Britney Spears

[AxelAnnie]

We don’t know that.

Actually, we do. That is been her diagnosis. That is what she is being treated for. And it is not something that is ever cured.....just managed.

Britney Spears opens up on bipolar disorder: 'I turn into a different person​

From the Psychological Care and Healing Center:
Is Bipolar Disorder Permanent?

When an individual is diagnosed as bipolar, one of the first questions they often ask is, “Can bipolar go away?” Unfortunately, the answer is almost always no. While you can significantly mitigate the effects and intensity of manic and depressive episodes with treatment, asking if you can make bipolar go away is like asking if you can make your thoughts go away. Bipolar is generally a lifetime diagnosis, and thus, many individuals see the most success with a focused bipolar treatment plan for managing episodes.

If you think of it as having Type I Diabetes. Once you have it you can never get rid of it. You can manage it. Type II you can sometimes work your way out of it.

So, yes, Britney has bipolar disorder. So was Carrie Fisher (have you watched Wishful Drinking she talks a lot about it there.

 

[Judy]

"Mentally ill" is a catch-all umbrella term that covers many different distinct illnesses. None are fun or easy but the difference in the degree to which they impact a person's life and incapacitate them is immense. Even the term "bipolar" is confusing and now a person can be diagnosed as BP1 or BP2 which manifest differently although we mostly are familiar with the signs and symptoms of BP1. To that you add the fact that mania feels much better to the person afflicted than does depression and the person appears much better to those not involved in the day to day, although often the most destructive decisions and actions are committed when manic. The most terrifying is surely psychosis and having witnessed it I can certainly understand why in early days they thought the person was infected by devils. The medications are improving all the time and hopefully so is the counselling. When an effective medication is found and the person feels better there is a very real temptation for them to feel cured and stop taking it which leads to the yo yo situation. We really know very little about what Britney's diagnoses is and I hope it stays that way.

We are fortunate with our daughter in that she has a loving and committed husband of 18 years who has experienced pregnancy, childbirth, different medications. Following the birth of their first child, we had to bring her back from her home in the U.S. and we cared for her and the child. We wondered if we had now become "parents" again and her marriage hung by a thread. Fortunately, he came to the decision to stay. She gradually got better, returned home, and two years later they chose to have a second child with a number of important safeguards in place. It was worse! I went down and stayed and if I live forever I doubt I will ever forget the pain of that year and my very real concern for those two precious little boys. The fluctuations of hormones in a female due to pregnancy and childbirth can put them at much greater risk as opposed to their male counterparts. Now I just have menopause to worry about.

My heart goes out to Britney and frankly all of those involved. With all that money on the line, everyone's motives are questionable. They really need a "Solomon"!

Thankfully she had yourself and her husband to aupport. It really is a medical issue … it’s isn’t her fault at all. I feel badly for those that don’t have that type of strong support. It’s definitely not easy but to you.

 

[Tesla]

Actually, we do. That is been her diagnosis. That is what she is being treated for. And it is not something that is ever cured.....just managed.

Britney Spears opens up on bipolar disorder: 'I turn into a different person​

From the Psychological Care and Healing Center:
Is Bipolar Disorder Permanent?

When an individual is diagnosed as bipolar, one of the first questions they often ask is, “Can bipolar go away?” Unfortunately, the answer is almost always no. While you can significantly mitigate the effects and intensity of manic and depressive episodes with treatment, asking if you can make bipolar go away is like asking if you can make your thoughts go away. Bipolar is generally a lifetime diagnosis, and thus, many individuals see the most success with a focused bipolar treatment plan for managing episodes.

If you think of it as having Type I Diabetes. Once you have it you can never get rid of it. You can manage it. Type II you can sometimes work your way out of it.

So, yes, Britney has bipolar disorder. So was Carrie Fisher (have you watched Wishful Drinking she talks a lot about it there.

Actually, we don't. Your link doesn’t work but I was able to track down the article and a follow up. From the context of the quote, it could've been just a hyperbolic comment. Until she makes an official statement, we don’t know.

 

[AxelAnnie]

Actually, we don't. Your link doesn’t work but I was able to track down the article and a follow up. From the context of the quote, it could've been just a hyperbolic comment. Until she makes an official statement, we don’t know.

Actually we do. I fixed the link, and place it here again for your convenience.

Briteny Spears Opens Up about her bipolar diagnosis.

 

[becca]

I have a really hard time thinking they were able to get her under conservation without some strong reasons.

However she should be able to make some life choices like no forced birth control if she is danger to baby someone else can have custody.

And the right to say she doesn’t want to Perform and what she performs. I say bull she is healthy enough to perform but not healthy enough to say no to performing. She is not a slave

 

[overedge]

She says "bipolar disorder" in describing her behavior. She does not say "I have bipolar disorder" and there is no mention of her formally being diagnosed with it.

 

[Judy]

She says "bipolar disorder" in describing her behavior. She does not say "I have bipolar disorder" and there is no mention of her formally being diagnosed with it.

No family member, friends or other people in her life have ever disputed it. I can’t see her lying about it.

