Reality TV Stars Often Suffer Enduring Trauma

This is a really great article and hopefully will educate the naive on the reality of Reality shows. The shows which truly upset me are the ones which expose children to this vileness so they can make a buck. Jon and Kate are the worst of the worst and deserve all the humiliation and shame but their kids are the biggest victims. Then you have the Kardashians who exploit the adventures of their sex tape performing slutty daughter who has absolutely no talent. The psycho mom and dingbat Bruce have no problem exposing their girls either just so they can make a buck. Children should be protected.

The truth is America is an increasingly sick and violent society with vanishing moral standards. No one in their right mind would expose themselves to the millions of deranged viewers who probably need more mental help than the contestants.

"I hope all of you who call this "rubbish" and "tabloid" know that you sound like you work for the reality shows! I'm guessing you're producers because you certainly don't read carefully."

The WRAP sucks! Or atleast this article sucks.
Clint, what a stupid thing to say about being producers. Just goes to show you how little you do know. What are you. Tina's husband or something? Only a relative would think that this article is genuine and thought out. It's copied directly from the tabloids. Sheesh, maybe you ought to read more.

Gina

Kathleen Zinck has made an important point: in our culture, your/my/their reflection in the mirror is more important than what is standing in front of it. That goes across the board, and raising kids to be resilient, to plant the conviction that there will always be people in a position to tell you what to do but no one has the right to tell you who you are, that you can keep your center of gravity inside yourself--it's a steep uphill climb.

A very sound study was done with the objective of assessing, using well-defined points of reference, the degree of narcissism (Narcissistic Personality Disorder) exhibited by media and performing figures, from well-regarded and very successful actors and actresses to those who just show up on TV. Observing their performances, behavior, and choices as the factors, they determined that the more long-term success and genuine ability and dedication to their craft, the less likely it is that the person will exhibit such evidence of narcissism. They identified the most narcissistic, and most likely to be narcissistic, those at the opposite end of the spectrum, as the Reality TV participants. So I'm not surprised that 11 Reality TV people have killed themselves or that Dr. Huysman has such a busy practice. For some people, negative attention is a close second to their desire for positive attention, but this kind of stripping away and exposure of the person's less savory characteristics and actions also engenders the kind of viciousness and hateful responses that are, to me, just as troubling and that the people who have been made totally vulnerable on the programs are the least likely to have developed resilience. I read certain comments and I almost despair at our culture. Alex Hailey (who wrote "Roots" and other famous works), a man who had had some profound acts of hate directed at him, had something surprising printed at the bottom of each page of his personal stationery: "See the Good and Praise It." Reality TV promotes and evokes the polar opposite of that worthy objective. So I choose not to watch--and therefore participate in--this humiliation of a human being as the price of possible riches.

I'm worried that nobody is seeing the big picture. American culture is so self involved because of the spiritual void in consciousness and culture. All media does is talk to itself, it's obsesses with itself and the players perpetuate each other, leaving a spiritual void in the soul that encourages us to look outwards, not inwards. This crisis will lead American further along their collective spiritual quest from emptiness to fulfillment.

I hope all of you who call this "rubbish" and "tabloid" know that you sound like you work for the reality shows! I'm guessing you're producers because you certainly don't read carefully.

The experts clearly stated that this kind of pressure and fish bowl experience can make even a sane, rational person slightly unhinged. It appears to me to be a bona fide syndrome.

Tell the truth, did you really know that this many reality show contestants committed suicide, or that the vast majority of them who survive the ordeal need intensive counseling? Of course you didn't. It's a legitimate article.

Larry King certainly seemed to think so.

The Wrap Rocks!

This is all a load of total rubbish, with a basic logical flaw at the center: that of confusing correlation with cause. Yes, I'd imagine a number of people who are on "reality" shows have emotional troubles down the line, but are the shows themselves the cause? Impossible to prove, and I'd have to guess that those that choose to be on these shows (and are chosen--obviously, calm, rational people would make for pretty dull TV) are far more unstable and likely to have serious mental/emotional problems than the public at large. In fact I don't have to guess, I know for certain. I'm also amused at "Jessica's" plight...how somebody could be so mentally fragile as to be as crushed by such a patently silly scenario is beyond me, or maybe she's in litigation and just believes what some lawyer tells her she's feeling...? "Jessica", if the people in your life who's opinions you care about watch, let alone believe what they see, on "The Hills" you have problems in your life. If I edited this website I'd pull this junk down fast, it's pretty embarrassing.

You promise so much from this "package", but deliver so little. This is "in depth"? Yet another reason this site is, frankly, worthless. This could have been so good and evocative, but was instead superficial and plain stupid.

