed a dosage and "felt" it before you realized you had missed a morning dose).  Use a pill cutter to reduce a dose by only a 3rd or even a 4th.  Go 3 weeks and see how you handle that kind of drop.  If you have a capsule you need to get your doctor to prescribe the smallest dose available to help drop off gradually.  Some antidepressants even come in a liquid form (your doc can check this for your drug or you can look at the manufacturer's website) so you can literally reduce the dose by the drop.  The key is how YOU react to a reduction.  You may do fine with a more rapid tapering or you may need to slow down the process for several months to keep your mind from unravelling.  Good luck.