Patients with depression should take medication and maintain it for more than 6 months after the condition is stabilized, especially for first-episode depression patients who usually take medication for about 2 weeks to take effect, and take medication for about 6-8 weeks to control the condition. If the condition has been stabilized and the symptoms are basically eliminated, maintenance and consolidation treatment is needed, and maintenance and consolidation treatment usually takes about 6 months. In case of relapsing depression, as the number of relapses increases, the duration of maintenance treatment should be extended appropriately, such as maintenance treatment for one year and above. If the number of relapses exceeds 3, long-term medication or even lifelong medication should also be considered, because depression is a disease that is very prone to relapse, and once you stop or reduce the medication by yourself without maintenance treatment, it is easy to relapse.