Thankfully, the negative publicity given this subject hasn't slowed down production on my suicide-based reality show, "JUMP!!" (Fox, November)

Bob Buchhalzer
RatsAss Productions
(Pre-production for "Burnin' Loves", America's first crematorium sitcom)

What!?!? This is ABSURD!!

this is like 3rd grade reporting on a topic only Perez Hilton cares about. I thought this was an industry site??!?!

shame on you...

and btw, I think half of those people are STILL ALIVE!!

idiots

"Dr. Geoffrey White began working as a therapist on reality television programs like "The Mole" nearly 10 years ago. Now he screens potential cast members to make sure they're not too unstable."

So if they are only somewhat unstable then they pass muster?

Note to Bonnie:
What part about Heidi and Spencer are you referring to? I don't see any reference to them here, am I missing something?

I was on a Reality TV show, World's Strictest Parents, and I found it to be a positive experience. This show is different in that we weren't competing for anything, but actually trying to make a positive difference in the lives of others. We did what we could to confirm that the show would be organic and not a dramatic breakdown of staged scenes and distorted "reality". The production crew was great and the final editing of the show was impressive. Since then, we have recieved tons of emails, facebook friend requests, and phone calls... ALL positive! Now, we have the chance to help others around the US to be better parent, and better teens!

We were one of the lucky ones... and I feel bad for those that find themselves in "Distorted Reality TV" because it doesn't have to be that way...and STILL be entertaining.

Like a train wreck, I couldn't look away, and had to read this article. It is a shame, and reminds me of the problems child actors have growing out of their roles, and not being able to make the transition to grown-up actors (as opposed to adult actors, if you know what I mean).

I think an interesting follow-up would be to look at the people who have gone on to bigger and better things post reality show.

Also, we never hear about what the winners of these show are up to UNLESS something bad happens -- what about those who find success?

Jessica,

It's heartbreaking that you had to suffer this kind of emotional damage and professional outrage when you didn't even choose to be on the show. I can understand you not wanting more attention, but if it were me, I think I would be seeking some kind of redress.

These shows are awful and The Hills is probably the worst of the worst in my opinion. I don't think that anyone over the age of 12 would really believe that it's real and unscripted, yet those characters are able to make vapid look like a step up.

After reading this article, and your story, I'm convinced that reality shows are far worse than just the garbage I've always known they were.

Good luck,
T.E.

Hey Jessica!
Sorry to hear about your situation. I think we assume that employers really care about us, but they don't. It's all about the $.

Think about this, though:
- You know who you are and what you stand for.
- Those whom you trust and respect and vice versa know who you truly are and only wish the best for you.
- There are some who will laugh at your misfortune or choose to mock you or look down on you when you fall, falter or stumble. These people are not worth it.
- The rest of us take everything with a grain of salt and are supportive.

Hope things continue to improve for you.

PS: The Hills will not live on. It's not interesting enough to last the test ot time. It will eventually evaporate into the ether.

No worries.

Dear Sharon,

I happened to catch you on Larry King tonight, which is a bit odd as I do
not watch a lot of television.

I was on The Hills, rather against my wishes..... My boss made a deal with
MTV and as my office was one large space without a place to escape, and
because this was a business choice my employer made, I ended up a
"character" on the show. I have to say, it was a really horrible
experience, one that took me months to recover from. I was not terribly
familiar with the show and I also logically believed my employer had my and
her own company's best interest at heart. I, unlike the stars of the show,
actually worked in that office, sometimes 80 hours a week rather than their
2. My employer along with the Hills producers made it look as though I was
fired, and that a character was given my job. I cannot tell you how
humiliating it was. I felt so damaged from being lied to by my employer and
by the show producers, even a bit shocked that the girls on the show would
go along with this. I was approached by a tabloid magazine last summer to
give my side of the tale, and I politely declined their request as I told
them I just didn't want to have any more attention.

What I do think is important is that these show producers need to draw a
line between their characters who get hundreds of thousands of dollars and
clothing and product licensing fees vs. the normal, hardworking "real"
people. I do not know how our country allows these programs to call
themselves unscripted reality. This is completely not the case. The
producers were creative. They would text dialogue to the girls, they would
bring 3 outfit changes at a time to make it look like 3 different days. And
for me, they took footage of me from March, and edited with footage shot
without me in August, (I left the company in April) to stage this scene of
my having been fired and a 22 year old girl with no experience taking a
position of director in a PR firm.

Anyway, I did suffer from this. The situation affected my professional
and person confidence.it was extremely hurtful and disrespectful not only
to me, but to my family.
I just wish there could be better regulation for "reality" television and
as you all talked about on the show, some sort of counseling for people on
how to deal with it all.
Thanks,
Jessica

What a tragic illustration this is of our society and what we've become.

I like the last part about Heidi and Spencer. A perfect example. Spencer seems to be a Gary Busy in training. Only without the talent.