I recently visited the "Real World" house in Red Hook, Brooklyn, expecting simply to hand Real Worlder Chet the mock MTV News that he had hosted the week before. (Chet is interested in an on-air position at MTV, so we thought we'd set him up with a little test run.) But I encountered a hell of a lot more when I got there.
There's this condition called PTRSD. Don't worry — it's nothing serious. And while the numbers are growing, only a small percentage of the population is affected. It develops in the days and months (in some cases, years) after any or all of the following experiences:
1. Having zero control over your minutes, hours and days, and taking orders from people you cannot see (perhaps via telephone or message)
2. Being lied to on a regular basis in order to prevent your "passing knowledge" to those outside of "the circle"
3. Having zero access to the outside world and not being able to relate to those in said outside world
4. Being sequestered and isolated for weeks or even months at a time, sometimes completely by yourself, with no phone or computer
5. Having no concept of time, including when you might be leaving
6. Having someone, well, always listening
Rumored victims of this disorder include Christian Siriano, Omarosa, Puck, Santino and, well, me.
Yes, Post-Traumatic Reality-Show Disorder is a state of confusion, complete with flashbacks and the feeling that someone is always watching you. Another sign of PTRSD is a sort of itchy, raw sensation on one's back from the stretchy and uncomfortable belt that a microphone pack might be attached to. The list goes on.
About three months after filming "America's Next Top Model," I experienced these symptoms. I spoke to my fellow contestants, and as I suspected, they experienced them as well. My heart would beat faster when telling a secret for fear that a camera crew would soon be part of my audience. I felt naked without my microphone belt, and I woke up waiting for someone to tell me when to eat and where to go. I wondered if it was OK to walk outside. Not to mention feeling blind when the lights were off (we slept most nights with the lights on — hey, it was a set, after all).
So when I stepped onto another set, the "Real World: Brooklyn" house, a surge of anxiety came over me. Three years later, and I was having a relapse of PTRSD. It wasn't too bad, and I'm pretty sure I masked it so that neither Chet nor the cameras could tell. But for the first time, I felt like I was back in the "Top Model" house (which, by the way, I think was a lot radder than the "RW" house). I had my microphone pack strapped on and cameras following me with every step, and an alarm would ring every time I spoke about production — that of "The Real World" or "ANTM"! (Um, did the "ANTM" producers call "The Real World" producers? Are they still filming me every day? What's going on? Anxiety!)
I'll leave the profiles of the house dwellers to the other publications that have already written about them extensively. And despite all that I've said, I'm extremely grateful and excited to have been on "ANTM" — it was an experience, to say the least. But to those of you who are about to be or have just been on reality television, especially the kind that includes the experiences listed above, expect some PTRSD.
For help or to tell your story, contact "The Tyra Show" ...
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