The popularity of reality shows have given rise to a new type of mental illness, dubbed the "Truman Show" delusion, where patients think that they're being secretly filmed:
Anna North of Buzzfeed's SHIFT blog has the story: LinkNicholas Marzano believes he's the subject of a secret reality show, and everyone in his town of Hillside, Illinois is in on it. He's suing HBO in federal court for, in his words, "filming and broadcasting a hidden camera reality show depicting the day-to-day activities of plaintiff" without his consent. His suit, filed in April, alleges that HBO has hidden cameras throughout his home, installed controlling devices in his car, enlisted the help of local police, and recruited actors to portray "attorneys, government and law enforcement officials, physicians, employers, prospective employers, family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers," all so that their show about his life can continue. Marzano also says HBO is keeping him from getting a job or paying his bills, so that he will be forced to remain on the show.
He appears to be a perfect example of what psychiatrist brothers Joel and Ian Gold describe, in a paper published this week in the journal Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, as "Truman Show" delusion — sufferers believe they are "the 'star' of a reality television show secretly broadcasting their daily life, much like the main character in Peter Weir’s film The Truman Show." Between the movie's 1998 release and 2006, they saw five patients with the delusion, and news reports from around the world since then have turned up even more disturbing cases. With the increasing popularity of YouTube and reality TV, the Golds think the disorder is on the rise. "Truman Show" delusion may be the early 21st century's paranoia du jour.
Remembering what I can of my psychosis, things looked hyper real... kinda like being on mushrooms, but without things being swirly and trippy. My senses seemed to be heightened (even tho I was just thinking they were) and I kept connecting the dots between everything I knew and experienced and it just seemed staged. Everyone's conversations with me when I was manic, everything I saw, felt, dreamed, etc felt like a cartoon or some kind of sick reality t.v. show no one had ever heard of.
I also thought they were stealing thoughts from my brain and creating really awesome t.v. shows with it... silly brain and it's strange ego.
Mental illness is heavy stuff... but it's interesting to find out that other people suffer through the similar psychosis'. I wish I could read the full paper without purchasing it. However, I don't think it would be awesome television to show someone going through that horrible delusion. I'm still recovering.
That said, this dude needs to check his local listings. He won't find that show on any channel, HBO or otherwise.
I believed that I was an unknowing bit-actor in someone else's reality-show universe. My therapist had a field-day going through that one!
More like: "The I-found-an-excuse-to-sue-rich-companies Delusion"
Now I see why the US is quickly becoming the butt of many a joke world wide... you deserve all the ridicule that is heaped upon your nation... ID10Ts
My gods... I MUST BE THIS PERSON!
YOU WERE ALL HIRED TO MAKE ME BELIEVE THAT THIS WASN'T SO, BUT IT IS!
AAAAAAAaaaaaaahhhh... *runs off into the distance*