Britney Spears & Her ??? Condition

Jiro said:
that doesn't sound pretty.... :Ohno: but do you agree that booze/drug abuse can exacerbate & prolong it?
Click to expand...

Most definately. And substance abuse behaviors can also mimic other disorders. Likewise, some people who have a substance abuse issue also have an undiagnosed mental disorder, and are abusing the substance to self-medicate. It is often difficult to tell which came first...the chicken or the egg. Protocol is to get the person sober and clean, and then deal with any symptoms that are not cleared up when the substance abuse has been stopped.
 
Byrdie714 said:
Well I would love to sit here and discuss this more but unfortunately my little weather radio just went off...

Time to get to work and to batten down the batches--70 mph winds are coming. :Ohno: Ugh!

If I don't talk to any of you before midnight tonite--Happy New Year!
Click to expand...

Oh my!

Hope all goes well. Just try not to run out Naked tonight! :lol: 70 mph wind can do some damage!

Have a Safe New Year.
 
jillio,

since spears was diagnosed with bipolar, do you think her psychiatrist addressed her manic symptoms first or did they try to sober her up before tackling the mania? i understand we'll never know for sure, but in that case, what does a psychiatrist normally do? wouldn't she need to be on some kind of mood stabilizer before they could start addressing her substance abuse?
 
Hear Again said:
substance abuse does not represent a diagnosis of bipolar. bipolar is caused by genetic history, one's environment, stressors or antidepressants (which can cause mania in people who are bipolar).

in spears' case, she was evaluated by a psychiatrist who said that she was experiencing a manic episode. in order to be diagnosed as having a manic episode, a person must exhibit a number of symptoms listed under the DSM.
Click to expand...

Correct. However, substance abuse is probably a problem for her, too. Given that manias often give way to reckless behavior, I would tend to think that substance abuse is a huge problem for people with bipolar disorder. The issue is to treat all co-morbid disorders. I would not doubt that she is in some kind of counseling for substance abuse as it tends to go hand in hand with bipolar disorder. Also, someone undiagnosed might self medicate with alcohol to either deal with the unrelenting depressive episodes or because they are manic and out of control behaviorally.
 
Oceanbreeze said:
Correct. However, substance abuse is probably a problem for her, too. Given that manias often give way to reckless behavior, I would tend to think that substance abuse is a huge problem for people with bipolar disorder. The issue is to treat all co-morbid disorders. I would not doubt that she is in some kind of counseling for substance abuse as it tends to go hand in hand with bipolar disorder. Also, someone undiagnosed might self medicate with alcohol to either deal with the unrelenting depressive episodes or because they are manic and out of control behaviorally.
Click to expand...

i agree with you. when i started therapy a year and a half ago, my therapist asked me if i abused drugs and/or alcohol and explained that people diagnosed with bipolar are subject to substance abuse due to manic or depressive episodes.
 
Hear Again said:
jillio,

since spears was diagnosed with bipolar, do you think her psychiatrist addressed her manic symptoms first or did they try to sober her up before tackling the mania? i know we'll never know for sure, but in that case, what does a psychiatrist normally do? wouldn't she need to be on some kind of mood stabilizer before they could start addressing her substance abuse?
Click to expand...

Good question. My guess is they dealt with her substance abuse first. Then, set about getting an accurate diagnosis. I think it would be difficult to get an accurate diagnosis if the person was always on mind altering substances?

Jillio, what say you?
 
Byrdie714 said:
Well I would love to sit here and discuss this more but unfortunately my little weather radio just went off...

Time to get to work and to batten down the batches--70 mph winds are coming. :Ohno: Ugh!

