Batman’s depression (understanding his condition)

In this article, we will try to understand the uniqueness of batman’s depression and his journey to becoming our very own Dark Knight. We look at three important questions. 

• What does Batman’s depression look like? – a question to understand behavioral changes in Batman’s life as a result of the tragic event. 
• How did Batman cope with his depression? – this section of the article looks at batman’s coping skills and its peculiarness. 
• Finally, the question, what do we learn from Batman’s Depression, helps us to gain a sense of hope to fight the miserable state depression puts us in. Batman’s depression has helped the world realize the importance of friends and family. 

Batman’s depression 

Bruce Wayne a.k.a The Batman is one of the most cherished fictional superheroes published by DC comics. As a result of Batman’s depression, his need to fight crime out of Gotham City won the hearts of countless fans across the world. 

Since time immemorial every superhero in the history of human civilization has been subject to a tragedy. From Hercules in ancient Greek mythology to Batman in modern times have all faced tragic events changing their course of life. It is this tragedy that leads them on the path of becoming a hero.  

What does Batman’s Depression look like? 

A wealthy-playboy- philanthropist Bruce Wayne pledges to wipe out crime from Gotham city creating a new persona called the Batman, after witnessing the unlawful killing of his parents in Crime Alley. Succeeding this event a 12-year-old boy experienced difficulty in sleep and nightmares. Bruce was also seen to engage in self-harm activities showing possible signs of depression. Perhaps an obvious reaction to the trauma witnessed.

In addition to self-harm, his liking of death metal and drawing of disembodied heads dripping with blood show his disturbed conscience. Following this, a few more behavioral changes were seen in Bruce Wayne, a boy with troubled, emotional childhood. 

• Loneliness was his only friend: Batman’s depression made him push away the people who made his family. He preferred staying lonely. It was as if staying alone was the only thing known to him. 

His loneliness made him believe that no one will ever understand him. Therefore, making him commitment phobic and losing the chance of one true love. He dealt with his loneliness by engaging in insignificant, hollow relationships.                                   

Yet it was these people who had his back and kept him in check. From the day of his parent’s unlawful killing, Bruce had Alfred to take care of him. Alfred made sure that Bruce was given the right education and followed the right path. As a father figure and friend, Alferd was always there for Bruce. 

• Constant self-loathing for his parents’ death: We see that Batman constantly feels guilt for his parent’s slaughter. He relives the incident when he asked his parents to leave the opera soon, blaming their death on him. 

• Suicidal behavior: Besides, he is seen as someone with suicidal tendencies.living  with the guilt of his parent’s death, deep down Bruce Wayne believes that he too deserves death. He disregards his own safety as he calls in the Grapnel boost after the AR missions, even though the types of equipment are not field-tested. It is different to show confidence but such situations show carelessness towards one’s life. 

• Escaping his feelings by constantly working: Bruce gave no time to himself. When he was not on the duty of Batman, he would handle his billion-dollar company, Wayne Foundation, a philanthropic organization. He buried himself in work to have to avoid his feelings of loneliness and depression. 

How did Batman cope with his Depression? 

Although what catches the attention of the watchers is Batman’s take on depression. Our dark knight has an intriguing way of dealing with depression. He suffers various symptoms of depression like others but deals with them in the most distinctive way possible. We usually see patients with depression undergoing denial about their condition, but Batman was nowhere close to denying his depression. 

Batman uses the coping strategy of Sublimation given by Sigmund Freud. Sublimation referred to the act of using one’s negative energy into doing something productive. For example, someone filled with aggression joins a gym to take out all their energy, or a person with depressive thoughts maintains a journal. Bruce channeled his grief into a physical act and became the crime fighter of Gotham City,  home to drug dealers, corrupt businessmen, and the most famous villains like the Joker. He trained himself to become an extraordinary fighter and drive away heinous crimes from the city. 

Although not very legal in the eyes of the law, Bruce had pure intentions. Batman is known as the embodiment of violent justice. It was only understandable given the raw emotions he had experienced. The rage of a young boy led to the preparation of a  modern-day Gothic hero. 

