[Depression as a psychophysical illness phenomenon]

The old Greeks understood depression as a somatic process as well as an oppressing experience. Disturbances of the transmitters, ligands and receptors and the decoupling of the feedback-systems of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical systems with an impairment of the immune-system are experienced as depression with its narcissistic depletion and orientation towards conscience and order. Thereby the conscious experience is less differentiated than the complex somatic processes which are proving it. Under a holistic aspect it is, however, doubtful whether psychotherapy can be differentiated from somatotherapy. Each psychotherapy acts through the sensory organs on the body like somatotherapy. Until now, however, only a few results of research are known concerning somatic parameters, for example of the transmitter- and immune-processes of the body, during a simple, with preference cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy. For that the researchers would have to be trained to reach a reliable evaluation of its somatic parameters. As it was proved scientifically, the influence onto somatic functions is even possible with complex psychotherapeutic methods such as hypnosis. Such research is until now still relatively seldom done. This may be due, on one hand, to the fact that many psychiatrists and other physicians still maintain the fatal psychophysical dualism and on the other hand, that the pharmaceutical industry has until now not had an interest in comparative investigations concerning the effects of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy.