I so totally agree with you! Effexor XR is what I was prescribed and took for way too many years, resulting in horrid hallucinations and extremely noxious nightmares. Made my life pure hell since I was sleep deprived, wracked with anxiety and exhaustion, but still having to start teaching high school classes commencing at 7:32 am...I really started to believe that there WERE demons in my bedroom, and felt the compression of the mattress when one would sit and reach to get me. I told my then-primary who had prescribed it, but she said that I had to give my system time "to adjust to it." I shared with the neurologist at that time in my medical journey, and she was dismissive....so I sought help elsewhere (a compassionate neurologist) who worked out a complicated schedule for weaning off the drug. Took MONTHS, had withdrawal episodes, it deepened my depression, and made me feel inadequate and nervous all the time, went from a size 10 to a 2 (had no appetite). Finally succeeded in eliminating that poison out of my every cell, but depression got worse about three years later so I was convinced to take sertraline (Zoloft). Didn't work, but did have unfavorable effects so the psychiatric nurse practitioner also created a lengthy schedule (she told me it would take MONTHS, and it did). Took another 10 months of my life just dealing with getting sertraline out of my body, and it lingered and lingered, so much so that the NP created a "tincture" which the pharmacist gave me. Had to take drops in small amount of liquid, decreasing over time, until finally no more "whoosh" or bubble-bursting sounds in my ears, and it took another year after that for me to feel that I was in control again of my body again. SWORE OFF all antidepressants!

I agree with you about aiming to find solutions other than drugs, since evidently my system cannot tolerate ANY antidepressants (yes, I had been prescribed others eons ago, before the Effexor episodes, and each gave me serious problems, so each is listed in my medical history as "Do Not Prescribe"). I can't take morphine, codeine, tramadol, depakote, topamax, and several other meds, which makes it difficult when I've needed pain meds following surgeries or procedures. I'm not a martyr and am no fan of pain, but I also do NOT want to be a zombie either.

I have read so many posts here on this site, where people are doing their own "weaning" or stopping cold-turkey. I so do not agree with either path.
Effexor is a potent, tenacious, and not totally understood drug.
Seek medical guidance if you want to get off it.
That has been my experience, and I never want to go on that path again. I definitely would not have upped the dosage during weaning just to avoid the effects that people have described.

I wish them luck, and may they find the peace that they seek, away from the jaws of Effexor and similar drugs.