I knew the continuing proliferation of reality TV shows was getting weird, but two university researchers have concluded that this aspect of our culture has created a “novel delusion” — people who think their lives are being filmed. It has seemed that more and more people act like they think they should be on TV, but these poor folks have really lost it.
We report a novel delusion, primarily persecutory in form, in which the patient believes that he is being filmed, and that the films are being broadcast for the entertainment of others. Methods: We describe a series of patients who presented with a delusional system according to which they were the subjects of something akin to a reality television show that was broadcasting their daily life for the entertainment of others. We then address three questions, the first concerning how to characterise the delusion, the second concerning the role of culture in delusion, and the third concerning the implications of cultural studies of delusion for the cognitive theory of delusion. Results: Delusions are both variable and stable: Particular delusional ideas are sensitive to culture, but the broad categories of delusion are stable both across time and culture. This stability has implications for the form a cognitive theory of delusion can take.
– Drs. Joel Gold and Ian Gold, Cognitive Neuropsychiatry
- “Patient 1,” the Golds write, was admitted to a psychiatric hospital after he went to a federal building in New York City seeking “asylum” from his reality show. He said “his life was like The Truman Show” and he demanded to speak to “the director.” He believed the 9/11 attacks had been faked for the benefit of his show, and he’d come to New York to see if the World Trade Center towers were still standing. If they were, this would be definitive proof that he was on a show.
- “Patient 3″ was a newspaper reporter. He believed his media colleagues were faking TV, print, and Internet news “for his amusement.” When hospitalized for his delusions (and for hinting that he might commit suicide), he thought his hospitalization was part of a “build-up” to a lucrative journalism prize he was about to win — he believed all his friends were in on the joke, and that everyone in the hospital was an actor. He tried to escape from the hospital so he could check the difference between real news on the outside and “fake” news he was receiving there. Drug treatment helped somewhat — by the time he was released, he said ‘‘there is an 80% chance that I will treat the hospitalization as if it is for real.’’
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69 Responses to A Cultured Delusion
Now on The Trail
Jamie, I’m riding Unstoppable this time.
Delusional, the word that best describes reality Television.
I guess that I shoulda woo-hooed.
Woo-Hoo !
“It’s all for you, Damian” -- The Omen
You had to know reality TV was a farce when Sarah Palin and Donald Trump got their own shows.
This is just sad. And how bad does it have to get for these people, what happens to them, before they’re convinced they’re on a tee vee show? And what causes it, and why? Is it ~because of~ the intense saturation of media culture at this point in time, or are the people who suffer from these delusions predisposed to mental illness? The report says “Particular delusional ideas are sensitive to culture, but the broad categories of delusion are stable both across time and culture. This stability has implications for the form a cognitive theory of delusion can take.” Hmm. Most of us lead pretty basic lives, all things considered, so I can’t help wondering where the disconnect is.
(A reality show about my life would be like watching paint dry…oooh, unless it was LAUNDRY DAY!!! Thrill as I sort lights and darks! Gasp as I match socks! WILL I USE FABRIC SOFTENER??? STAY TUNED. See? And I’m not the only one. Unless we’re sorting that laundry naked within a flaming circle of rotating knives, that’s pretty boring.)
I thought ‘As the World Turns’ was reality TV.
Carried over from the previous thread:
Romney Campaign Mocks Obama Team Over Clinton Statement
by Taylor Marsh
taylor, you calling bill an idiot? he’s the one who (at a nj pascrell rally) pointed out the dividenconquer strategy of the opposition. the below linked story reported
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/06/clinton-im-endorsing-obama-not-romney/1?csp=34news
one must wonder about she or he who sees idiocy in reasonable behavior.
Jace and XR I Have your horses.
So many of the “reality” shows seem to be giving people problems separating real from reel. Of course the new show “Person of Interest” is all about everyone being filmed all the time…
http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/06/sen_scott_brown_elizabeth_warr_1.html
A Cultured Delusion
craig, there you go cleaning the fridge again… never know what you might find…cultured and uncultured, but mold is never a delusion.
Dex,
My cousin Dennis was a recipient of Bill Veeck’s abundant goodwill while he owned the Indians in the 40s.
Dennis, like so many children of the era, was horribly afflicted with infantile paralysis. Veeck, saw Dennis and his dad making their way into Cleveland Stadium, stopped, and asked them both to share his box for the came. Such a memory!
Dennis was probably around twelve at the time. Veeck was an amputee--I don’t recall the cause. I do know he was a kind man and a magnificent impresario.
Veeck’s son Michael is also a very decent man. Mike (as he’s known) is a part owner with Bill Murray of the new St. Paul Saints -- not to be confused with the old Saints/comiskey white sox. The Saints are the most fun professional baseball franchise in the Twin Cities, and may be a better team than the 2012 Twin Senators. Mike has 7 siblings and half-siblings. With Bill added, that makes a team.
