Hey Darkeyes! - WOW!! Your answer was far better than anything I could have posted. Maybe the only thing that I can add is that thyroid gland is controlled by the pituitary gland (via TSH - thyrois stimulating hormone) and regulates many unconcious bodily functions (click on "See How It Works" for a good overview).

The link between the butterfly-shaped thyroid gland and depression is that the activity of the thyroid gland is heavily influenced by the HPA axis, the body's unconscious "fight-or-flight" mechanism which is an <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.stressstop.com/articles/article1.html>"evolutionary response to stress"</A>.

<font color=blue>¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥</font color=blue>
Sorry, I gotta interrupt. As I was researching some trivia facts for this article I came across <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.orgonomicscience.org/therapy/flight.html>this site</A>. I stress, however, that the information incorrect, if not highly amusing.

If anyone is old enough to remember several books in the 1970s on UFOs and paranormal (parabnormal?) by Frank Edwards, they will remember "orgone therapy" (bptoo, I know that you-re old enough - and crazy enough - to have read these books, too)

Orgone was supposed to be some sort of aether-like substance (remember ether, as in ethereal?). This smart guy and scientist, Wilhelm (William?) Reich was a leading citizen and leading proponent of the health giving properties of orgone. I believe that it was claimed that one could somehow siphon (attract?, concentrate?) this energy into oneself and it would prevent one from getting ill. I think that Reich sold time in his orgone chair, room, or something like that.

As with much of homeopathy and many other alternate/natural therapies, orgone therapy was to be used when healthy to "prevent", not "treat" an illness. It is a hard call to prove the one remains healthy because of the therapy, or because that person is actively taking better care of themselves (as evinced by going to the trouble of doing the therapy). A person who becomes more self-aware (to a point) usually is a healthier person.

I had forgot about orgone therapy, and can't fathom why people would believe still believe in a theory that had been so totally crushed by a Mr. Einstein's mathematics.

Sorry, just a trip down memory lane (sigh, even my reminiscenses are dull and geeky). Back to some closing comments ......
<font color=blue>¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥</font color=blue>

Too much stress on one's body overworks the (hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis) and can result in <A target="_blank" HREF=http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/177/6/482>major depression. Many other disorders are also associated with a malfunction of the HPA axis. For example,, certain <A target="_blank" HREF=http://216.239.37.104/search?q=cache:RvWpLuSYEeMJ:www.rheuma21st.com/downloads/cutting_edge_hpa_axis_cutolo.pdf+"HPA+axis"+"mechanism&hl=en&ie=UTF-8>rheumatic disorders</A>, <A target="_blank" HREF=http://://www.cushings-help.com/HPA_axis.htm>Cushing's syndrome</A>, , <A target="_blank" HREF=http://cogent.stanford.edu/hpa.asp>psychotic depression, and a host of <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.biopsychiatry.com/hpa.htm>other disorders</A>. It is thought by many researchers that the breakdown of the HPA axis is involved in major depression.

I hope that you can find the information that you are looking for. - Cam
P.S. Here is some more info on <A target="_blank" HREF=http://thyroid.about.com/blsynthroid.htm>Synthroid</A>



To fully understand a concept is to be unable to convey it's intricacies verbally; only when one can sense it emotionally, does one understand.