*
Randy watches TV too, constantly. At least since he went on stress leave.
“Guess I’m kind of a couch potato,” he says. “I watch a lot of cable. Mostly
educational stuff, like the History Channel, or those animal shows, or the
ones about Egypt. And Jeopardy. I always watch that. People say I should
try out, since I usually know the answers.” He snorts. “Yeah, right. As if I
could handle that kind of pressure.”
*
Carol would rather move the couch than sit on it. She’s always busy. “You
know how it is,” she says, shrugging her shoulders. “Always something to
do. Everybody needs something.” Between phrases she forces her face into
smiles that are too big, too bright, and show too many teeth. “There’s my
family, of course, and my job. I do a little volunteer work at the church, and
the PTA, and then there’s Scouts.” As she enumerates the demands on her
time, Carol seems to be scanning the room to see if anything needs straight-
ening or dusting.
*
Kinesha awoke from troubled dreams to find herself transformed. “One day
everything was pretty much okay, and the next it was like I was empty
inside. I don’t feel anything. I’m just kind of going through the motions. I
get up, get the kids off to school, and go to work, but it’s like nothing matters.
I can’t think; most of the time I don’t even know what I’m doing. It’s like
I’m not really there.”
WHAT’S WRONG WIT HT HESE PEOPLE? Any clinician will tell you with-
out a moment’s hesitation. They’re depressed.But what’s that? How can the
same disorder cause people to smile or cry, sleep too much or hardly sleep at
all, pig out or starve themselves, work all the time or stay glued to the couch?
Concerning Major Depression, DSM-IV says that “five (or more) of
the following symptoms have been present during the same two-week period
and represent a change from previous functioning; at least one of the
symptoms is either (1) depressed mood or (2) loss of interest or pleasure.
146 ❧Explosions into Sadness