[betty boop]

That means exhaustive searching for primary physical disorders causing depression.

Well that is the way the disorder is usually handled. But it begs the old "chicken vs. egg" question: Which came first, the physical disorder or the depression?

The classical way of understanding depression was that it is a disease of the spirit (e.g., Plato, Cicero, et al.). Modern psychotherapy/psychiatry rarely regards it in such terms. The modern approach is to assume you can successfully treat the body (hosepipe's "DonK" or donkey); and if you can do that, then anything else that ails you is fixed as well. Of course, this is to say that human psyche is an epiphenomenon of physico-chemical processes. There is very little actual rigorous foundation for such a view. But there it is anyway, a sort of modern-day superstition....

[cva66snipe]

Which came first, the physical disorder or the depression?

I would bet at least in 75% of the cases the physical disorder came first. My physical disorder went years undiagnosed actually most of my life. I found out what was wrong by luck. My physical disorder was a key factor in setting me up for PTSD, OCB, and G.A.D. I got rid of two of three over time after I finally discovered the primary cause of the G.A.D. The G.A.D. is permenant as is my Vestibular Disorder as they are cause and effect conditions.

[grey_whiskers]

Odd that you would post Cartesian Dualism and then use JBS Haldane for your tagline. :-)

Cheers!

[michgirl]

Not true there is much discussion now about the mind as well as the brain and it is very interesting stuff.
You said which came first the physical disorder or the depression---well read up on heart disease and untreated depression.
there is quite a bit of information available on attachment--primary relationships and the development of the brain. seems the physical development is dependent on the quality of primary connections. Ongoing stress does effect body chemistry and very likely contributes to physical and mental disorders.