If I don't talk to any of you before midnight tonite--Happy New Year!
Click to expand...

oh lordy! good luck and be safe! don't forget to buy Jiro's Hurricane Sunglasses. I guarantee you that it will stay on up to 200 mph! :cool2:
 
Hear Again said:
jillio,

since spears was diagnosed with bipolar, do you think her psychiatrist addressed her manic symptoms first or did they try to sober her up before tackling the mania? i understand we'll never know for sure, but in that case, what does a psychiatrist normally do? wouldn't she need to be on some kind of mood stabilizer before they could start addressing her substance abuse?
Click to expand...

I think that's why she was admitted to drug/alcohol rehab... needs to get clean up first before psychiatrist can do her/his job.
 
Oceanbreeze said:
Good question. My guess is they dealt with her substance abuse first. Then, set about getting an accurate diagnosis. I think it would be difficult to get an accurate diagnosis if the person was always on mind altering substances?

Jillio, what say you?
Click to expand...

i'm wondering if they didn't put her on a fast acting mood stabilizer like Depakote and/or antipsychotic like Zyprexa and then immediately addressed her substance abuse.
 
Hear Again said:
i'm wondering if they didn't put her on a fast acting mood stabilizer like Depakote and/or antipsychotic like Zyprexa and then immediately addressed her substance abuse.
Click to expand...

that's why hospital personnel got caught peeking into Britney Spears' file.
 
Hear Again said:
i agree with you. when i started therapy a year and a half ago, my therapist asked me if i abused drugs and/or alcohol and explained that people diagnosed with bipolar are subject to substance abuse due to manic or depressive episodes.
Click to expand...

I was asked the same thing when I was diagnosed BPII.
 
Jiro said:
I think that's why she was admitted to drug/alcohol rehab... needs to get clean up first before psychiatrist can do her/his job.
Click to expand...

...unless spears was so severely manic that she immediately needed to be stabilized. in that case, i assume she would have been given a fast acting mood stabilizer and/or antipsychotic before being treated for her substance abuse.
 
Oceanbreeze said:
I was asked the same thing when I was diagnosed BPII.
Click to expand...

both my pdoc and tdoc think i exhibited symptoms of bipolar since my early 20s and back then, i did drink quite a bit of alcohol (especially wine coolers). they also said this was likely due to mania. the only reason i stopped was because i started taking meds after my official diagnosis of bipolar in 2006.
 
:dizzy: we can spin this all day long... We'll just have to sit tight and wait for her to come out and tell us all.
 
Jiro said:
:dizzy: we can spin this all day long... We'll just have to sit tight and wait for her to come out and tell us all.
Click to expand...

i hope she does. we need more famous advocates like her to raise public awareness of bipolar given how misunderstood an illness it is.
 
Hear Again said:
i'm wondering if they didn't put her on a fast acting mood stabilizer like Depakote and/or antipsychotic like Zyprexa and then immediately addressed her substance abuse.
Click to expand...

No idea. this is what bothers me about the whole Britney Spears thing. We all assume way too much. We're not privy to her medical records, so we don't know what her treatment plan entailed, nor should we be.

It's clear to me that this woman is ill and she needs to be treated as such. She shouldn't be vilified for her behavior.
 
Jiro said:
that's why hospital personnel got caught peeking into Britney Spears' file.
Click to expand...

this happens to *anyone* who is hospitalized for mental illness. when i was hospitalized for bipolar in 2006, the psychiatrist overseeing my treatment looked into my mental health history to help make a correct diagnosis. psychiatrists also need to know whether or not a patient has a history of depression or bipolar since depressive and manic episodes can be caused by not taking one's psychiatric meds.
 
Hear Again said:
jillio,

since spears was diagnosed with bipolar, do you think her psychiatrist addressed her manic symptoms first or did they try to sober her up before tackling the mania? i understand we'll never know for sure, but in that case, what does a psychiatrist normally do? wouldn't she need to be on some kind of mood stabilizer before they could start addressing her substance abuse?
Click to expand...

The first priority would be to get her off whatever substance she was abusing. Until the drugs and alcohol are out of her system, we don't know if the mania is caused by the substances being abused, or by a chemical imbalance.
 
Back
Top