Do you have to be crazy to be a reality TV star?

I was interviewed yesterday by Liane Bonin Starr at Hitfix about the prevalence of narcissistic traits in people on many reality TV shows. Here's an exerpt of the article:

The suicide of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" husband Russell Armstrong has spurred a lot of talk about the nature of reality television, with one L.A. Times journalist suggesting "at this point, the willingness to appear on a situational reality show should be classified as a symptom of emotional instability, if not a mental illness in itself." While television critic Mary McNamara might have been engaging in hyperbole for humor's sake, it's hard to deny she has a point.

While she was speaking specifically of "The Real Housewives" franchise, you also have to wonder about the sanity of anyone who would appear on, say, shows like "Flavor of Love" or "Teen Moms." Still, though it's easy enough to dismiss reality TV fame hounds as unstable, to what degree are we talking about? Are these people just big personalities harmlessly chasing their fifteen minutes, or is something actually amiss? I talked to Nathan Gehlert, PhD, LPC of the Imago Center in Washington D.C. and Judith Orloff MD, Assistant Clinical Professor Psychiatry at UCLA and author of "Emotional Freedom" and "Second Sight." The answer is a little more complicated than you might think, but let's just say McNamara might be onto something. Read the rest of the article here.