Celtic Soul, "pity" to me implies a Victorian sensibility and with it an implicit objectifying sense of superiority.

No surprise there Spaw, the prevailing attidudes towards mental disorders, even transient ones, more often than not, are couched in shame, hence euphamisms. Guess they just couldn't quite get their toungue around saying something in public such as "bipolar disorder/manic depressive" or just plain "depressed". Then again, they could have just said "she has the vapours".*BG*