Endogenous depression is a mood disorder characterized by marked sadness, despair and apathy; however, the cause of endogenous depression is different from that of reactive depression, in this there is no external trigger situation, this is due to internal or psychobiological factors.
It is caused by an alteration or structural change in the biochemistry of the brain; on the other hand, in reactive depression, there is an obvious relationship between the triggering situation and the onset of the disorder, the reason for the trigger being the central nucleus of depression.
- The absence of identifiable external causes can make it difficult for people close to the patient and the sick to understand the disease.
- An imbalance in the chemistry of our brain is enough to plunge us into a deep sadness.
- Which we do not even understand.
- But from which we cannot escape without help.
In endogenous depression there is a marked decrease in Serotonin as well as exogenous depression, but in this case it is not caused by external factors and occurs naturally, in this type of depression there is a high genetic component, although that?the chances of developing and not determining depression. There are several hypotheses that link various neurotransmitters to depression.
The noradrenergic hypothesis posites that depression is due to a functional deficit of norepinephrine in brain synapses. One of the conclusions supporting this theory is that lack of sleep, especially in the REM phase, has antidepressant effects and this is due to increased sensitivity of norepinephrine receptors.
Serotonin plays a very important role in regulating the balance of our body, modulating excessive activation. Deficiency of this neurotransmitter, associated with catechollyrgic functional deficit, can cause a depressive state. In addition, there are studies that demonstrate the response between serotonin decline and suicidal tendency.
There are different symptoms of depression, and not everyone has depression, but the typical symptoms of depression are:
Although these symptoms can occur in any type of major depression, there are some differences in how the symptoms present themselves and, more importantly, in their intensity. Major depression, whether reactive or endogenous, is disabling and hinders social relationships and job performance, although endogenous is generally more severe.
Although the two types of depression (reactive and endogenous) share the same symptoms for the most part, there are also differences. Endogenous depressions have more vegetative symptoms, such as tachycardia. Symptoms are more severe, with a higher likelihood of suicidal thoughts. In addition, in most cases, seasonal variation in symptoms and early awakening can be identified.
The person feels a more intense, intrusive, disproportionate and penetrating sadness; In addition, sadness is accompanied by a marked anhedonia, that is, an inability to feel pleasure; there is a loss of responsiveness, the person is unable to react emotionally to important positive successes.
Endogenous sadness is not changing intentionally, despite efforts, since there is no justifiable cause that therapy can focus on, medications are the first treatment option, the good news about this type of depression is that it responds very well to antidepressants. With psychological intervention can be the best tool to solve the problem, and it is definitely the one we recommend.