NAMI and MTV looking for PTSD veterans

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MTV True Life: I Have Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

This hour-long MTV documentary will chronicle the lives of three young veterans of the Iraq War who have Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. It will follow them for approximately five months as they attempt to treat or live with the disorder.
We will film and tell these stories with the utmost respect for the veterans and their families. The documentary has no political agenda whatsoever; our goal is to describe PTSD to our young audience and inform them through our subjects' stories.
About True Life:
True Life is a documentary series that's been on MTV for 10 years. Each episode of "True Life" is about a different topic. Most of the topics have some global, social or personal importance, like this one. Some of them are about youth culture, like episodes about gamers or cheerleaders. All episodes aim to tell deeply personal stories. There is no host, reporter or narrator. The young people tell their own stories in their own voices.
Our goal is to put young people across the country in our subjects' shoes. We hope that by portraying our subjects' lives, we will help young people understand complex issues.
Who We're Looking For
We're looking for veterans of the Iraq War who appear to be 28 years old or younger and have either been diagnosed with PTSD or have symptoms of PTSD. We're looking for veterans who are willing to share their struggle with PTSD with a national audience.
How We Make "True Life" & How We'll Film This Episode
Once we've determined whom we're going to follow, we begin filming them at moments and events that are important to their story. We don't film them all the time and everywhere – we try to select dates that are relevant to their struggle with PTSD. We try to be as unobtrusive as possible by filming with only a two-person crew and a small digital video camera. Our goal is for people to forget we're even there. We don't influence our subject in any way. We typically film between 25 and 35 hours of each person we're following. We'll get those hours two or three days at a time over the course of three to four months. Our subjects can stop filming if they're uncomfortable or if there's a problem. We edit the stories ourselves, with input from executives at MTV. The executives never ask us to include anything that isn't thoroughly fact-checked.
Punched in the Head Productions
We are a small independent production company that's been contracted by MTV to produce certain episodes of "True Life." We're usually asked to produce the more "weighty" episodes, like "I'm Home from Iraq," "I Have Autism" and "I Have Schizophrenia." Many of our previous episodes are online at truelife.mtv.com in the "Videos" section of the site.
Contact Information
If you or someone you know is interested in speaking with us about participating in this documentary, please contact us at:
ptsd@mtvn.com or tlptsd@gmail.com
718-422-0706
Please include your name, contact information, and a description of your story. Please tell us about your military experience and your current military status. Please tell us if you've been diagnosed or treated for PTSD.


Christine Armstrong
Media Relations Associate
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

christinea@nami.org