In outpatient clinics, doctors often encounter some depressed patients with inappropriate medication, such as inadequate treatment, taking medication soon after the effect, thinking that the disease has been cured, unauthorized discontinuation of medication, resulting in the disease “rekindled”; some satisfied with partial improvement, has not used the full amount of medication; others frequently change medication, so that each drug is not fully developed] role. These situations are often the result of misconceptions about the treatment of depression on the part of patients and their relatives. Here are five common misconceptions and correct practices for depressed patients and their families to grasp. 1, the misconception that depression is cured when depressive symptoms subside. Depression is an emotional disease that is easily “rekindled”, and the apparent subsidence of symptoms is not the same as a cure, and symptoms will still reappear under certain conditions. It is clinically proven that after 6-8 weeks of medication, about 70% of patients will stop medication on their own, but the “relapse rate” of depression after stopping medication is as high as 76%. Therefore, in order to prevent “relapse”, depressed patients should still adhere to a full dose of medication for 4-6 months after their symptoms have completely disappeared. 2, hoping to take antidepressants immediately after the effect. Unlike other drugs, most antidepressants are first drug side effects, such as nausea, gastrointestinal discomfort, and then play the role of antidepressants. Generally, venlafaxine (Enox, Boloxin), mirtazapine (Remeron) in a week after taking the drug effect, other antidepressants to take 2 weeks after taking the drug to take effect. So, no matter which antidepressant you take, you have to wait for a period of time, such as after a month and a half, no significant improvement in depressive symptoms, and then increase the dose or change the drug. 3, worry that antidepressants will depend on or addiction. Antidepressants are not dependent and will not become addictive. However, during the treatment of depression, if the patient suddenly stops the medication, there may be a “withdrawal reaction”, the clinical manifestations of dizziness, headache, insomnia, and the incidence of withdrawal reaction varies with the depression medication. Generally speaking, as long as the symptoms completely disappear after adhering to the full amount of treatment for 4-6 months, and then enter the maintenance treatment phase, and gradually reduce the amount, after 3-4 months of discontinuation period, can completely avoid the “discontinuation reaction”. 4, fear of antidepressants will damage the brain, reduce intelligence. In the clinic, there are often patients ask doctors: “Will taking antidepressants make people dull?” In fact, the main role of antidepressants is to improve the mood depression and anxiety, so that depressed patients with delayed reaction g, memory loss situation better. Therefore, most antidepressants have little effect on intelligence, and some new antidepressants can also improve learning and memory skills. 5, worried about long-term antidepressants will cause harm to the body. Tricyclic antidepressants have anticholinergic adverse reactions, often dry mouth, constipation, urinary retention and other symptoms, too high a dose will also inhibit heart conduction. New antidepressants such as fluoxetine and paroxetine not only have the same efficacy as tricyclic antidepressants, but also have fewer adverse effects and better safety, and long-term use has not been found to have adverse effects on heart, liver and kidney function. In conclusion, patients with depression should seek early medical treatment, especially for the first depression, and seek safe and effective antidepressants for “full” treatment as much as possible to avoid the misunderstanding of drug treatment and strive for early recovery. The whole treatment of depression is divided into 3 phases: acute phase 3 months, using safe and effective antidepressants to eliminate all the symptoms Consolidation phase 4-9 months, using sufficient effective drugs to continue treatment, to prevent relapse Maintenance phase > 1 year depending on the patient’s condition, the dosage of drugs to be reduced, to prevent relapse Treatment of depression is more difficult after relapse. Some people think that it would be better to treat depression again after relapse. But, unbeknownst to them, a relapse of depression will make the treatment more difficult. First of all, most depressed patients are pessimistic, and some of them feel that “life has no meaning”, and relapse often adds to their negative and pessimistic attitude. Second, the original effective drugs seem to be less effective than before, and must be increased or changed, sometimes requiring a combination of drugs. Again, relapsed patients need to adhere to adequate and effective drug therapy for 6-9 months, and then the subsequent reduction in maintenance therapy takes much longer. Finally, in a small percentage of patients, the course of the disease becomes chronic after several relapses, and the patient’s quality of life decreases and he or she cannot resume school and work for a long time. Therefore, when starting treatment for depression, it is important that the dosage and timing of medication be accurate to avoid relapse.