Why do so many reality TV celebrities struggle with their mental health?
With stories coming into our feeds everyday of another celebrity sharing the struggles, we look deeper into why reality tv celebs find their mental health a struggle.
To find the answer, it’s important to first understand something called Locus of Control. Our LoC describes, broadly, how we view the world from one of two perspectives: first, someone with an internal LoC views themselves as being in control of their live and mental health.
They process life events such as success at work or in a relationship as being down to their hard work and dedication. They don’t look for external factors to explain success or failure, but instead look within themselves for an explanation. They feel in control of life and powerful in the face of adversity.
By contrast, someone with an external Locus of Control processes life events in a subtly different way. They view events and their mental health as happening to them – they feel like they have less control of their life compared to someone with an internal LoC.
They derive their self-esteem, which is really just what we think about ourselves, from external sources such as attention from friends or fans, social media interactions and other people’s opinions of them. Typically, as their self-esteem is informed by external sources, it can vary hugely depending on what that person has read about themselves that day, their latest ratings or if their agent has called about new work.
Comparing the two outlooks, research shows that people with an internal LoC are less likely to suffer from poor mental health and are more likely to have a positive, healthy outlook on life. They’re less likely to experience the extreme highs and lows that characterise someone living with poor mental health and who feels like they have little control over events in their life – this is a classic external stance.
So, how does this tie in with the many people in the public eye suffering from poor mental health?
Reality TV shows are heavily skewed to promote and develop personality traits that would be indicative of an external locus of control and this presents a problem to those taking part or looking up to those who do.
For example, the voting system used on many popular shows is entirely based upon that person’s public persona and their behaviour over the past day or week. The public are essentially passing judgement, en masse, of that person and everything they are at that moment.
To those taking part in such shows, this system of external judgement must seem to be totally out of their control and adding to any existing sense of powerlessness or helplessness they may feel about their life. It’s teaching the contestants and viewers some deeply unhealthy lessons about mental health and how much control we have.
The people taking part in such mainstream shows are often comparatively young, in their 20s, and still forming their ideas about who they are in life and developing the emotions, thoughts and behaviours that make up our mental health.
So they are often at a vulnerable, malleable stage in life when a major event, such as taking part in a TV show, will heavily influence their mental health and Locus of Control, skewing it towards a collection of external beliefs through the inevitable drama that drives big ratings.
Their self-esteem will also be fed by external factors rather internal thoughts about being a happy, stable, confident individual. Almost every facet of their existence in a reality TV-type environment is driving them towards externality.
And when someone who derives a lot of their confidence, self-esteem and, ultimately, happiness, from external factors, thus producing a deeply external Locus of Control, they often find it hard to manage their mental health in and out of the public eye.
A secondary factor also plays a large role: the use of ineffective therapies, and promotion of “talking” about mental health over recommending effective help. This was particularly noticeable after the death of Mr Thalassitis, who appeared in Love Island. Understandably, his friends were devastated and they urged anyone suffering poor mental health to speak to someone.
We’re not saying they shouldn’t be open about their mental health – we should all talk about mental and physical health with the same openness and lack of stigma – but unless your friend is trained to help someone with a mental health issue, the benefits are going to be limited.
Let’s be absolutely clear: talking about mental health with a friend or colleague may produce a short term benefit, but it doesn’t address long-term issues such as years of anxiety or depression.
Education, understanding and knowledge about how mental health works are very often the only things that will help most people overcome issues such as depression, anxiety and phobias.
Too often, the narrative stops at “talk to a friend” when it should be focused on driving people to get evidence-led help that really helps them manage their mental health so it works for them, not against.
But many reality TV shows are based around promoting hugely external characteristics and personalities – and then adding to their contestant’s sense of helplessness or lack of control by placing them in situations that might drive ratings but will be damaging to their mental health. They do this because people love to watch real drama unfold on their screens.
Until we stop watching shows that promote this unhealthy mindset, tragic deaths will continue. As a society, we must wean ourselves off this brand of entertainment – and out of the idea that mental health is a magical external force happening to us. This is a deadly combination.
The sad thing is that there is real help available that empowers anyone from any background to take control of their mental health through a series of easy-to-understand techniques and tools.
The Thrive Programme’s mental health training course does just that and has helped over 30,000 people worldwide achieve mental wellness. One of the key parts of the programme addresses issues with Locus of Control and helps people develop a healthy, internal outlook on mental health and life in general.
So, what best describes your locus of control: internal or external?