 

[becca]

She says "bipolar disorder" in describing her behavior. She does not say "I have bipolar disorder" and there is no mention of her formally being diagnosed with it.

One could point out she is asking to be released without a health evaluation… If there were no issues she wouldn’t be against an evaluation.

However what is going on with her is exploitive.

 

[Tesla]

No family member, friends or other people in her life have ever disputed it. I can’t see her lying about it.

Like I said, it might’ve been a hyperbolic statement. We. Don’t. Know.

 

[Tesla]

Actually we do. I fixed the link, and place it here again for your convenience.

Briteny Spears Opens Up about her bipolar diagnosis.

Actually, we don’t. I found that article and it pulled a comment, which might have been hyperbolic, from a documentary.

 

[Tesla]

One could point out she is asking to be released without a health evaluation… If there were no issues she wouldn’t be against an evaluation.

However what is going on with her is exploitive.

No one is saying she doesn’t have mental issues. We just don’t know what they are.

ETA I’m sorry for the multiple replies. I should've multi-quoted but it’s hard on the iPad.

 

[becca]

No one is saying she doesn’t have mental issues. We just don’t know what they are.

ETA I’m sorry for the multiple replies. I should've multi-quoted but it’s hard on the iPad.

True we don’t know this being said I got to say forcing her to Perform and what dance moves is horribly horrific as is birth control. It is her body.

Britney had worked and worked since she was a little kid if she wants to spend the rest of her days sitting on a beach she should be allowed. What she is describing sounds like slavery

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

I've been thinking about this still. In one of the links above, Britney was talking about being forced to go to a therapist she didn't want to go to. She wanted to continue with sessions at home. It sounded like paparazzi were surrounding the place and taking pictures of her in very vulnerable moments. She absolutely has the right to privacy in that scenario and it troublesome that it seemed to be an issue that wasn't being addressed. It sounded like she was okay with continuing therapy in the right setting.

She so much deserves to have more of a say in who her guardian and therapist are. It sounds like she hasn't been given the chance to make choices that should be her right to make.

Even if she still needs a guardian there are so many things that just sound wrong, abusive and exploitative in her life.

 

[DFJ]

A good friend of mine is bipolar. She is a very successful defense lawyer in Vancouver. She has wonderful doctors and the right medications to keep her stable. I don't want to imagine her reaction if anyone would suggest that she's incapable of living her life as she does because of her illness.

 

[overedge]

I've been thinking about this still. In one of the links above, Britney was talking about being forced to go to a therapist she didn't want to go to. She wanted to continue with sessions at home. It sounded like paparazzi were surrounding the place and taking pictures of her in very vulnerable moments. She absolutely has the right to privacy in that scenario and it troublesome that it seemed to be an issue that wasn't being addressed. It sounded like she was okay with continuing therapy in the right setting.

It also sounds like the staff that are leaking info about her appointments need to be fired. Paparazzi don't generally hang around therapists' offices on the off chance that a celebrity might show up for treatment.

 

[misskarne]

I think some people are taking the wrong angle. "If she was fine she wouldn't have a problem with an evaluation."

This is a woman who has been subjected to being assessed, evaluated, and decisions made for her by people who clearly don't give two shits about her and only care about the money they can make from her. She's previously been forced to go to a therapist not of her own choosing but hand-selected by her father, who clearly has a specific motive in this case.

She clearly fears that whoever is chosen to do the evaluation will be another person who refuses to listen to her, or who is on her father's payroll and will produce the result he wants, not necessarily the result that is correct.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

I can't think of one person supposedly working in her best interests that was actually chosen by her. Guardian, therapist, lawyer.

 

[Artistic Skaters]

There are low income people nationwide who have to live with a bipolar disorder with insufficient funds and lack of support and no one seems very interested in creating conservatorships for their "best interests." I bet outside independent auditors with no affiliations to any of the involved parties would find all kinds of interesting things being done with BS's financials, personal restrictions and legal representation. Follow the money.

I'm pretty sure I read in news articles the father is not just getting a fee for handling her conservatorship, but also percentages of her performance and other earned income. So what if he grew her fortune from a paltry 8 or 10 million ( ) to 50+ million if he's doing it for self serving interests and it's doing nothing for her quality of life? There are other perfectly fine alternatives he could have taken considering her level of assets that don't include him making significant sums of money off his daughter. Of course, this would require him to want to improve her desperate state of unhappiness as well as recognize his own selfish tendencies rather than just shove her onstage so he can take his cut.

 

[Judy]

A good friend of mine is bipolar. She is a very successful defense lawyer in Vancouver. She has wonderful doctors and the right medications to keep her stable. I don't want to imagine her reaction if anyone would suggest that she's incapable of living her life as she does because of her illness.

There is no reason people can’t have a successful career and personal life such as your friend.

Not everyone is the same though. I have no idea why they can’t keep Britany stable but it all sounds complex.

 

[Judy]

No one is saying she doesn’t have mental issues. We just don’t know what they are.

ETA I’m sorry for the multiple replies. I should've multi-quoted but it’s hard on the iPad.

She talks about lithium.

Lithium (Oral Route) Side Effects - Mayo Clinic

 

[Barbara Manatee]

If there were no issues she wouldn’t be against an evaluation.

