TRUMAN SYNDROME: What is it, symptoms, causes and treatment

Life can be lived in many ways It is common for us to go through experiences according to our values, beliefs and ideals. As we grow, we relate to different people from whom we learn, since the human being constantly goes through unique and new moments. Although sometimes we can think that society is built so that we act accordingly, based on scenarios that other people plan, the truth is that there are those who believe that their life is immersed within a species from reality show. Does any of this sound familiar to you?

Film productions have been made that exemplify these qualities, however, there may be people who are certain that their lives are part of a television show in which they are protagonists. This causes a number of problems that need to be considered. Do you want to know more about this? In this Psychology-Online article, we will provide you with information about the Truman syndrome: what is it, symptoms, causes and treatment.

Index

1. What is Truman syndrome
2. Symptoms of Truman syndrome
3. Causes of Truman syndrome
4. Treatment of Truman syndrome

When we refer to Truman syndrome, we are talking about a personality disorder in which the person who suffers from it shows delusional and persecutory traits. In other words, it is a clinical condition in which the person feels that they are immersed in a show in which they are the main protagonist.

Because of these circumstances, Truman syndrome can make it difficult to relate to the environment. Although it is true that this clinical picture is not detailed in the classification made by the DSM-V^[1], it could be understood that it has features related to psychotic disorders of personality.

One of the most important aspects to consider is the manifestations, both physical and emotional, arising from Truman syndrome. These allow establishing a diagnosis that facilitates the detection of the clinical picture. Specifically, the main symptoms of Truman syndrome are:

• Feeling that the environment is against you.
• Nervousness.
• persecutory thoughts.
• delusions.
• Visual and auditory hallucinations.
• Feelings of greatness.

Despite the presence of any of these symptoms, this does not imply that we are facing Truman syndrome. It is important that the diagnosis be carried out by a mental health professional, since it will be in charge of evaluating the characteristics of the person taking into account traits such as age, sex, family history or pre-existing diseases, among others.

Beyond the symptoms that may occur in each person, it is crucial to know the causes that give rise to this personality disorder. In this sense, below, we will explain the main causes of Truman syndrome:

• Environmental factors: childhood moments in which family life has been marked by traumatic situations with violence or abuse, among others. This has the result that the person suffers from personality disorders in which he believes that he is the protagonist of everything that happens around him, as can happen in a reality show.
• Need for attention and approval of people from the environment play a key role in this pathology.
• Genetic factors: personality disorders, which present both delusions and hallucinations, present a neurological component, since there are certain neuronal connections located in the cerebral cortex They are responsible for processing information from the environment. This gives rise to the symptoms described above.

Fortunately, there are currently a number of treatments that are effective against the clinical picture of Truman syndrome. Specifically, the following methods are used to treat this syndrome:

psychological therapy

People with Truman syndrome interpret what happens to them in a certain way. In these cases, psychotherapy sessions can help to deal with situations that trigger stress, anxiety and/or fear in a different way. These are the most used therapies:

• short-term therapies: focused on solving problems in a limited period of sessions through various strategies. Their purpose is to provide the patient with tools so that he can change his perspective of reality. In this group, the main therapies to consider are systemic therapy as well as cognitive behavioral therapy.
• Long term therapies: They look for the origin of the symptoms so that the patient finds other ways of coping with situations that generate discomfort. Here we can highlight psychoanalytic therapy as one of the main ones.

psychiatric medication

Since some of the symptoms of Truman syndrome can be delusions and hallucinations, in some cases it is necessary to supply some psychiatric medication that makes changes in the connections neural. The ultimate goal of this type of treatment is reduce the symptoms involved. However, it should always be taken under medical prescription supervised by a psychologist.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Truman syndrome: what is it, symptoms, causes and treatment, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th edition). Arlington: Pan American Medical Publisher.

• Morales Arce, A., Alvarado Rojas, S., Calvo Brenes, M., Contreras Rojas, J., Raventós Vorst, H. (2012). An approach to the cultural content of the delusions of people with schizophrenia in Costa Rica. Anthropology Notebooks, 22 (1), 1-24.