Your life isn't being filmed - Truman Syndrome

[BridgeTheGap]

NEW YORK — One man showed up at a federal building, asking for release from the reality show he was sure was being made of his life.

Another was convinced his every move was secretly being filmed for a TV contest. A third believed everything (the news, his psychiatrists, the drugs they prescribed) was part of a phony, stage-set world with him as the involuntary star, like the 1998 movie The Truman Show.

Researchers have begun documenting what they dub the "Truman syndrome," a delusion afflicting people who are convinced that their lives are secretly playing out on a reality TV show. Scientists say the disorder underscores the influence pop culture can have on mental conditions.

"The question is really: Is this just a new twist on an old paranoid or grandiose delusion ... or is there sort of a perfect storm of the culture we're in, in which fame holds such high value?" said Dr. Joel Gold, a psychiatrist affiliated with New York's Bellevue Hospital.

In the last two years, Gold has encountered five patients with delusions related to reality TV. Several of them specifically mentioned The Truman Show.

http://www.kentucky.com/148/story/604894.html

[FSogol]

1. Wait a minute. I'm not being filmed? Woohoo no reason to limit my actions to society's mores!

:woohoo:
:beer:

[n32571]

2. It's not paranoia if they are really out to get you...

a friend of mine who is on total disability had a visit the other day by an investigator who showed her a video they had made of her going about her daily routine. The video showed her being picked up by my mother to be taken to a doctors appointment. They then went to lunch and did a little shopping. At one point in the video, the investigator was less than five feet from her in the store. I have not spoken with my friend yet and was told of this visit by my mother. There was nothing incriminating on the video and she really is disabled. So, maybe the guy is the star of his own reality TV series.

[NoodleBoy]

3. sometimes insurance companies do that when they find something suspicious about claims

and it's saved everyone a lot of money and caught quite a few frauds.

[Orrex]

5. Why did the investigator break his cover?

[n32571]

6. I've not spoken with my friend yet, but

I assume "they" just wanted to let her know that "they" do check up on people to make certain that disability claims are not being abused. I think we've all seen the news clips where dishonest people on disability act injured when they think they are being observed but are skiing, weight lifting, etc when not. BTW, I received my info from my 71 year old mother. Details are not her specialty. My friend is currently away for treatment at Shands Hospital at the University of Florida. When she returns, I'll get more details.

[Orrex]

7. I can see 'checking up' on people as a means of combatting fraud, but

The kind of strong-arm intimidation that you're describing is bullshit.

Also, I didn't mean to seem like I was questioning your story--sorry!

:grr:

[n32571]

8. No apology necessary, I'm in total agreement with you.

I might understand if "they" had discovered fraud. But, to show up just to let her know that she is being watched is total BS. If someone wants to get the word out that fraud will not be tolerated, I think a more effective method would be to let the mass media report such cases, not individual intimidation.

[Orrex]

4. Just what we need...

More attention drawn to that over-praised snooze-fest of a movie.

[groovedaddy]

9. I fell asleep during it...how did it end? n.t

[Orrex]

10. He threw the Mask into the river, and the dog retrieved it