Reflection of an illness and a star

So, I don't usually make posts on my livejournal related to celebrities. It's not really my thing, and I like for my journal to be of more intellectual pursuits if they're not about me.

However, being in my clinical work right now and with the present situation with celebrities coming out more and more with severe mental illnesses, I feel I should say something.

The main person I speak of Britney Spears.


Now, first off - I have never been a huge fan of Ms. Spears. Not at any time. I thought she was lazy in her singing (singing through her nose rather than her diaphragm), amateurish in her dancing (of course, working with Wade Robinson, who was also working with Backstreet Boys and Nsync at the time, moves are bound to be kind of easy) and seemed like a mass-produced image.

Even when she got married and started having kids, I wasn't paying attention to her because she seemed to be doing what people expected her to do.

However, now she really seems to be in need of some serious help (which I hope she is currently getting). Yesterday, I started to read a declaration by her mother.

Even if only 20% of it is true and her mother is really just trying to get money out of her - I feel bad for her. Adderall and the two other drugs (antipsychotics) she apparently was being given, are from what I've been told, are not things you want to put together. And Sam, the paparazzi to whom the restraining order is against, apparently has a violent history with people whom claim that he is extremely manipulative and violent. (Supposedly there are other restraining orders against him)

So, many people say that it's her fault she's in this situation. I can't say the same anymore. People with severe mental illnesses can be taken advantage of - and if you're as isolated as a celebrity is - it is much harder to get help.

My conclusion is...well, I'm not sure what my conclusion is. Perhaps this was written because my clinical experiences have been weighing heavily on me lately.

I won't tell you to "Pray for Britney". I won't tell you to buy her albums in support. I'm not even telling you to listen to her music!

I guess I just want people to become more aware of how hard having a mental illness is. That everyone deserves help. It's hard enough to suffer almost everyday without someone telling you that you brought it on to yourself.



I guess I just want people to understand.