@saku
A friend gave me a Breast Cancer "Dammit" Doll after I was diagnosed the second time. The idea is you smack that doll and/or use it to beat against a bed, or a chair and get your feelings of anger, hopelessness and fear out. I wonder if there is an Effexor "Dammit" Doll? Those of here could use one.

The professionals have no idea how long getting back to "normal" takes--only you know how you feel (and I think it's great that you're getting better). It's not surprising that your friends don't really understand--they "know" that you were on medication that's usually prescribed for mental/emotional issues and don't know how powerful these drugs are and that most were only designed to be used for short periods of time (and their effects on people studied assuming short-term use). Unless, someone has been through this, or had a medical professional screw them up, they probably think your doctor(s) knew best.

I'd tell them that research shows PAWS–post-acute withdrawal syndrome (https://www.addictionsandrecovery.org/post-acute-withdrawal.htm; https://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com/addiction-resources/drug-addiction-resources/post-acute-withdrawal-syndrome-stages-symptoms/) can be as long as a couple of years, or more AND that the withdrawal effects can come and go in waves, getting worse then better, with the periods of improvement in between getting longer the further out you are from your last dose.