What are the treatment methods of depression?

The emergence of antidepressants propionimidazole and isoniazid has made a breakthrough in the treatment of depression. In addition to drug therapy, another high hope is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which is a psychotherapy-oriented and talk therapy, and solves emotional, behavioral and cognitive problems with goal-oriented and systematic procedures.

Propiconazole and isoniazid did not play their original roles. Propiconazole was originally an antipsychotic drug, and isoniazid was originally an anti-tuberculosis drug, and now it is used to treat mental depression. At present, there are more than 20 kinds of antidepressants, almost all of which treat depression by increasing neurotransmitters, norepinephrine and serotonin in the brain. Although their toxicity is lower than that of propimidazole and isoniazid, their therapeutic effect on depression is not obvious. More than 50 years have passed, and our drug treatment methods for depression have not been innovative.

At present, CBT is one of the most effective methods to treat depression, which can help patients with depression return to normal from a negative and self-destructive state. Although many studies show that this method is not effective for all patients with depression, "CBT is indeed one of the most effective methods at present," said Stefan Hofmann, a neuroscientist at Boston University. Compared with drug therapy for depression, cognitive behavioral therapy has a better therapeutic effect on patients with depression. After CBT treatment, 42~66% of patients with depression can return to normal, and the probability of recurrence is much smaller than that of drug treatment. CBT can treat patients with depression by enhancing the excitability of prefrontal cortex, but at present, we still don't know how CBT works. Antidepressants can relieve depression by weakening the excitability of amygdala. Usually, the amygdala in the brain of patients with depression is extremely excited, and the amygdala controls people's emotions, while the cortex is in a state of low excitement, which is contrary to normal people, that is, both methods are to maintain the normal excitement of the brain.