In the psychological outpatient clinic, I can hear from time to time every day from those who seek help: Why can’t I be happy all day, don’t want to do anything, can’t sleep well, can’t eat, often want to die, people say I have “depression”, what’s going on Why do I feel weak, can’t even do what I usually like best, my appetite Poor appetite, feeling sick in the stomach, and significant weight loss? Why do I feel so uninterested in everything, so tired all day that I don’t want to do anything, and I always have pains here and there all over my body, but I can’t find out why? The anxiety and sadness that I feel for a long time, but I can’t tell anyone about it, what should I do? …… Nowadays, many people are suffering from depression, which greatly affects their life, study and work, and is often life-threatening. It is conservatively estimated that there are about 340 million depressed people in the world, and there are 30 million depressed people in the population over 15 years old in China. One in 10 men are depressed, and one in five women are likely to be depressed. This common but dangerous illness, known as the “mind cold,” not only puts people in an unbearably painful state of mind, seriously affecting their lives and work, but is also often life-threatening. 15% of depressed people may eventually choose to commit suicide. The World Health Organization estimates that depression is expected to become the second largest source of disease burden after coronary heart disease by the year 2020. Depression is an entirely recognizable and curable disease, yet misconceptions about it often make people avoid treatment, and only 10% of patients in China receive effective treatment, which is regrettable and heartbreaking. We advocate “overcoming depression with knowledge”. Therefore, it is very important to help people eliminate the misunderstanding of depression, to identify it early, to face it correctly, to treat it actively and to prevent it actively. 1.Early identification: If there is unregulated depressed mood, reduced interest, fatigue, accompanied by sleep disorders, especially early awakening, confused thinking, pessimistic thoughts, etc., you should pay great attention to it. Once depressive symptoms persist for more than 2 weeks and significantly affect daily life and work, or suicidal thoughts appear, professional consultation and treatment should be sought. Early identification and treatment for early recovery will not only reduce pain, but also help prevent relapse. 2. Facing it correctly: First of all, it is important to realize that depression, like other physical diseases, is a common and curable disease. Compared with cancer, hypertension and diabetes, which are serious illnesses that can occur in life, depression is relatively easy to treat and has better results. It is not advisable to avoid treatment. Secondly, it is important to reinforce the idea that the current gray mood and pessimistic thoughts are pathological, as is the low opinion of oneself, which can be restored to normal through treatment. Thirdly, and most importantly, do not make life-threatening future decisions in the midst of illness, let alone put dangerous thoughts into practice. 3, active treatment: insist on taking medication while actively cooperating with the doctor for psychological adjustment. If you cannot continue to work and study, do not wait passively for the disease to get better during the rest period. You should actively work with your doctor and family members to make a plan of daily activities to promote early recovery and try to implement it. Try to maintain a regular life, do what you can, and ensure the content and time of activities within your ability every day, especially sunny daytime activities, which can play the role of “light therapy”. 4, active prevention: analysis of the causes of the disease, efforts to improve personality, exercise the ability to adapt, and adhere to medical advice to maintain treatment. Depression is a “high incidence, high relapse, high self-harm, high death” disease, the first depressive episode without treatment, the relapse rate of up to 50%; two episodes of relapse rate risk of 70% or more; three episodes of relapse rate risk of up to 90% or more, drug maintenance treatment is currently the main means of relapse prevention.