Community: Real Life

Big Brother's mental state


Muzakkir

Muzakkir is about to start his third year at University where he's studying BA Journalism and Contemporary History. Muzi, as he likes to be called, has been doing some work experience at TheSite.org and learning all about the online world of journalism.

Muzakkir thinks it's completely un-ethical to allow people with mental health problems to go onto Channel 4's Big Brother and be ridiculed by the public.

Millions of us have watched Big Brother 7 with sheer delight to see who would be the next contestant to suffer a breakdown or spontaneously combust. Although it might have made for great viewing, Channel 4 should be rebuked for its treatment of those with mental health issues.

Five of this year's housemates have had, or still have, a history of acute psychological problems. Is it right that Channel 4 was allowed to exploit human fragility for the purpose of entertainment?

Anorexia, Tourette's, suicidal depression and a desperate bid to gain other people's approval, were just some of the health problems we bore witness to or that many of the housemates have experienced in the past.

Shahbaz Chauhdry, for example, was placed on suicide watch after threatening to kill himself on the show. The self-proclaimed "Paki poof", who has low self-esteem, struggled to handle rejection. He said: "I am a dead man walking. This is my last curtain call. I came here to die on this programme - I am going to prove it." Producers had psychologists watching Shahbaz 24 hours a day, before he finally walked out emotionally drained.

Of the others, it has been reported that Nikki Grahame has a history of anorexia and Lea Walker has a condition known as body dysmorphic disorder, whereby the person becomes excessively concerned about perceived physical defects. Pete Bennett has Tourette's, while pre-op transsexual Sam Brodie is known to have experienced intense paranoia.

Now, am I the only one who thinks that putting people who are known to suffer from depression and mental health problems into a house with no privacy or access to immediate help is sadistic and deeply disturbing?

We're led to believe that BB runs a screening process to choose contestants and that a psychologist is on hand to counsel them. According to reports in the national press, Shahbaz alleged he was sexually molested as a child, was a rent boy by the age of 16 and had been on antidepressants. So how vigorous can this vetting process be if five contestants who've experienced mental health disorders have been accepted onto this year's show? Assessing who is, or is not, at risk is a great difficulty. How can you predict how the conditions created inside the BB house will affect people with mental health problems?

In BB's defence, you may think that, after all, housemates volunteered to appear, and that actually this has resulted in giving the public a greater awareness of their conditions. But think again! I think what's really happening, is that their problems are being exploited. Tourette's sufferer Pete Bennett was shown swearing and making animal noises on his first night. Since then producers have frequently focused on his behaviour, making a joke of a serious condition. Sam Brodie, a pre-op transsexual who has experienced paranoia, was frequently shown staring intensely at fellow housemates and complimenting them on their beauty, giving the impression that she was incredibly insecure about her own looks.

"The psychological experiments and the manipulations being imposed merely serve to humiliate the current crop of housemates and lower their self-esteem."

Far from helping scientific research, it seems the BB experiment is being masterminded for entertainment alone. The psychological experiments and the manipulations being imposed merely serve to humiliate the current crop of housemates and lower their self-esteem.

If that's not enough, it seems this year's BB has relaxed its rules. Contestants are warned that any bullying or threatening behaviour towards fellow housemates is strictly forbidden. Last year BB gave Lesley Sanderson a stern warning over her treatment of Sam Heuston, yet this time around BB simply watched as the whole house turned on Shahbaz in the first week. Once again, "all in the name of entertainment".

The constant manipulation has even taken its toll on those considered to be the more psychologically rounded housemates. Just look at Aisleyne; she's become increasingly paranoid and has succumbed to a series of crying fits in recent weeks. And then there's the past housemates - BB5 winner Nadia Almada entered the house to seek acceptance, Jade Goody, despite forging a successful career off the back of her BB stint, has had to enter rehab since leaving the house, and Lisa Jeynes from BB4 is still suffering abuse to this day and has apparently tried to commit suicide because of the public backlash and cruel comments suggesting she used to be a man.

Celebrity Big Brother has shown that it's just as easy for public figures to crack. Early this year, we were treated to Michael Barrymore and his mood swings, while in the first Celebrity BB, Vanessa Feltz couldn't handle the rejection, much like Les Dennis in Celebrity BB2. In Celebrity BB3 Brigitte Nielsen had an anxiety attack after her former mother-in-law Jackie Stallone, who she had not been on speaking terms with for a long time, entered the house.

The sad fact is that pushing mentally fragile people to breaking point is not only causing potential psychological damage to them, but in an article in the Daily Mail Marjorie Wallace suggests that watching it can cause distress to the viewers as well.

Then there is the problem of what happens after the show. While it seems certain that Pete will come out of it as the most popular contestant, how will he deal with the subsequent public attention he's likely to receive? BB contestants are given access to a showbusiness consultant, but this cannot substitute the support that contestants with low self-esteem will need to deal with the potential rejection by society and the media.

No doubt, many will argue that BB has raised awareness of Tourette's, but it's the way these people have been exploited that leaves a sour taste. Hopefully, by the time BB8 comes around, Endemol, the producers of BB, will have changed its vetting process and will think about the way it humiliates contestants with meaningless tasks. BB needs to be careful - mental health is too serious and sensitive to be exploited for cheap enjoyment.

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