blog 4... Truman Syndrome

According to Newsweek Truman syndrome is similar to schizophrenia with paranoia and delusions, except with Truman syndrome the patients believe they’re a part of a reality show or being surveilled by a government agency and everyone is in on the joke. With shows such as “Candid Camera” and “punk’d” or the movie “Enemy of the State” it is somewhat understandable for people to think that big brother is watching. Being that there are so many ways to track and monitor a person’s every movement the possibility of unknowingly being televised doesn’t seem too farfetched. Truman syndrome is similar to the paranoid feelings that someone is behind you or that someone is following you that most people have it except it is greatly exaggerated due to it being a mental illness. If a person is already in early stages of schizophrenia and sees a reality shows plot that loosely mimics the events in their actual life their delusional mind would naturally assume that they are involved in a similar experience. This paranoia would progressively get worse when coincidences such as random video cameras pointed in their direction or they happen to see the same person more than once. The site I found my information on was a Newsweek site, so being that it is a trusted and respected news magazine I can only assume the website would be just as trustworthy. However this does not mean the message I am receiving is not distorted or manipulated in some form or fashion.