For Styron, it began with gnawing perception that all was not right in his world. Gradually it evolved into full-blown pain, at once unfocused and unbearable, he says.
For others, depression descends like a fog. They withdraw, become fatigued, sleep too little (or too much), shun food (or overeat), lose interest in friends, family, life itself. Their voices flatten. In late stages of the disease they take on what psychiatrist Peter Kramer, author of Against Depression, calls a “typical look. Blank stare, downcast eyes, knitted brow. Head supported by a hand, or face masked by one. This expression is one that artists have depicted for centuries, what doctors call the facies of the illness.”
Between 18 and 20 million Americans—17 percent of the population—suffer from depression, women more than men. Worldwide, depressive illnesses account for 75 to 85 percent of all suicides. Uni-polar, or clinical, depression is one of the top five leading causes of disability on our planet. Together with bipolar disorder, or manic depression, it is costlier and more burdensome than any other ailment except cardiovascular disease.
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