Duration
The duration of a depression depends on the individual course of the child’s illness. It is not comparable with other children of the same age, but must always be seen as an individual case. Parameters influencing the course of the disease are age, the severity of the symptoms and the individual triggering factors of the depression, such as long-lasting family disputes.
The current status of the conflict is one of the decisive factors here. If problems could be resolved, this provides a good basis for coping with the mood swings. The time of the initial diagnosis has a positive effect on the severity of the course and duration of the depressive episode.
Early detection favours the course of the disease and can shorten its duration. Once complicating factors have arisen or the symptoms have become chronic, it is all the more difficult to achieve rapid success in treatment.