I read Dr. Phil’s comments on the BBC website, and I was offended. It reminded me of that shrink who’d treated Nicole Simpson and made a statement to the press which helped corrupt the OJ case. He doesn’t appear to be licensed any more in Texas, nor in California. And of course it’s about his show. Check out his website: http://www.drphil.com/ today and you’ll see “Britney Spears Exclusive–Don’t Miss Tuesday’s Dr. Phil Now. My son watched a few minutes of a Dr. Phil episode with me and said, “In what way is this different from Jerry Springer?” I replied, “They aren’t encouraged to hit each other onstage.” If that guy *had* a license, it should be revoked. (and check out his dissertation topic–I looked it up awhile ago, and it was something about using biofeedback against anger. It didn’t sound impressive, or like much of a contribution to the world of science.

I agree it seems that maybe this could be a good thing considering that most people seem to think that depression and Bi-polar disorder are not a serious disease and do not really understand or care to find out how it really effects the people who are suffering from it. I would say that because our world is all about the famous people that maybe their hearts will go out to her and then make them want to do research and find out about it and since it is the famous people that are setting the standards for today’s world as scary as that is, it could be helpful for the rest of us fighting the battle to just get people to want to understand what we go through everyday.

I truly hope that Britney can move somewhere remote for a year or so, piece her life back together, and then come back out in full force.
She should ditch alcohol, smoking, and over eating and move to Montana or something.

I suffer from bipolar disorder..er..manic depression (let’s call it what it is)and when I saw the video of Britney in 5 point restraint going into the ambulance with that *look* in her eyes…I just knew we shared this disorder. She may also have more complications in the mental illness spectrum judging from some of the *press*

However, now with heath ledger gone (accident my ass, these were meds, not recreational drugs he ingested) Now maybe he did them more spontaneously than with a plan, but he, even if for a brief moment, wanted to end it all. THIS IS DEPRESSION…..period.

With these two young and beautiful memebers of American royality now in the open about mood disorders and mental illness in general, maybe we will see an ease the stigma of these maladies and move forward on accepting them and helping those that cannot help themselves. I say this because for every successful and wealthy person that has the disorder, there is one that is barely getting by because they can’t make ends meet du to an inability to function in a *normal* world. Treating these illnesses is not an exact science with little in diagonstic tools to work with. Medications aren’t a panacea necessarily either. They help, lots, but not always and completely. Let’s all hope something good comes out of these high profile tragedies.

Bipolar Disorder is probably the diagosis that she’ll end up with, but that doesnt make it an accurate diagnosis. Bipolar Disorder is the current flavor of the month in the world of psychiatry, much like ADHD is with children. What most “clinicans to the stars” are trying to avoid is an Axis II diagnosis of Histrionic Personality Disorder or Borderline Personality Disorder. These diagnoses are usually avoided by psychiatrist because the medical model is of little use. Extended peroids of psychotherapy and life coaching is not the answer that most clients want to hear. I have no doubt that there is a depressive componet associated with Britney’s behavior, but the onset appears to be in direct correlation with situational stressors. Britney will be given a great disservice if the extent of her treatment is a merry-go-round of SSR’s and mood stabilizers…

first off dr. phil is a jack ass who makes his living off of austrisizing (spelling error) kids he is a behavior therapist who only focuses on what he can see and not what cant be sen like what is going on in the brain. Second theraputic intervention does not work for bipolar people the only thing that does is medication specifically lithium but nobody wants to prescribe it. Third what people forget or dont know is BPD is genetic which means you can see charateristics and traits and other family memeber like alcholic dad, suicidal grandma, and pregant little sistser. I dont know to much about mom I havent had the chance to observe her in the media but i suspect she has it too. Oh by the way those little boys need to be looked out for BPD because mother can pass it to child

I agree- Borderline Personality Disorder (which is not a ‘disorder’ per se, but more of a behavioral diagnosis; often forms because of abuse, and requires life coaching. It’s pretty common with celebrities. I’m sure Britney Spears has been made aware of the possibility, but it’s the public that is being disserved by the label of Bipolar from her behavior.

When a person has BPD it is my understanding that you are looking into the face of a 2year old in an adult body.

