Escitalopram oxalate belongs to 5-hydroxytryptamine reuptake inhibitor, which is an antidepressant treatment drug. In the process of depression treatment, according to the 2015 depression prevention and treatment guidelines, to go through three stages of treatment, the three stages of treatment time may be different, as follows: 1, the acute phase: mainly 8-12 weeks, most patients take the drug to relieve depressive symptoms better, more than 50% of patients can be relieved very well after the drug; 2, consolidation period: at least 4-9 months, during the drug Regardless of whether the patient’s mood and symptoms are relieved or not, you must insist on taking it; 3. Maintenance period: patients cannot stop taking the drug immediately after the symptoms disappear, they need to have a maintenance period, so the maintenance treatment time is 2-3 years according to the guidelines. Taking Escitalopram Oxalate for depression, it is recommended that the total time should not be less than 3 years, especially for patients with first-episode depression, the possibility of relapse will be much lower if you insist on taking the drug according to these three phases. However, clinically many patients always take it until 3-6 months or 1 year, and stop it by themselves without doctor’s consent, when the relapse rate is higher. Therefore, it is generally recommended that first-time treatment patients need to take escitalopram oxalate for 2-3 years, and relapse patients will take the drug for an extended period of time, usually 5 years.