Salary expectations: how do you answer? - 13 months and counting

I have been out of work for 2 weeks and feel pressure to accept less. I am in St. Louis, in case local advice matters. I also do not want to sell myself short. Does giving a range hurt?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 13 months ago, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.