Batman’s depression is an altogether different situation as he does experience a sense of hopelessness every now and then but unlike others, he does not restrict himself to his bed. On the contrary, he uses it as the fuel to move forward and find a purpose in life. Bruce was a successful businessman during the daytime and a methodical caped crusader-with-a-God-complex during the dark hours. Hence it wouldn’t be wrong to call him a high functioning depressive, also known as a persistent depressive disorder. 

In addition to the death of his parents, Batman’s depression worsened with the death of his adopted son  Jason Todd, terminated by the Joker. When Jason learned that his biological mother was alive, he went in search of her, only to find that his mother had betrayed him to the Joker. After the death of Jason, Bruce denied the help of his friends and family. No help from now on, he said, only eyeing for revenge. His grief consumed him and turned towards blind violence. It appeared that Batman had lost his ability to reason and logic, turning him into a dangerous hero.it was only after he defeated the Two-Face with his group of superheroes and an old butler did Bruce realize that he needed his family.  Bruce dealt with this by reinstalling his faith and opening up to the closest people in his world. 

What do we learn from Batman’s Depression? 

On the face of it, it is seen that Batman is the most resilient character, fighting his depression by making the world, in this case, the city of Gotham a safer place to live. Even after becoming a better man and fighting his own demons, Batman could not handle his grief all by himself.  The character of Batman appearing in American Comic Books destigmatize depression. When a man as strong, powerful, and wealthy as Bruce Wayne can suffer from depression, it makes us wonder about people who find themselves helpless. Batman’s depression makes us cotton on to the fact that depression is a terrible, yet common disorder. 

One can say that it was his obsession with driving filth away from Gotham City that helped him deal with his depression. He undoubtedly came out stronger and mentally fit. Perhaps using sublimation was the right choice. This shows us that one can come out of the darkness into the light. Batman’s way of dealing with his depression creates awareness among his fans that, even though it feels like you have hit rock bottom, you can certainly rise. 

We have seen that Batman’s depression has caused him to push away all those closest to him. But it is through his journey that we draw a realization on the importance of sharing one’s feelings. Bruce has struggled and walked a cold dark path all alone, only to find out that the path would have been much easier if he had shared it with his family and friends.

Throughout his journey, his network has acted as his support system. Batman has been throwing light on the trend we call today ‘ talk it out’ since the 1980s. Batman’s depression teaches us that talking to someone we trust will not solve our problem, but it most certainly eases the path we are on. It is as simple as lifting a heavy object alone versus with the help of someone. You no doubt have to go through the hardship of lifting it, but the idea that you are not all alone eases it.

Some of the greatest heroes of human civilization have suffered from depression and other mental disorders, yet have flown, some quite literally with bright colors. Batman gives us the strength and courage to do so as with the help of his family, a symbol of darkness, a man under a black bat costume, takes a step towards the light, willing for a brighter future becoming the world’s greatest detective.

Conclusion 

In this article, we have looked at the uniqueness of Batman’s depression and his journey to becoming our very own Dark Knight. 

FAQs: Batman’s depression

Citations 

Rosenberg, R. (2012, July 11). Batman’s Mental Health Part 2. Retrieved from Psychology Today : https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-superheroes/201207/batmans-mental-health-part-2

The High-Functioning Depressive: How Batman Copes With His Mental Health. (n.d.). Retrieved from The Comic Vault : https://thecomicvault.wordpress.com/2018/11/29/batman-depression-mental-health/

Tony13. (2016, July 4). What Batman can Teach Us About Depression. Retrieved from The Artifice : https://the-artifice.com/what-batman-can-teach-us-about-depression/

Pozios. V, Kambam. P. (2014, October 11). We Asked Psychiatrists to Decode Bruce Wayne’s Emotional Problems in Gotham. Retrieved from Wired : https://www.wired.com/2014/11/gotham-bruce-wayne-psychoanalysis/