Dr. Mark Horowitz explains the critical science behind why stopping Zoloft safely requires more than just cutting pills in half. When your brain adapts to sertraline after weeks of use, traditional tapering approaches ignore a crucial fact: small doses have surprisingly large effects on your brain receptors. The research is clear. A 25mg dose of Zoloft occupies approximately 75% of serotonin transporters, which means stopping from this “small” dose to zero can trigger severe withdrawal symptoms