Misdiagnosis of an Axis 2 is often made when a person is in crisis.
Granted,persons with Axis 2 or personality disorders are sometimes so unstable that crisis is an ongoing state.
But many BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder)patients later in life when retested no longer have symptoms of the disorder.

The truth is that these are all just labels used because if you can label somthing you can get paid for it.
Damning index tabs many of them.If you really piss off your shrink rest assured your gonna get a damning index tab.

Life coaching? If the coach is teaching you that Hollywood has alot of false values and you need to change your priorities,take care of yourself and change your lifestyle, yeah, a life coach might be helpful.If you grew up in the media you have probably sustained some damage from it to your soul.There is a price to selling your childhood away to gain fame.
Why everybody else was busy with the business of learning and growing up the child star is working. Somthing is sacraficed. It is a mistake not to realize this. So now, is the work of catching up with the emotional development from where you left off to be a star.

This article is very good. However a good few of the comments are dangerously ignorant.

Yes, of course the categories of psychiatric diagnostics are arbitrary to a considerable extent, with big grey areas between the various disorders. The important question is whether they are of practical use in helping a person get themselves grounded and back on course with their life. For instance there are many psychiatrists and others who now take the view that bipolar disorder and unipolar depression are really part of a single spectrum of mood disorders. However the treatments are different. While generally the drugs most useful for dealing with depression are antidepressants, those with bipolar disorder are either treated with mood stabilisers or a combination of mood stabilisers and anti-depressants (and occasionally anti-psychotics). antidepressants on their own may well trigger a manic episode.

I feel frustrated and dismayed when I hear or read people saying flat out that these conditions don’t exist, that they are fabrications designed to line the pockets of psychiatrists and big pharma. I had quite some trouble getting psychiatrists to agree that I had bipolar disorder. It was only when I presented a very detailed history of my symptoms to my psychiatrist that he finally came round. I and many of the other bipolar people I have met in the since my diagnosis are very knowledgeable about our condition and the various medications available. We guide our psychiatrists to particular treatment options based on what we find works or does not work for us. Many of us also do other things to manage the physiological aspect of our illness – extreme fight-or-flight responses in other words – such as making sure we have particular kinds of foods or that we have enough exposure to daylight, or going for a long walk.

As for whether Britney Spears is bipolar, all I can say is that this is quite plausible. Borderline personality disorder? I don’t know enough to say. It is certainly true that many psychoactive substances cause symptoms similar to those of bipolar disorder, which makes it very hard to assess whether the drugs or the illness came first. I had a very close relative who had an alcohol problem and was prone to extreme behaviour. I had always assumed that the alcohol, combined with life stresses, was at the root of the behaviour, but since my own diagnosis I am able to look not only at her, but at some of the other members of my family who don’t have alcohol problems and realise that we have all been prone to severely erratic moods. However, with the exception of one aunt, none of us would have been correctly diagnosed 20 years ago because the diagnostic criteria then were too narrow. I think this very close relative would have been much happier if she had had access to the kind of medication she needed. Instead they put her on valium. So yes, bipolar disorder is a real condition for which there are effective pharmaceutical treatments. I must confess I feel a little resentful when people proclaim otherwise for ideological reasons, as if physiology doesn’t matter.

Lastly, to the person who said that he looked at Britney in the video and knew straight away that she had bipolar disorder, I just want to say, I understand where you are coming from. However it is very easy to project our own problem onto someone else. We can’t say unless we have access to the kind of personal information that her psychiatrist probably has and we don’t.

Thank you, Robert. Your balanced comment is a balm to my soul right now.

i think this poor girl has been through enough just leave her alone. its not like its any of the publics business. everyone has problems jus because she is a celebrity doesn’t mean to pick on her damn just leave her alone

your right just leave the poor girl alown

So true that childhood fame comes with a huge price tag and now we’re staring at in the face, the personification of someone’s emotional malajustment because she never learnt that her own health are more important than someone else’s demands. It amazes me that through all of this turmoil she just keeps working. Take a vacation, Brit, you have a right to take a break after 25 yrs. on the job.

britney isn’t bipolor shes just stupid

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