Endogenous depression is a form of depression that is caused by a malfunction in the human body. It is the opposite of exogenous depression. Currently, the division of depression into intra- and extrinsic depression is somewhat less important - both problems may be similar, but there are sometimes noticeable differences in what type of treatment works best for different types of depression.

Depressive disorders are not the same in all patients. There are many different types of depression, the classification of these disorders may be based, for example, on the age at which the patient developed mood disorders (therefore, we can distinguish, among others, childhood depression or depression in old age). Classification of depression may also take into account the causes that led to this problem - in this case, one of the distinguished forms of depressive disorders isendogenous depression .

Features of endogenous depression

The word "endo" comes from the Greek endon, meaning "inside". In this case, defining depression as endogenous (intrinsic) indicates that the patient's depressive disorders were caused by internal factors closely related to the functioning of his organism. The opposite state is exogenous depression, i.e. depression that occurred after the patient experienced some extremely stressful events.

The slogan "internal factors" may seem quite enigmatic, but in reality it is easy to explain the potential causes of endogenous depression. It is caused by problems with the functioning of the patient's nervous system. In this case, abnormalities may include, for example, disturbances in the number of neurotransmitters (such as serotonin, dopamine or noradrenaline) within the structures of the central nervous system.

Depression endogenous to the environment of the person who fell ill with it may be completely incomprehensible. Well, this form of depression may be suffered by, for example, a man in his prime, with a happy family and successful in his work. It would seem that depression should not develop in a satisfied person, but in reality depressive disorders can occur in any person.

Depression that came "out of nowhere" may be just an endogenous depression - that is, one where the episode of mood problems was not preceded by the patient experiencing some severe, traumatic events.

Worth knowing

Depressed mood, apathy, loss of previous interests - these problems are only a modest outline of ailments that may be symptoms of depression. Affective disorders in the form of depression are among the most common diseases and mental disorders. Even more than 300 million people worldwide suffer from depression, and in the United States, up to 7% of Americans suffer from it each year. In Poland, it is estimated that up to 1.5 million people can suffer from depressive disorders.

Symptoms of endogenous depression

The symptoms of patients with endogenous depression may be similar to those of people with other forms of depressive disorder. It should be emphasized, however, that endogenous depression is considered to be one of the more severe types of affective disorders.

The problems that may be symptoms of endogenous depression include:

  • significant decrease in activity,
  • indifference to the surrounding world,
  • loss of interest, cessation of enjoying things that previously caused joy,
  • sleep disorders (e.g. difficulty falling asleep, but also waking up very early in the morning),
  • appetite disorders,
  • strong feeling of sadness and hopelessness,
  • problems with concentration, learning and making decisions,
  • suicidal thoughts, in extreme situations even suicide attempts,
  • isolating yourself from loved ones,
  • extremely intense feeling of chronic fatigue.

Treatment of endogenous depression - does it differ from treatment of other forms of depression?

Depression, whether internal or external, can be treated with the same methods. In the therapeutic management of a patient with depressive disorders, pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, and electroconvulsive therapy are also included. Sometimes, however, it turns out that one therapeutic option allows for a given type of depression to achieve better results than another treatment method - this is what happens in people with endogenous depression.

It has already been mentioned that the cause of endogenous depression may be disturbances in the number of neurotransmitters within the central nervous system. This is why some specialists believe that this type of depression can be successfully treated with drugs. Antidepressants such as serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) orAfter all, tricyclic antidepressants (TLPDs) affect the levels of neurotransmitters in the structures of the nervous system.

Apart from pharmacotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy may be offered to patients in the most severe cases of endogenous depression. One of the effects of electroconvulsive therapy (which is essentially similar to that of antidepressants) is that it affects the neurotransmitter systems. As a result of electroconvulsive therapy, there is an increased release of these substances in the nervous system, but also an increase in the affinity of neurotransmitters for their receptors.

One of the methods of treating depressive disorders, i.e. psychotherapy, has not been mentioned so far. It is not that working with a therapist cannot be of benefit in patients with endogenous depression and that its implementation in people with this form of depressive disorder is pointless. Some scholars express the view that psychotherapy can achieve the expected results in patients who have some unresolved psychological conflicts. In the case of endogenous depression, as has been emphasized many times, it is not psychological disorders that are the direct cause of depressive disorders.

Worth knowing

Endogenous depression and related controversy

Distinguishing between endogenous depression and exogenous depression seems to some medics to be completely pointless. This view usually results from the fact that it is often difficult to distinguish between these two forms of depressive disorder.

As an example of the potential pointlessness of separating depression into endo- and exogenous, there are some hypotheses that turned out to be not entirely true. Well, the causes of endogenous depression would be closely related to the functioning of patients' organisms. However, disturbances in the number of neurotransmitters would have to occur as a result of some errors in the functioning of the body, and such errors could be related, for example, to genetic disorders.

For this reason, some scientists suspected that the incidence of depression in relatives of people with endogenous depression should be greater than in relatives of patients with exogenous depression. Ultimately, however, it turned out that endogenous depression and exogenous depression in the relatives of those patients who had suffered from any of the disorders appeared with similar frequency.

Category:

Psychiatry