The availability of information on drugs has led to an increase in opinions about drug addiction. In House M.D., the main character, Dr. House, struggles with drug addiction in a way that is not common throughout television. Drugs allow Dr. House to function while enhancing his cognitive abilities, and ruining his compassion toward others. In the United States alone, there are over 14,000 drug addiction facilities, and yet every year, more people struggle with addiction. House M.D. is a show that brings awareness to the disease while creating drama that revolves around his addiction. Drug addiction is represented as a flaw and strength in House M.D., as it keeps Dr. House’s brilliance alive, but ruins his relationships.
To start, drug addiction
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House prides himself on doing what he wants when he wants while on Vicodin. Along with that, he is never wrong. During his attempt to wean himself off of his addiction, he gives in to a parent’s request to do an MRI with contrast. This test resulted in a simple diagnosis of dehydration being missed(Shore S5 E16). Given that House prides himself on his work, he came to the realization that his life depended on the drugs he was addicted to, and needed to find a new solution. Now, detoxing came into the picture for him. After not much time trying to detox on his own, House realizes that this isn’t something he can fight on his own. “Late episodes within the series confront withdrawal and recovery head-on, and it’s not a pretty picture. Sometimes, it’s nearly impossible to tell where his hallucinations end and reality begins(Mclean-Green, Green).” These hallucinations cause problems with relationships in his life and result in him putting his dignity aside to fix himself. So, he checks into a rehab facility where he fights absolutely everything to try and get his own way. After a grueling battle at the facility, House “graduates” and can finally return home. Fortunately, his detox allowed him to get back on his feet in order to allow himself to function properly at his job and in the real world. For House, the moral was that drugs were not going to fix his long-term