Read some of his interviews from 97. He was 100% serious about how fucked up he was. I dont think the media pushed the image of him being depressed. They mostly pushed the whole goth vampire darklord image more than the fucked up depressed image
http://theninhotline.net/archives/ar...cle.php?id=671
"I'm probably more sad right now than I've ever been, because I have the added baggage of ... this didn't fix it, you know? Like I always thought, "Man, if I could ever be a rock star..... Some stupid f**kin' naive dream, and then you get it and ... I've been at the lowest point, and I'm not just saying this; it didn't work, man. I mean, my job Is ... I wake up and make music and work with people I respect, and David Bowie will take my call, so why .. do I want to kill myself, you know? It sucks."