I just got an e-mail from a friend who had stumbled upon this entry and was wondering if my depression was similar. Fortunately for me, I do not have any computer games on my computer, but if I did - well, let's put it this way: since I discovered Amazon.com's Recommendation Wizard less than a week ago, I've spent at least three or four hours compulsively typing in names of books and then rating the books they come up with. Click, click, click, book after book - it's very soothing.

My new analogy for regular old depression (as opposed to yawning-void depression) is that it's like living on the planet Jupiter. You don't feel particularly different from other people; you don't curl into a ball crying at any sudden movement; you maybe even feel normal. At the same time, the gravity is so strong that just getting up to brush your teeth or go to bed is a major effort. I have had to coach myself mentally: "Come on, go into the bathroom, you can do it. Just brush your teeth, and then you can go to bed. Come on, get up..." Once I've been moving for a while, I can keep going, but if I slow down, that powerful gravity will get me again. And sleep is so nice...