Depression has recently expanded beyond psychiatry to become a general medical problem. Psycho-emotional stress is the main factor that provokes anxiety-depressive disorders. There is a two-way connection between the psyche and the somatics: mental disorders affect somatic functions, and somatic diseases, in turn, affect the state of the psyche.
 In this article, the author pays attention to the most common gastroenterological diseases associated with mental disorders. They include: peptic ulcer, functional (gastroduodenal) dyspepsia syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, functional forms of chronic duodenal obstruction syndrome, chronic cholecystitis and associated extrahepatic biliary dyskinesia.
 As for the digestive system, psychosomatic disorders are manifested by nausea and vomiting, belching, flatulence, abdominal pain, rumbling and splashing in the intestines, constipation or diarrhea, dry mouth. Anxiety-depressive syndrome in patients is characterized by dyssomnia, chronic anxiety, bodily discomfort, hypothymia, synestopathy, somatoform disorders, frustration, alexithymia, etc.
 The main criteria and diagnostic tools for depression are described (international classifications, self-assessment scales, diagnostic tests).
 In addition to the basic individualized therapy for somatic diseases, patients usually need additional prescription of psychotropic drugs and psychological support. The main technique of treatment is psychotherapy (less often — hypnotherapy). Only upon the ineffectiveness of psychotherapy, doctors should resort to the appointment of psychotropic drugs of four different groups: anxiolytics, antidepressants, “small” antipsychotics, nootropics.