76. I WISH HER AND HER KIDS THE BEST SHE NEEDS TO REALIZE THAT THESE KIDS WILL SEE THIS WHEN THE GET OLDER AND THIS IS NO WAY TO BEHAVE IS INDEED SHE IS DOING THIS TO GET ATTENTION ON THE OTHER HAND IF SHE IS SUFFERING A MENTAL BREAKDOWN HER IMMEDIATE FAMILY SHOULD INTERVINE IN A MORE AGGRESIVE MANNER I REALLY HOPE SHE GETS BACK TO HER ON SELF SHE IS YOUNG AND LIFE DOES CONTINUE. BEST REGARDS FROM BOSTON

Posted at 12:26PM on Jan 7th 2008 by MINNIE

77. No one said that the drugs themselves cause Bi- Polar Disorder, nurse Wratchett, so stop jumping on everyones ass. The drugs Brit is being treated with are helping to make her condition worse instead of better is what we're saying. Aderall is for A D D not Bi-Polar Disorder. Perhaps a good dose of Abilify is in order.

Posted at 12:28PM on Jan 7th 2008 by Ida Richilieau

78. getaclue wrote: "70. Drugs do not cause Bi-Polar Disorder!!! However, it was reported that she had ADHD and the two are often diagnosed together."

Drugs do not CAUSE it, but they definitely do EXACERBATE it. Alchohol is a depressant (and a drug by the way). In addition, the ADHD drugs that I have read she has been taking may also trigger manic episodes. There are many different drugs (often 2 or 3) that are taken in combination when treating Bi-Polar Disorder. Even a prescribed medication can trigger manic episodes if it is not appropriate for her condition. IF Britney is Bi-Polar, she should not be taking ADHD meds.

Posted at 12:28PM on Jan 7th 2008 by Alecsmom

79. she wont be hitting rock bottom until her multi-millions is takin away from her or she goes bankrupt !!!
that money is her crutch

Posted at 12:30PM on Jan 7th 2008 by the oracle knows all

80. I wonder how long it will be before the new "boyfriend" sells a tell all for $$$$$. Seems everyone else is cashing in.

Posted at 12:32PM on Jan 7th 2008 by Barbara

81. Britney has her share of heartache, this much is true. The media and paparrazi have contributed much to the problem. It's my belief that Britney will go to a mental institution for EVERYONE ELSE involved, but not herself. If anything, she should think of her children first. I don't have children myself per se, but know from those around me that children come first from the moment of their births! Britney needs to put her children first, get some help - mental and otherwise and realize that not everyone around her is trying to help her. They are only impeding her ability to better herself and her life with her children. Those boys are who I feel more sorry for!

Posted at 12:32PM on Jan 7th 2008 by KRIS

82. I feel sad for Brttney's situation. Most people going through the custody battles and mental illness can do so in the privacy of their own home, I wonder how much of her condition is aggravated by the press?

Posted at 11:47AM on Jan 7th 2008 by J126

Right. I wonder how much of her condition is aggravated by herself? Oh, I know. 99.99%.

Posted at 12:33PM on Jan 7th 2008 by Spurs

83. she really needs help. I don't know why she would not want to do anything to get her children back or why she would even want to lose them in the first place. I really believe this has a lot to so with postpartum depression.

Posted at 11:48AM on Jan 7th 2008 by me

Because she DOES NOT WANT THEM. Wake up people. It is so obvious, it's stupid. She will never get help on her own because she doesn't think she has a problem. After all, she's Britney (the world revolves around me) Spears.

Posted at 12:33PM on Jan 7th 2008 by Spurs

84. Ok..........Britney did not test positive for drugs or alcohol. Now is the time to have K-Fed tested for everything.......why has he not been ordered to do so before now? I believe he is solely to blame for the downfall of Britney.....what a sleeze! I realize Britney needs help but why does HE have the children????????? He is pushing her to insanity in order to get money from her because he cannot support himself.....

Posted at 11:56AM on Jan 7th 2008 by A Southerner

Yah right. Let's put all the blame on K-fed. Are you retarded? Oh wait, you are. Put the blame where it belongs, with her. Idiot.

Posted at 12:33PM on Jan 7th 2008 by Spurs

85. This is so typical of people who are bi-polar. Of course she feels fine.....NOW....give it time and she'll crash and burn again. It's a vicious cycle. I feel so sorry for that poor girl but she's had years of people doing what she wants, when she wants and does not have the common sense to see that this problem is not going to go away on its own. She thinks she's invincible and is incapable of clear, rational thought. It's really sad.

On another note....I can't believe how NASTY some of you people are! Empathy and sensitivity....they're both excellent traits....try working on acquiring them.

Posted at 12:33PM on Jan 7th 2008 by suzy-q

86. 6. Britney is a perfect example of what drugs can do to a person. She didnt just wake up one day and decide to be a crazy bitch, Its so sad. BUT, she did it to herself, so she gets no sympathy here.

