Samarth Menon
One of the most important voices
in literature with regard to the normalization of mental health was troubled
author David Foster Wallace, an individual who suffered from depression himself
and committed suicide at the age of 46. Wallace’s postmodern magnum opus Infinite Jest still remains a monumental
achievement in the exploration of addiction and depression 22 years after
publication. Within the novel’s large ensemble of characters, one narrative
particularly shines through as a stark portrait of living with depression, and
that is marijuana addict Kate Gompert’s.
Kate Gompert is said to not just
suffer from clinical depression, but from a condition described as psychotic
depression. While for the sake of diagnosis, it is easy to label people with
terms like these; but for Kate Gompert and many others suffering from
depression, the reality extends beyond just labels. For Kate, she just
describes her condition as It,
remaining alienated from clinical terms. This is a consistent representation of
real-life depression, where patients suffering from the condition are often
unable to articulate their emotional state in clear terms.
A
line that stands out as particularly interesting is the following – “Its emotional character, the feeling Gompert describes It as, is probably
mostly indescribable except as a sort of
double bind in which any/all of the alternatives we associate with human agency
— sitting or standing, doing or resting, speaking or keeping silent, living or
dying — are not just unpleasant but literally horrible.” According to DSM-5
guidelines, one of the symptoms of depression is the inability to function
properly in everyday life, particularly with everyday activities. Wallace then
accurately captures the anhedonia associated with these activities – that it’s
not just that these activities are difficult to perform, but that they are
almost unimaginably impossible to attempt in the first place. The condition
takes away agency from the sufferer. The mindset which Wallace portrays here is
hard to empathize with for people who have not suffered from depression – most misconceptions
around depression revolve around depressed people being miscategorized as ‘lazy,’
so a description like this helps truly inhabit the headspace of someone who is
trapped in a situation such as this.
Empathy, and by extension, loneliness
and alienation is what Wallace tackles next in the narrative. Kate struggles to
empathize with those who are not depressed, and so she suffers from loneliness
as well. Clinical depression often results in the sufferer isolating themselves
from others, which results in their depression getting even worse. Even
identifying with other people with clinical depression becomes hard. As Wallace
describes, it is truly a “hell for one.” An insight into this mindset also
reveals why depressed individuals end up inevitably distancing themselves from
others. A description of this state goes a long way in humanizing those who
undergo this loneliness.
Lastly, Wallace dives into one of the
more worrying symptoms of depression – suicidal ideation and preoccupation with
death. For many, suicidal thoughts are hard to understand and grasp; suicide is
often seen as a ‘selfish’ act and one that shows weakness of character. But
Wallace manages to explain why people can be pushed into that particular state
with the help of a burning building analogy. If trapped in a burning building,
jumping out becomes a more desirable outcome than the flames. “It’s
not desiring the fall; it’s terror of the flames.” In depression, everyday living becomes so hard
that the pain of existence is more terrifying than death. A peek into this idea
goes a long way in helping understand and further figure out ways to reduce
this fear itself.
The entire
description of this anhedonia of existence goes a long way in helping
understand how severe depression manifests in people. Wallace takes research
that has been present for decades, and mixes it with a highly personal
narrative in order to bridge the gap that exists between depressed and
non-depressed people. The DSM-5 symptom list can often make this condition seem
highly mechanical and machine-like. Infinite
Jest makes sure that there is an attempt to explain what emotional state
depression can often put people in, and why it can be hard to explain and get
out of as well. The novel then goes a long way to bring this empathizing with
mental health into mainstream conversation.
References
Wallace, D.F. Infinite Jest.
Depression Definition and DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.psycom.net/depression-definition-dsm-5-diagnostic-criteria/
Depression and Anhedonia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-sense/200912/depression-and-anhedonia
Social Loneliness May Make the Depressed Even More So. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-antidepressant-diet/201706/social-loneliness-may-make-the-depressed-even-more-so
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