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acitivist, addiction, advocacy, Advocate, botched, circus, drugs, entertainment, fame', famous, Justin Bieber, mental health, mental illness, mentally ill, my strange addiction, plastic surgery, psychiatry, psychology, reality television, sensational, television, writing
I have written many times about how people love the sensational side of mental illness – straitjackets, lobotomies, people screaming, asylums, etc. It is easy to point out the sensational side of severe mental illness, but what about other types of mental illness (or not-wellness) that we are only starting to see, and still don’t understand? What about the popularity of shows like Hoarders, or My Strange Addiction? It is as if we love to be voyeurs peeking into the lives of people with mental health issues, and the more bizarre the symptoms, the higher the ratings.
I think this trend of putting people’s illnesses on display for others to be entertained by is disturbing. We are treating mental illness like the old time freak shows at the circus that people bought a ticket to, and attend while never considering that the people who are the “freaks” are real live people, with intelligence, feelings, and dreams. These people who are on our televisions nightly are struggling with real issues that have taken over their lives.
While people are eating their popcorn and drinking their beers or sodas and watching these shows with curiosity, disgust, or possibly glee, the subjects of these shows are drowning in the symptoms of illnesses they can’t begin to manage.
I understand that people agree to go on these shows, and that no one forces them to, but the lure of fifteen minutes of fame and a paycheck are too much for most Americans to reject. I feel like we are preying on the vulnerable, or those people who would literally do anything for attention.
Two days ago I read about this 35- year-old man, Toby Sheldon, who spent over $100,000 on plastic surgery to look like the pop star, Justin Bieber. Toby Sheldon was on two reality TV shows, Botched and My Strange Addiction.
He was found dead in a hotel room a few days ago. The cause of death hasn’t been released yet, but there were drugs in his room, and I won’t be at all surprised if his death is ruled an overdose or a suicide (possibly the same thing).
Obviously, this man was not well. A person who is secure inside their own skin doesn’t pay huge amounts of money to look like someone else. Toby even admitted that he was addicted to plastic surgery. An addiction to changing your appearance is a symptom of a much bigger underlying problem.
Why would we pay this man, follow him around with cameras, and broadcast the symptoms of an illness in order to entertain?
Do we lack empathy? Do we lack compassion? Do we lack the ability to reach out to one another and do the right thing? Does watching someone worse off than ourselves make us feel better in some way?
I don’t know the answer to these questions, but as someone who could have easily been “fascinating” to watch while psychotic, I find this circus-like atmosphere inhumane.
Will we sell our hearts to be entertained? And if we will, what price do we pay?
A Journey With You 
When reality TV shows started to be popular, I hated them. I still do. Trumped up drama and talking, talking, talking about nothing!
it was with great pleasure that I read The Hunger Games because, essentially, it was a “reality” show, except the capital people were so detached from the gravity of the situation that they didn’t realize how painfully devastating the reality was. They watched people brutally kill each other or be killed by the elements—and enjoyed it. It was a fictional story, but grounded in truth. How insensitive are we becoming if we take pleasure in watching the pain of real people?
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Wow, this is interesting! I have never watched Hunger Games – I didn’t know this. Thanks.
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It’s based on a trilogy of the same name by Suzanne Collins. Excellent books and the movies did a good job capturing the essence of the books.
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I told my husband about it, and he saw the movies. I haven’t seen the movies or read the books. I have about six books on my list to finish before I buy any more, but I’ll add them to my list. Thanks.
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Reblogged this on Dream Big, Dream Often and commented:
Is society treating some mental illnesses like the old traveling Freak Shows? Maybe we need to stop gawking and start taking these illnesses seriously!
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I agree that mental illness shouldn’t be sensationalized, but your comment about Freak Shows is interesting. I don’t think it is entirely “entertainment”, or at least not the same entertainment as watching someone deliberately acting or playing a part. And it may not be lack of empathy or compassion, but rather the opposite: a desire to understand these conditions may lead to an understanding of all of our natures.
The fact that Freak Shows exist and have for a long long time shows a basic human interest in them. I can’t say with certainty why, but I personally have watched Hoarders and shows about addictions with fascination because I think seeing these conditions helps me understand something about myself. I may not share their particular version of mental illness, but I’m not so jaded as to think I’m “normal” and they’re not. There are no shows about my own condition to inform me, so I seek others’ conditions for information.
I guess some people do watch those shows to feel better about themselves, though. But if they do then perhaps that is their condition, a lack of security in their mental state such that they need to find others to compare themselves to.
My view is the problem with these shows isn’t necessarily the people watching them so much as the producers running them. They know people are fascinated with unusual mental conditions and they milk that vein for ratings, with little care how their treatment may leave the subjects of their shows. I like to think that Hoarders, at least, provides some expert help and maybe motivation for sufferers of this condition in exchange, but I have no doubt that when the reel is cut and they’ve moved on to the next case study, they don’t care what happened to the last person. And while expert help and motivation are positive things, we may not even fully understand all of the negatives that kind of public exposure causes.
This is why I think it’s important to support blogs like yours. You are making a positive difference, bringing information to us at your own pace without producers and without the exploitation and sensationalism. We need to understand these things.
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Thank you, Dave. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I do like to create an environment where people think and ask questions – that’s all. I don’t feel I have the “right way to live” or anything like that. I see things, and sometimes they sting and hurt a little bit, so I try to bring them up here for people to think about. I’m sure those shows have helped some people. I don’t know. They simply seem a little painful to me. Thanks for reading and for commenting!! I hope you have a nice weekend 🙂
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It feels like the wrong path for humankind….. Finding entertainment in mental distress.
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I know….sigh.
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Disturbing. Maybe people watch to feel better–thinking that they must be ok after all if someone else has such big or “bizarre” problems? It does seem wrong to exploit them. The shows do nothing real to help them even if they purport to. These are not documentaries, for sure.
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I don’t know why…sigh.
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It’s sad isn’t it? This article left me sad. I remember sometime in the past when I read about this late gentleman and his addiction to plastic surgeries and trying to llook like Justin Bieber and I said to myself that this is an accident waiting to happen. It hurts to see souls go to waste and those who encourage these forms of illness may indeed derive some vicarious pleasure from doing so 😦
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It is hard to watch sometimes, isn’t it? I don’t know why we make these shows so popular. It’s sad really.
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I ask the question too 😦
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Stigma and shame are the most expensive ‘sideshows’ I can think of. It amazes me how the mentally ill are not worthy of respect, but they are “priceless” fodder for exploitation, gossip and slander.
The local District Attorney of Dallas resumed work today after spending nine weeks in treatment for depression. She is being victimized and demonized for her absence from work while seeking help.
Recently I wrote a post about September being Suicide:Prevention month. I was heartened by the support and love it received. Oddly, it was one of my sisters that wrote two bewildering comments. Even within families there exist denial and support.
Thank you for writing this, Sweetie. We have to teach from our side of the room. Some people still refuse to acknowledge mental illness as a disease and not a lack of character. Everyone deserves respect, until they heinously injure the innocent.
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I agree!
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