It would be okay with you then for the police to show up and search your house or the government to read your mail and listen to your phone calls. If you aren't doing anything illegal, you wouldn't object, right?

Being under a conservatorship is an enormous invasion of privacy and loss of individual rights. The burden of proof should be on the state to prove that it is still needed, not on her to prove it isn't.

 

[DreamSkates]

How many adults of her age are under such a "conservancy"? There are many people with mental health issues and their lives are not controlled by others, family members but possibly social services.

 

[overedge]

So what if he grew her fortune from a paltry 8 or 10 million ( ) to 50+ million if he's doing it for self serving interests and it's doing nothing for her quality of life? There are other perfectly fine alternatives he could have taken considering her level of assets that don't include him making significant sums of money off his daughter. Of course, this would require him to want to improve her desperate state of unhappiness as well as recognize his own selfish tendencies rather than just shove her onstage so he can take his cut.

I agree. Also, I seriously doubt whether he made the investment or business decisions that increased her wealth. He might have signed off on them, but before Britney was famous, he was a welder and then ran some kind of health/beauty spa with her mom. Not that either of those aren't honourable or productive occupations, but they wouldn't give anyone the kind of experience they would need to run a complex multi-million dollar entertainment business.

 

[Japanfan]

When an individual is diagnosed as bipolar, one of the first questions they often ask is, “Can bipolar go away?” Unfortunately, the answer is almost always no. While you can significantly mitigate the effects and intensity of manic and depressive episodes with treatment, asking if you can make bipolar go away is like asking if you can make your thoughts go away. Bipolar is generally a lifetime diagnosis, and thus, many individuals see the most success with a focused bipolar treatment plan for managing episodes.

And plenty of individuals who are bipolar lead very functional lives and certainly don't need someone to oversee/manage their affairs. I'm related to three such - three cousins on my father's side of the family.

I also have a friend who is bipolar. She is a compulsive talker, which I think is related to her illness, but nonetheless had a very successful career as a divorce lawyer, earned a ton of money.

 

[becca]

It would be okay with you then for the police to show up and search your house or the government to read your mail and listen to your phone calls. If you aren't doing anything illegal, you wouldn't object, right?

Being under a conservatorship is an enormous invasion of privacy and loss of individual rights. The burden of proof should be on the state to prove that it is still needed, not on her to prove it isn't.

I am merely Saying surely there are reasons sound medical ones she was on it although even she admired therapy so doesn’t sound like she is refusing help.

Do not get me wrong how she is being treated horribly and I see are point I can work I can make my own choices

 

[Vagabond]

I bet outside independent auditors with no affiliations to any of the involved parties would find all kinds of interesting things being done with BS's financials, personal restrictions and legal representation.

In California, the Superior Court has its own probate examiners who review conservators' financial records. If Britney Spears questions the examiners' findings, she can always ask the court to appoint an outside auditor.

Being under a conservatorship is an enormous invasion of privacy and loss of individual rights. The burden of proof should be on the state to prove that it is still needed, not on her to prove it isn't.

You do realize that she is applying to end the conservatorship early, don't you? That's why she has the burden of proof.

And it isn't the State that is her conservator. It's her father.

In California,

[Welfare and Institutions Code] Sections 5350-5372 deal with the process of conservatorship for a person who is alleged to be gravely disabled due to a mental disorder. Conservatorship lasts for a period of one year. The conservator may petition the Court for reappointment each year. Failure to request reappointment as conservator before expiration of the current appointment requires the Court to end the conservatorship "by operation of law."

Spears' father has been filing those petitions every year for many years and has sustained the burden of proof each time.

While I would not go so far as to say that nothing wrong is going on here, I would also be very cautious about taking Britney Spears' statement at face value.

 

[becca]

What I find is weird is how her sister became the beneficary of a trust she set up for her kids. How exactly does Jamie Lynn become her heir?

 

[Barbara Manatee]

You do realize that she is applying to end the conservatorship early, don't you? That's why she has the burden of proof.

Yes, I know Britney is asking to end her conservatorship. My view is that Britney and anyone else in one should not have the burden of proof. The decisions they take away - what to do with your body, how to live your life, etc - are fundamental rights that should default to you unless it can be shown there is immediate and compelling need to suspend them.

 

[AxelAnnie]

Britney has known that at any time she can file a petition to end the conservancy to do is file petition to end the conservancy.

She also said she wants to get married and have a child. Reality check. She cannot take bipolar meds when pregnant. Also post partum depression is what started her down this road. A not uncommon occurance..

 

[becca]

Britney has known that at any time she can file a petition to end the conservancy to do is file petition to end the conservancy.

She also said she wants to get married and have a child. Reality check. She cannot take bipolar meds when pregnant. Also post partum depression is what started her down this road. A not uncommon occurance..

We don’t know what she knows she isn’t even allowed to pick her own lawyer. One of Britney’s ex boyfriends has stated she has been asking for them to take away the conservation and been ignored.

I want to be clear I am saying there may be a reason she is on it but I do think California laws are messed up.

people shouldn’t be able to benefit financially like Britney’s family is and they Should not be forced to work.