Introduction. Depression: The Relevance of the Time Factor

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Depressive disorders are common, serious and sometimes life threatening. Their effects are persistent, debilitating, and costly. Depression causes significant suffering, disability, and social dysfunction, frequently leading to disruption of normal daily activities for both the patient and the immediate family. Depressed patients struggle to recover, often over several months or even years, and many follow a chronic, recurrent, and remorseless course. As well as a high morbidity, depression carries substantial mortality not only in terms of suicide but also from other causes.