Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Many films and series have included characters with depression. In an attempt to portray an illness that millions suffer from. However, like most things, depression is oftentimes inaccurately represented, or done so in a simplified, often surface-level and stereotypical fashion, leaving it less-than-relatable to those with a different presentation of the disorder. It also leads to a misleading image of how the disorder manifests. Every now and then, however, someone will get it right, offering an interesting new perspective.
House M.D. is an example of depression done right in media. Not only are there a number of characters that display depressive features, but there is a variety of features shown and the characters are treated as human. The presentation of their depression is dependent on their personality as well as life experiences, something that is often ignored in many depressed characters, who are written with depression as their main trait.
In House M.D. the most obviously depressed character is Dr. House. He’s frequently referred to as being miserable, and on numerous occasions we see the man as being misanthropic, sad and lonely. However, the most common symptoms of depression, such as lack of motivation, lack of interest, excessive sleep and anhedonia, are not present in House at all. In fact, he often shows the opposite of these symptoms. Throughout the entire series we see him constantly obsessed in one way or another. This includes showing strong interest in certain things — generally puzzles and schemes, but oftentimes his personal relationships as well. This may not sound like the actions of someone who is depressed, but it is a unique manifestation of his depression; as someone who’s sad but also easily bored, he fights the worst of his depression by keeping himself constantly busy and distracted. We also see that he pushes those closest to him away in a realistic manner. When he’s truly vulnerable and in need of a friend, he acts as though he doesn’t need anyone; but when he’s doing fine, he has no problems following Wilson around and annoying him for the fun of it. It’s made clear throughout the series that much of his depression is tied to his loneliness, so we see him latch onto the one person he feels understands him well enough to dispel some of that loneliness.
We see depression in Wilson too, in a potentially easier-to-understand presentation. Wilson hides his depressive symptoms, so it would be hard to say that he doesn’t have certain ones listed above, but we know he takes antidepressants, so he certainly has the necessary symptoms. His ability to completely shield his loved ones (House) from his own depression stems from his people-pleasing personality. It isn’t uncommon for someone’s depression to fly completely under the radar, especially if it’s someone who is very proficient at maintaining an image of being put together so as to prevent concern. Wilson is obsessive about maintaining this image as he doesn’t want to be a problem for anyone else, which is all too common in those with depression. They don’t seek help or support from loved ones because they don’t want to be a burden. House on the other hand, is fine feeling like a burden, but what he can’t be is vulnerable. This is oftentimes another important but complex piece of the puzzle for those suffering from depression.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Of course, a variety of other characters on the show may very well have depression. The most obvious one is Kutner, with an article dedicated to him here. We see that Taub too has a history of depression, with a referenced suicide attempt while in med school. Taub, however, is interesting because out of all the characters (aside from Cuddy and Amber), Taub seems to be the most capable of maintaining some semblance of joy, especially considering the various moving pieces in his life are almost always falling apart — namely his marriage. This adds another layer to House M.D.’s exploration of depression, as the person one may assume would be the most depressed, based on the state of his marriage, job and personal relationships in general, is doing arguably the best. This highlights the fact that while life situations can certainly play an important role in depression, they aren’t what determines someone’s depressive status.
Depression manifests in a variety of ways, and with a large portion of society having some experience with depression, it makes sense to branch out and try to portray the disorder in realistic and varied ways. House M.D. manages to capture a variety of presentations of depression through various characters while still maintaining their personalities and balancing the reality of multiple factors impacting the disorder and how it presents for different individuals. For a story to be interesting, the characters have to be interesting, and continuing to portray characters with the same surface-level traits gets boring. Approaching characters and their struggles and flaws with attention and nuance allows for much more interesting and realistic characters that people can be invested in. With media portrayals of depression, this means placing attention and care on how the characters’ personalities impacts their depression and vice versa, resulting in more variance in how the disorder presents, allowing viewers to see more of themselves in the characters.