Interestingly, this is the same arc as the Batman of the Nolan-verse.
He begins
fairly well-adjusted. He's using an eccentric and unorthodox method, but he's sane and in control of his actions.
After successfully becoming a symbol of hope and a deterrent against crime, he finds hope in his work through his friendship with Rachel Dawes and his belief in Harvey Dent.
After he loses his closest friend, and Dent is corrupted, his world becomes darker and he turns his own symbol into a lie, and he breaks emotionally.
Eventually, after Bane's Knightfall/NML, he picks himself up again and regains the optimism of his early years and finds a new lease on life.