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Megan's Exit From 'Big Brother' — Explained

by Allison Piwowarski

The pressure of Big Brother is nothing new to fans. Summer after summer, 16 new house guests enter the Big Brother house and often, many of them realize they don't have what it takes to live isolated from the world. Take Josh, on Big Brother 19: Josh spent much of the first televised week of the show constantly explaining how hard it was to be away from his family. The pressure got to him so much that he lashed out at another houseguest, Megan, during an HOH competition. Throughout the first week, the constant chastising and confrontation got to Megan, leading her to exit the house per her own call. But why did Megan leave Big Brother?

As previously mentioned, Big Brother can easily get to a houseguest. It preys on many of the biggest insecurities one might have: isolation, being watched, and resurfacing past traumas with no escape. The latter is true for Megan, who left the Big Brother house shortly after entering. According to an interview with The Desert Sun, Megan Lowder left the Big Brother house early due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She said, “When I was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, I was sexually assaulted and I got really bad PTSD from it." That PTSD is what eventually would lead her to exit the house prematurely and seek necessary help. Upon leaving, the newspaper reports that she spent a couple of days in the hospital before returning to her family in California.

Megan tells the paper that her short experience in the house triggered the feelings of her PTSD, "I had a lot of guys yelling at me and attacking me and it started really affecting me and making my anxiety severe and I was starting to get physically ill." Fortunately, the support since leaving the house has been overwhelming, according to Twitter.

In addition to showing her fans some love, Megan is using her platform for good. She shared the following tweet shortly after returning from the house, encouraging assault survivors to call a hotline if they need help.

Megan told The Desert Sun, "I was expecting to have one of the funnest summers of my life. I did have fun, I had a great time, until all that just got the best of me." Hopefully Megan is able to get the love and support she needs outside the Big Brother house, and root on those she got close with.