After attending Phillips Academy, Andover, Bill Veeck attended Kenyon College, like someone who frequently graces this Trail. However, Veeck dropped out early, when is father died.
The senior Veeck lost his leg as a Marine in WWII, when a recoiling howitzer crushed his leg. First he lost his foot. Through successive surgeries he lost the leg and part of the thigh. While in the Marines, he was still part owner of the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association.
Florida democracy suppression will continue.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/02/florida-voter-purge-federal-warning_n_1564131.html?ref=topbar
Who knows what advanced species could have evolved from the stuff in the back of your frdge, Craig.
We may have lost the cure for cancer, and the secrets of mind reading, telekenesis, and time travel, just so that you could impress a guy.
( :>D))<
Grot clutter vridge not your.
If you subtract all the vowels from the name reince priebus,
all you have left is
rnc pr bs.
Obama Campaign: Bill Clinton Wasn’t Endorsing Romney
Pat,
Taylor linked this in her piece! Why did the Obama campaign feel the need to forward President Clinton’s clarification, umm??? Taylor thinks its idiocy, i don’t know? As you said, one must wonder…
By the same standards Bill Clinton used to say Mittens is qualified he coulda said the same thing about Shrub
Thanks for the addendum on Bill Veeck, XR. It prompted me to go and read his quite interesting wiki bio.
I, of course, will always associate him with Cleveland, but that’s unfair. He belongs to every town where professional baseball has a decades-long tradition of being genuine, damn the torpedoes, fun!
I rather think that Romney had a job description at Bain.
I have no doubt that he carried out that job description to the letter and then some. In that he was a success.
It is the Bain model and Romney’s adherence to it and his defense of it that is so problematic for him.
When the only liquidity left in a company is the pension fund, and what ever can be borrowed against the assets of the company, and that money goes into the profits of some company like Bain and a small group of investors that is not success that is simply financial rape.
Mitt did his job for Bain very well, his job was to create money and profits for a few and misery for many.
In our system that is seen as acceptable and in some cases necessary. Mitts problem is that he tries to sell it as some sort of financial altruism that contributed to the collective good. It was and is , nothing of the kind.
xr, well done, old chap. to quote mr holmes
very timely for the great procession on the thames today is dr watson’s observation
speaking of queens and boating scenes
Not, to impinge on Jace’s wonderful choices nor throw water on HM’s festivities along the Thames, here is a magnificent version of Bach’s St Matthew’s Passion:
Oh, for the technologically curious, Bach did not need to write music for castrati; boys’ voices did not change until they were much older so they were able to handle the difficult passages they were presented.
Sunday Sublime.
A treat for the eyes, the ears, and for the soul. Enjoy!
Flatus and Patd,
Great selections, thank you.
jace
I’ve been listening (with one ear) to MtP for the past 45-minutes and I’ve yet to hear anyone mention highways in the context of the economy or economic recovery. wtf.
As a city finance commissioner in the early 90s, the last thing I wanted was being forced to accept additional paramedics and police officers when our personnel strength (IMO) was already adequate, and the fed funds supporting the increased slots would soon evaporate forcing replacement with non-existent local funds.
jace, thank you back. and for those who prefer their rimsky-like khachaturian on ice
flatus, the economic benefits of highway money infusion got buried by the flack about those american recovery and reinvestment act road signs. from both sides -- conservative media ranted about the signs costing so much and the other side couldn’t figure out that the signs were about the stimulus.
Flatus,
Highways and infrastructure are neither sexy or divisive. Won’t be hearing much about them this election season.
ps, that whole castrati thing was not all that it was cut out to be. There can be only so much sacrifice for one’s art.
Patd,
I like ballet on ice.
It’s all the fault of Republican economic policies
rinse repeat
Paul Krugman proves it
The Republicans are ridiculous
Off to encounter my weekly difference of opinion with St. Paul.
If you ever get a chance to take a narrow boat through the canals of the UK, they are a wonderful way to travel
Flatus and XR: My best friend’s ex-wife was the daughter of a White Sox office employee. It must have been about 1960 when the Sox had a “Dairy Day” with cow-milking contest and free milk for all the kids in attendance. The girl I mention got a photo taken with a giant glass of milk in her hand and Bill Veeck’s arm on her shoulder.
I know the national joke about Bill Murray paying a restaurant check for a stranger or doing some other strange thing and telling the person “You’ll never get anyone to believe I did this for you…” but I really did see him in Charleston, SC years ago when the new riverfront stadium was just a couple years old. I didn’t bother him because he was glad-handing the patrons in the good seats and I was way down the right field line. He and Mike Veeck also owned the Charleston River Dogs…Sturgeone knows all about this.
