BBB: How is the participants’ mental health – 01/17/2023 – Equilíbrio

The premiere of Big Brother Brasil 23 has moved social networks since the announcement of the participants by Globo last week. However, many forget an aspect that has already been on the agenda in the face of crises in the program in recent years: how is the mental health of the participants?

In the last two editions, reality participants dropped out due to mental health issues. Lucas Penteado, in the 2021 edition, and Tiago Abravanel, in 2022.

The two cases drew attention and triggered discussions about the stress that the experience can bring.

According to Rodrigo Leite, psychiatrist coordinator of the Social and Cultural Psychiatry Program at the Institute of Psychiatry at Hospital das Clínicas de São Paulo (IPq), the environment created by the program is psychologically aggressive.

“The BBB basically deals with a very fierce social competition”, says the expert.

In addition to the combination of confinement and constant exposure to the public, the space is small for the number of participants, with an excess of visual stimuli. “It’s an opportunity for participants to show their more aggressive side.”

For Leite, the program is a high-risk environment for mental health. Despite being sold as a real experience, it is an exaggerated representation of reality, with extreme situations and an anomalous load of stimuli.

To deal with constant exposure, linked to the competitive environment, participants tend to create a “character” to be interpreted during this period. It’s the same mechanism we use to deal with switching environments in everyday situations, but taken to an extreme. “What appears there is not necessarily what people really are”, says Leite.

This strategy, more than a means of trying to get public approval, is a psychological protection mechanism, which helps the mind to understand this context as something artificial. It is also a means for participants to preserve their real intimacy, to better deal with the effects of public exposure.

“It’s a dangerous experiment for mental health, with a toxic load of psychological stress”, evaluates Leite. “If hedonism was less sought after, and social discussions were more stimulated, it would be more interesting.”

The psychiatrist points out that exposure linked to the program is not just temporary, but often extends for the rest of life. Both due to the records, which tend to circulate on the internet, and the fact that many participants become public figures.

“Something very decisive happens there that ends up changing that person’s personality, and can trigger depression and anxiety problems, for example”, says Leite.

The specialist recalls that people focus on the expectation of fame or the prize, but do not take into account the psychological stress to which they will be submitted in the program. “It would only be recommended for people who are extremely aware of the level of psychological pressure and the ability to deal with it,” he warns. “More fragile people or those with a tendency to develop psychological disorders should be discouraged from participating.”