July 22, 2008

Being The Main Character In Your Own TV Show Is Sort Of A Delusion


Two psychiatrists, believe they have discovered a new, YouTube generation, delusion: believing you are in a secret reality TV show.

The article describes cases of people who believe they are secretly being filmed. 

"I realized that I was and am the centre, the focus of attention by millions and millions of people," explained one patient, an army veteran who came from an upper-middle-class upbringing."My family and everyone I knew were and are actors in a script, a charade whose entire purpose is to make me the focus of the world's attention."
The belief that they are being filmed certainly gives the person a sense of importance, or worth independent of and beyond the mundane life he lives in.  In other words, it allows for an inflation of identity without actually having to do anything.   Call it grandiosity

The patient added that he planned to climb to the top of the Statue of Liberty, and if his true love were waiting for him, the puppeteer strings would be cut. If she failed to show up, he would jump to his death.

Grandiosity is one explanation, but I submit that the important part of this delusion isn't the filming, but the "puppeteer."  The delusion isn't about self-importance, but rather an explanation for powerlessness.  I am being manipulated by the outside.  There's nothing I can do.

Consider that a delusion which enhances your importance might not be one you'd want terminated; but these cases have the termination of the delusion built in.

In "reality" (ha!) such cases are cognitive metaphors for maturity.  Only when you gain sufficient self-awareness and autonomy can you break away from the artificial, manipulated reality of adolescence.

"But these guys are 30 years old!"  Exactly.  Real adolescents don't need a delusion to tell them they're powerless.  But a 30 year old should be dealing with intimacy vs. isolation, but instead they're stuck back at identity vs. role confusion.

The delusion is the protection, not the empowerment.  It says, "don't worry, you haven't accomplished anything because the producers haven't put that into the script yet."  Ultimately, this YouTube delusion is the result of a fleeting awareness that you cannot choose your identity unless you back it up with actions-- that actions are identity.

When a narcissist has this awareness, he has two choices.  He can retreat into a protective delusion, such as this one; or he can convince-- read: force-- someone else to accept his identity even in the absence of actions.  "I am a tough cop!  Well, maybe not actually a cop, but if something went down in this mall, I could be like a cop, and that's just as good!"

You do not want to be the person the narcissist tries to convince.







Comments

When I was a kid I was pret... (Below threshold)

July 23, 2008 3:58 PM | Posted by Mary: | Reply

When I was a kid I was pretty convinced god was watching me all of the time (the bible school teachers and my mom had something to do about that also) I grew out of that idea, but I wonder if that delusion of god watching is related to the idea that TV is watching.

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That is a nifty modern upda... (Below threshold)

July 23, 2008 5:37 PM | Posted by spriteless: | Reply

That is a nifty modern update to paranoia. It doesn't seem to serve as much purpose as paranoia, though, as it doesn't actually pay off if it is true once. *checks behind self for cameras*

Vote up Vote down Report this comment Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
bring out the rum.theory ca... (Below threshold)

July 26, 2008 11:15 AM | Posted by Diane Abus: | Reply

bring out the rum.theory can aid but it is a bandage as opposed to a "sane" world.thanks for bandaging,

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I"m in the mood after the r... (Below threshold)

July 26, 2008 6:27 PM | Posted by Diane Abus: | Reply

I"m in the mood after the rum to add in, my support for and love for the many joys of You-Tube.
BI (Have a good week-end).

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And what is God, if not a p... (Below threshold)

August 6, 2008 1:42 AM | Posted by Anonymous: | Reply

And what is God, if not a puppeteer?
Isn't religion just the same? releasing you of your responsibility for your own life and actions. Everything that happens is God's will, it's in the script. Millions of adults believe in God, so why not believing in youtube? Does it make less sense?

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The world is a stage....</p... (Below threshold)

August 7, 2008 12:00 AM | Posted by Dragonfly: | Reply

The world is a stage....

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in the world, everyone will... (Below threshold)

September 8, 2008 10:02 AM | Posted by Propecia: | Reply

in the world, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.

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Just a variation on paranoi... (Below threshold)

September 9, 2008 12:21 PM | Posted by Chris: | Reply

Just a variation on paranoia... how is this any different than the delusion that god is watching you, and scripting everything in your life? Replace "god" with "producers" and you have the same thing. The fact is, many things in our lives are beyond our control. The healthy person acknowledges this, and takes action based on what they can control. The unhealthy person uses this as an excuse for inaction, as a rationalization for failure, or just freaks out.

Yes the world is a grand conspiracy, with you at the center... but you still have to go to work and pay the bills, and be nice to people. Don't forget that.

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