Critics From Base See Romney Pulling Punches on ‘Nice Guy’ Obama
by Ashley Parker
Darkness in the Sunshine State
By CHARLES M. BLOW
Delusional people have always been among us. People used to be (and many still are) very superstitious and believe all kinds of nonsense. Women really were burned alive because of the belief that they were witches or full of evil spirits.
ps… the wedding was fabulous despite the torrential downpours. It took place at a very old educational farm. The silo was retro fitted for functions with the most gorgeous posts and beams. The food was excellent.
There were windows all around where one could look out and see sheep, chickens, goats, rabbits, cows, horses, etc., etc. The couple love animals and it was perfect for them.
AP Deconstructs Romney on Solyndra
by Taylor Marsh
Tony… in the past I’ve teased Craig that his beloved state of Florida is a 3rd world banana republic. What never fails to surprise me is how hard Florida tries to prove me right…
renee, fla not even up to a 3rd world banana republic ranking according to this guys figures
http://www.bananas.org/f2/florida-banana-industry-growing-11464.html
but it does produce a lot of nuts
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/26/2817406/hail-to-our-newest-campus-useless.html
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/02/2829962/nude-face-eating-cannibal-must.html
lots of nuts
http://craigcrawford.com/2012/06/02/a-cultured-delusion/#comment-290414
Renee,Pat
Touche! Love living here but i just can’t believe how this state is governed! The property tax system sucks, Stand Your Ground law and concealed weapons permit abound, oh and these were just naming a few..
Our friend Pogo makes a very good case for Obama winning re-election without Florida, and he may indeed be spot on.
That said I would feel a whole lot better about his chances if Florida would get on board.
You gave us W. please don’t give us Willard.
Blame Florida’s out of control urban armadillos on wealthy pug-uglies.
http://craigcrawford.com/2012/06/02/a-cultured-delusion/#comment-290421
Jace,
I hear you about W and Florida! Its gonna be tough for President Obama here in Florida as things in this state are tough..Ah, the old question am i better off than i was 4 years ago is gonna be answered by a lot of swing voters along the I-4 corridor..Oh and in my gut i know the answer from most isn’t going to be to the Presidents liking..Maybe the President can start making a case for what a second Obama term will look like and how it will impact this state and the country for the better?? Oh but wait maybe his vote for me i’m not as bad as the Republicans and Romney will work for him? Didn’t work for Gore or Kerry…
Tony, what’s the attraction (for FL voters) of the I-4 corridor?
We are deluded as a nation. We call shows “reality” when they have no relationship to reality
Tony,
I think that you have it right. It may be time however for people to start asking are we better off as a country rather than am I better off than I was four years ago?
My situation has not changed appreciably in the last four years, but I would say that the situation of the country in general is improved.
I guess if people liked a stock market at 8000, unemployment at near 10 percent foreclosures into the tens of thousands per month, Detroit on the skids, two wars with no end in sight. Then perhaps things are not as good as they were four years ago.
One thing is for certain, if we continue to concentrate on the I rather than the we, and cast our votes accordingly, conditions are far less likely to improve.
If folks liked the way the country was four years ago, they need only vote for Romney. They will get their cake and they will eat too. Whether they like it or not.
Jace,
What a nice world it would be if people put country above self interest..Nope, Indy’s and non party affiliated will vote their own self interests, imo..Partisans will vote R or D no matter how terrible a politician might be..Sad really, its still about the lesser of two evils..I don’t like either person running for president and won’t advocate for either..
http://craigcrawford.com/2012/06/02/a-cultured-delusion/#comment-290424
Flatus,
Its strange and i can’t really explain it other than to say there is such a mix of people from around the country here..Seems there’s more swing voters along the I-4 corridor than anyplace in Florida..Don’t really know why that is?
Thanks, Tony. When we were there, I’d do everything possible to avoid the road which means that I don’t know a heck of a lot about the communities close to it.
A Cultured Delusion………. My efforts this spring.
I am way ahead of all you , the punks walked on my corn. I will heal all this . If you didn’t save your Blue Corn seeds, screw you.
I still have Blue Corn seeds, Lot’s of them.
This is your last chance.
Now we deal in fur-balls.
Flatus ………
The last flag I bought , has held-up. In a forty knot wind . It is wearing like a flag should.
Flatus ………
At 19th and Buddy Holly, your flag flies clean & free.
You bought every bit , the land-yard, the hooks, and the flag.
Flatus ……… Buddy Holly Ave., eats flags for breakfast.
Flatus ……… 4 Years ago I bet $ 400.00 on just some flags for breakfast.
Flatus …….. Now we changed the world . Our Tornado flags are trick.
They fly everyday .
We fly black flags with red tornadoes. In Lubbock, this will save us.