Posted by JonW on May 22, 2002, at 3:20:16
In reply to Re: EXogenous and ENdogenous -- explanation?, posted by manowar on May 21, 2002, at 16:19:06
Is atypical depression exogenous or endogenous? Or am I comparing apples to oranges?
If it's exogenous then I'm a little confused. I can be "cheered up" temporarily and have had most other symptoms of atypical depression my entire life without any apparent cause. I also have bipolar disorder and this I take to be endogenous depression. Is it a contradiction then to have both endogenous and exogenous depression? Or can atypical depression be either reactive or endogenous depression?
Assuming I'm not comparing apples to oranges... There are people who I can fit neatly into the exogenous category (recent death of a loved one, etc.), but it's hard to understand my life long atypical depression without any apparent cause fitting so neatly into this category. I could say that bipolar disorder and atypical depression appear to be correlated, but unfortunately, correlation doesn't necessarily equal causation. If depression is caused in part by our biology and our environment, isn't all depression exogenous? IsoM explained that with endogenous depression "...the tendency for it to surface is there & likely to be triggered in normal life." Well if someone has a major depressive episode after the death of a loved one, how is the dystinction made between endogenous depression that has been triggered and reactive depression?
In any event, I guess we're all just a bunch of wires and electricity and lots of funny little chemicals. I'm just trying to understand why the terms exogenous and endogenous depression exist? What purpose do they serve? Do I not understand them? It's possible this post makes no sense as my doc has me all drugged up to help me get through these 2 weeks (1 left) prior to starting Nardil and I forgot to take my regular meds today. It escapes me how I went an entire day before realizing it?! Anyhow, I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on this -- the ex/endogenous thing, not my sanity! I understand that one completely ;) And so I've answered the question about my sanity, just in case you were on the fence!
woohoo!,
Jon
> en·dog·e·nous - adjective
>
> 1. without external cause: with no apparent external cause • endogenous depression
>
> ex·og·e·nous - adjective
>
> from an outside organism: originating outside an organism or system.
>
> So yes, IsoM is absolutely correct (as normal).
> When I'm depressed, someone could hand me a check for a million dollars, and my mood would not really improve that much, if at all. That's endogenous depression and it bites.
> Tim
poster:JonW
thread:106919
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020517/msgs/107249.html