Posted at 11:47AM on Jan 7th 2008 by kc

DRUGS CAN DAMAGE BRAINS, BUT
PEOPLE WITH MENTAL DISORDERS FREQUENTLY USE DRUGS AND ALCOHOL, SMOKING ETC TO TRY SELF-MEDICATE.
YOU DONT KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.

Posted at 12:34PM on Jan 7th 2008 by pain in the ass

87. She's sick and she probably doesn't realize she needs help. That's the way a lot of people with mental illnesses act. If she doesn't check in voluntarily, they should probably have her committed at least long enough to get her on some meds. Once she gets the right meds, she will probably act like a totally different person. As someone who has dealt with depression (I know not the same as bipolar but it can still be serious), I know how hard it can be to admit you need help. I feel for her and hope she gets better soon. I will keep her in my thoughts and prayers. Just because she's a celebrity doesn't mean she's not a human being.

Posted at 12:34PM on Jan 7th 2008 by Nikki

88. This is from Rhodes Scholar TMZ poster Nanci

"66. Britney is just another spoiled celebrity brat. She needs a spanking and some discipline. I don't believe anymore that Britney has a mental illness....she thinks she is above and beyond everyone else. DIVA! It's all a ploy, that I'm convinced of now. It's all her way of staying in the news. If this drama wasn't happening, no one would care! Time to start ignoring the biotch! Stop feeding her twisted mind with how wonderful she is because it's not true....All I can see is a woman who is a has been! She needs to curl up and blow away!"

Nanci, you are why the American public is despised by the rest of the world. You are pathetically, embarrassingly ignorant. You don't have any clue what you are talking about. You are probably a very stupid woman. Unfortunately, you have lots of company. Most people are just as ignorant as you about mental illness, even though there is no reason to be. Every psychiatrist in the world could explain to you that there are great big machines and really fancy chemicals and people who are called "scientists" who have studied that organ in your skull you seem to be so desperately lacking. It's a called a brain. These fancy-shmancy people who have studied the brain have found out that there are things that are going wrong inside the brains of people who behave this way consistently and are not found to be on drugs. They have also found that when you correct the problem with medicine, people get better, I know that's all reaally reaally hard for you to understand, but you need to just admit that the medical community has decided that your opinion on this matter is WRONG.

And in the meantime, the type of rhetoric you are spewing about Britney, in my opinion, should be considered hate speech. This is very likely a person who suffers from a disability, and she should have a civil right to not be abused by people like you.

Posted at 12:35PM on Jan 7th 2008 by NAMI.org

89. Has anyone ever stopped and thought "Maybe she has postpardum depression?" and its only continued from the birth of sean preston... If you think about thats when things kinda started getting crazy but everyone is blaming the paparazzi (true) her marriage everything. I believe in my heart her postpardum depression has only continued and intensified into somethign far more carzy since she didnt seek help- take it from someone who has suffered from PPD.. its no joke

Posted at 12:36PM on Jan 7th 2008 by nikki

90. Have any of you idiots eve dealt with a family member who has become mentlly il? It's not easy and it is hearwrenching to watch and not be able to do very much about it. Spears is an ADULT. Her parents and he ex husband cannot force her into a hospital for treatment. Unless she has shown that she is a real threat to her self (suicidal) or to others (threatening them wth a weapon), they can't do anymore than what we see is being done with Britany. It's the law, folks.

The Amercan system of treating and taking care of its' mentally ill citizens totally stinks. Back in the 60's and 70's and with the advent of pyschotropic drugs, all of the severly mentally ill people were kicked out of their homes (yes, institutions) and put out onto the street. That is why America, the weatlthiest an most technologially advanced nation in the world has so may homeless people.

Once a person is on medication and is deemed 'healthy' enough, they are quickly released out into the world and when on their own, believing that they are healed from the medications, they go off the medicines and their illnesses come right back.

Folks.....It is not easy dealing with, let alone living with, a menally ill person. It's exhausting dealing with unpredictable people who do everything in an odd way and for no reason at all..... who run about doing crazy obsessive/compulsive things,,,, who hear voices taking to them telling them not to trust anyon else.... and who have quick rages for no reason at all.

It is a constant 24/7 battle with insanity. You can never sleep with both eyes closed because you hve no clue what will happen next. You worry constantly, not only about your loved one who is ill, but also about the safety of everyone else in the home.

People, this girl is obviously suffering from a mental disease. Watching it happen in celebrity like Spears should be a WAKE UP CALL for everyone else. It just goes to show what people don't like to look at full in the face...

ANYONE CAN DEVELOP A MENTAL ILLNESS. It doesn't matter how rich you are, how eduated you are, how poor you are.

IT CAN STRIKE YOU OR A LOVED ONE AT ANY TIME!!!

So, please stop being ignoramuses who don't think before they open their mouths. Show some compassion, for God's sake!

And help do something to change the laws in this country so that we can not only protect ourselves but also the citizens of this country and to GIVE THEM A PLACE TO LIVE.

Posted at 12:36PM on Jan 7th 2008 by Bonnie N