What the general population refers to as depression is actually a very broad concept that encompasses a wide range of problems, meaning that there are many types of so-called “depression”. In this generalized concept, in addition to professionally diagnosed depression, it also includes bipolar depression, postpartum depression, stress depression after major life events, as well as various anxiety disorders with depressive symptoms, somatization, neurasthenia, insomnia, and even menopausal symptoms, transient emotional reactions, and high stress states accompanied by low mood experiences, which are also easily treated as “depression”. In addition, many non-specialists are becoming concerned about depression and sometimes make a diagnosis of depression; however, lacking sufficient training and understanding, non-specialists are prone to broaden the diagnosis of depression. What are the diagnostic criteria for depression? From the perspective of international research, the consistency of the diagnosis of depression has not been very high so far. That is, it is possible for different psychiatrists to diagnose the same patient and come up with different diagnoses. However, this does not negate the independence of depression; objectively speaking, psychiatric diagnosis of depression is still relatively strict and cautious. First of all, depression is a “disease” and not simply a general mood. Although depression is currently referred to as a depressive “disorder,” it is mostly adopted for social acceptance and understanding. In other words, although no exact cause has been found, depression as a “disease” has its own independent developmental pattern, with very clear clinical features and independent prognostic changes, and once it occurs, it evolves according to its own pattern, not subjective to human will. Typical depression, or depression in psychiatrists’ terms, is a depression that lasts for at least two weeks and is characterized by a prominent depression of mood or a loss of interest most of the day, which is the core basis; it also requires at least three or four of the manifestations such as poor diet, insomnia, fatigue, low self-esteem, difficulty in concentration, and despair and suicide, and the whole state of mind of the patient is very low. Such a state constitutes a depressive episode or depression. There are certainly many atypical depressive disorders, but their core features are constant. According to such diagnostic criteria, it is not difficult to find that many people feel that being in a bad mood for several days is depression, but in fact that can only be described as a depressed mood, some depressive experience. The vast majority of people have been in this situation to a greater or lesser extent, but it cannot be called depression. Treatment of the disease: drugs are the most direct and effective way to relieve the condition in the short term The most direct and effective way to treat depression is medication. Of course, psychotherapy is also indispensable, and the international treatment principle is to combine medication with psychotherapy; however, because the social popularity of psychotherapy is not enough at present, medication becomes the main treatment mode, and it is a very effective way for most depressions, which can alleviate the disease in a short time. Nowadays, there are some different voices in the society that believe that depression does not need to be treated with medication, but rather with Chinese medicine, self-adjustment, or some kind of instrument. Most of this voice comes from the first case (i.e. the type that heals itself), but this is actually a big misconception. This is because most depressions do not heal completely on their own and require standardized medication and psychotherapy to get relief. Although not completely ineffective for depression, herbal medicine is currently limited to a few formulas and can be partially effective for milder cases, and there is insufficient evidence for the efficacy of herbal medicine for moderate to severe depression. Although the cause is still unknown, current medical research has made it very clear that depression is actually a problem with the inner workings of the brain. Our brain is a large network of nerve cells, and depression is actually a change in the state of this network, a malfunction in its operation, like a computer running a system that has a problem. The current drugs (western drugs) act on this condition of the brain. The law of disease progression: whether it heals itself or is barely maintained, the lack of recovery of the state is the underlying problem. The development of depression has its own pattern, and the development of changes in depression can be different due to different causes. Three main cases can be classified here. The first situation is that a small percentage of depressed patients are of the self-healing type. The patient’s symptoms are not very severe, and he or she does not seek medical attention, and eventually gets better on his or her own with the favorable adjustment of the external environment, or with the strengthening of some help and support system. In contrast, it is common to hear that I don’t need medication for my depression, I get better on my own. In this regard, it is true that there are depressed people who heal themselves, but this is a small percentage, and it does not mean that he does not suffer from depression. It may be that the foundation of his own personality, or the external conditions of his environment, support, and other aspects are better, allowing him to heal himself; however, self-healing does not mean that his depression will not reappear later, and they are more likely to get sick again later compared to the general population. The second condition is different. Most people with depression do not go to treatment, but simply adjust and improve entirely on their own or with their families, yet they often never recover or show only partial improvement and do not reach their original healthy, normal state of competence. The residual condition can persistently cause some damage to work and life, such as hindered career development and poor family and interpersonal social relationships. This is a large group of people who need the attention of society. They can barely support and sustain themselves with a little adjustment, but the whole person is no longer as healthy as before, and the quality of life and occupational functioning are in a relatively low state. This is the consequence of not having undergone treatment. There is a third situation. The patient does not go through treatment, and this, combined with an inadequate pre-existing support system, an unresolved environmental stressor, and a lack of some ability to self-regulate, leads to a continuous and significant worsening of symptoms. When the symptoms are severe, the patient becomes severely dysfunctional, with a variety of conditions, such as loss of social functioning, inability to work, wasting and insomnia, inability to do anything, or even to take care of themselves, and the patient himself is in pain, with low self-esteem and self-blame, and in severe cases, even suicide. Relatively speaking, this part of patients are more likely to seek medical treatment. This is because as the disease progresses, not only do they feel great pain themselves, but people around them can also see it, so it is easy to come into the limelight. However, in terms of the progression of the disease, people should pay attention to the first two cases and treat them promptly. In both cases, especially the second one, there is actually a problem, that is, it seems to be maintaining a normal life on the surface, but in fact, emotions and functions are still in an abnormal state, if long-term untreated, the whole person’s state will not be restored, and then become a potential problem with lasting effects. If the social pressure is even greater and he is unable to resolve it himself, he is prone to mood swings, decline in status, and aggravation of symptoms, which then evolves into a third condition.