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Too much reality television

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Gary S. Hosty*
Affiliation:
Shelton Hospital, Shrewsbury, email: hosty@tinyworld.co.uk
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Abstract

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Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2010

C. J. Jung, among others, commented that people cannot stand too much reality. Two recent admissions to our adult acute ward illustrate a related point regarding ‘reality television’. Recent years have seen a marked increase in the quantity of such programmes, many of which contain content of a stigmatising nature.

The first case was a 24-year-old man who presented for the first time with persecutory delusions, including the belief that the hospital was a television studio. His family identified his appearance on a daytime talk show 3 months earlier as a contributory precipitant to this episode. During the programme the man had been exposed to a prolonged period of negative comments by the presenter in front of a live, as well as the TV, audience.

The second case was a 35-year-old man who had appeared on a talent show during which his audition performance had been severely criticised. He himself linked the subsequent deterioration in his self-esteem, and his feeling that people in his community saw him in a negative light, to the experience. His admission followed an episode of self-harm and he was admitted with predominantly depressive symptoms.

The British Medical Association has argued for the banning of boxing owing to the risks involved. I wonder whether the Royal College of Psychiatrists should take a similar view towards programmes that present public humiliation as entertainment.

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