Various people suffer from depression. It is a chronic relapsing disease. Leads to a significant decrease in the quality of life and disruption of adaptation and social ties. Depression affects 15–20% of women and 5–12% of men. 70% of patients have relapses, 10% have frequent relapses. The combination of depression and anxiety disorders is 40–80%. Antidepressant drugs are a common treatment for depression, both nuclear disorders and atypical, somatized , masked disorders. S.N. Mosolov developed a treatment regimen for all types of disorders, consisting of 4 tasks:

· Relief of acute and suicidal symptoms;       

· Stabilization of mood and achievement of remission;       

· Rehabilitation;       

· Prevention of new risk.       

The main concern of the psychiatrist is the completion of the first stage of psychotherapy, the elimination of symptoms of depression and the achievement of an effect on the Hamilton scale of more than 50%. But this result is achieved only in 60–70% of patients. Therapy for comorbid anxiety disorder is an important treatment.

SSRI antidepressants (serotonin reuptake drugs) are used in these cases. But the main thing in treatment is the achievement of remission, which determines the frequency of recurrence , social adaptation, and the quality of life of patients.

Modern methods of treating depressive conditions, for example, transcranial magnetic stimulation, elimination of anxiety using biofeedback, are not used in budgetary psychiatric organizations due to their inaccessibility. Many hospitals do not monitor blood levels of drugs, which may account for 40–60% of treatment failures for depression.