"Can you turn that razor-sharp insight onto yourself, Doctor House?"

[Skald_the_Rhymer]

Well, actually it was Hannibal Lecter who was asked that question. But never mind.

Every so often, someone on House will comment that the title character is not simply a jackass, but actually insane. Cuddy & Cameron, in particular, have both commented that it’s insane to expect him to behave in a sane fashion; and you can often almost hear Wilson thinking, “Maybe I should just taser him and drg his ass to an asylum. The only people who’d try to stop me would be the people who want to kill him instead.”

But insane is a hugely broad, terribly imprecise term. Let’s diagnose Greg House, based on the information available. You can just say where you think he appears in the DSM-IV, or you can speculate on what traumas you believe led him to his current state.

Thoughts, anyone? Bueller?

[panache45]

The possibilities are endless . . . virtual lack of superego, fear of intimacy, fear of commitment, fear of failure, xenophobia, etc., etc., etc.

Was probably dropped on his head as an infant.

[C.Montgomery_Burns]

Total bastard? Mega-bastard? Bastard coated bastard with bastard filling? (with apologies to Dr. Cox from Scrubs)

[hobscrk777]

@panache45

… fear of intimacy, fear of commitment, fear of failure,

Those are signs of psychological abnormality???

[Annie]

Schizoid personality disorder?

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

High functioning drug addict, who needs to hold it together at work, and continue to look brilliant, to protect his source of drugs and reassure himself that he’s not really an addict and it’s okay to take drugs the way he does. But avoids other entanglements, lest it gets revealed that he’s got a problem.

Oops, sorry, that was my diagnosis 20 years ago.

Who’s this House guy again?

[Lamia]

I’m not a regular House watcher so I don’t think I’ve seen the full range of his behavior, but I’d be inclined to rule out Schizoid personality disorder as well as Asperger’s syndrome or any autism spectrum disorder.

House doesn’t seem to have any difficulty in communicating with other people or understanding their thoughts, feelings, and personal motivations. But rather than use his understanding to help him get along with others, he uses it to needle and insult them instead. House isn’t indifferent to the feelings of others, he deliberately tries to make them feel embarrassed and angry.

His drug problem is of course a major issue in and of itself.

[Wendell_Wagner]

He has lupus.

[Beware_of_Doug]

He has R. Lee Ermey for an old man.

[cochrane]

@Beware_of_Doug

He has R. Lee Ermey for an old man.

Well, he had. The old man passed away. (Not R. Lee. The senior House character died.)

But yeah, he had issues with that, especially once he began to suspect he really wasn’t his biological dad.

[Alessan]

@Beware_of_Doug

He has R. Lee Ermey for an old man.

Not only that, but he’s a Army brat - the kind whose family dragged him to a new country every four months.

[Small_Clanger]

@Wendell Wagner

He has lupus.

It’s never lupus.

[Gyrate]

He has Granny Weatherwax Syndrome: feeling superior to everyone else but constantly testing others in the secret hope of finding someone who will best him.

Or maybe lupus.

[Captain_Amazing]

Sociopathy/Antisocial Personality Disorder comorbid with drug addiction:

Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest;
Deceitfulness, as indicated by repeatedly lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure;
Impulsivity or failure to plan ahead;
Irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults;
Reckless disregard for safety of self or others;
Consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations;
Lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another.

[TruCelt]

Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD)

From Wikipedia:

DSM IV-TR criteria
A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:[1]

1 has a grandiose sense of self-importance
2 is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
3 believes that he or she is “special”.
4 requires excessive admiration
5 has a sense of entitlement
6 is interpersonally exploitative
7 lacks empathy
8 is often envious of others or believes others are envious of him or her
9 shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes

I would say only number 4 doesn’t fit, and 5 out of 9 is considered diagnostic.

Also from Wiki:

NPD is considered to result from a person’s belief that he or she is flawed in a way that makes the person fundamentally unacceptable to others [5]. This belief is held below the person’s conscious awareness; such a person would typically deny thinking such a thing, if questioned. In order to protect themselves against the intolerably painful rejection and isolation that (they imagine) would follow if others recognized their supposedly defective nature, such people make strong attempts to control others’ view of them and behavior towards them.

Pathological narcissism can develop from an impairment in the quality of the person’s relationship with their primary caregivers, usually their parents, in that the parents were unable to form a healthy, empathic attachment to them.[citation needed] This results in the child conceiving of themselves as unimportant and unconnected to others. The child typically comes to believe that he or she has some defect of personality which makes them unvalued and unwanted [6].

Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is isolating, disenfranchising, painful, and formidable for those diagnosed with it and often those who are in a relationship with them.

He is using the drugs to compensate for a compelte lack of attachment to other humans; and o self-medicate his emotional pain.

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

It’s really difficult to make any psychiatric diagnoses until the mood-altering drugs are out of the system for at least 6 months. Active addiction mimics many psychiatric disorders.

[Skald_the_Rhymer]

@Qadgop_the_Mercotan

It’s really difficult to make any psychiatric diagnoses until the mood-altering drugs are out of the system for at least 6 months. Active addiction mimics many psychiatric disorders.

Don’t bother me with facts.

[CalMeacham]

“Can you turn that razor-sharp insight onto yourself, Doctor House?”

---

Well, actually it was Hannibal Lecter who was asked that question. But never mind.

Nitpick – it was Agent Starling who asked it of Doctor Lector.

[Skald_the_Rhymer]

@CalMeacham

Nitpick – it was Agent Starling who asked it of Doctor Lector.

I didn’t say that Lecter asked the question. I said he was asked that question. You’re familiar with the passive voice?

[Fish]

I was told that the passive voice was not permitted.