Britney, Mental Illness and Lay Interpretation

Britney, Britney, Britney! In the last few months I have read articles claiming that Britney Spears is suffering from everything from drug addiction to multiple personalities. If you were to believe everything you read you would conclude that she is bi-polar, ADHD, psychotic, dissociative, narcissistic, depressed, suicidal, homicidal, alcoholic and a child abuser.

One thing I am sure of is that no one other than her own trained, professional, therapist can say for sure what is going on with her. And as far as I know, she doesn't have one.

It's curious how quickly lay people ascribe professional diagnosis to others. Everyone wants to believe that they are capable of diagnosing people with mental illness. If that were true it wouldn't take at least 7 years of college education and 2 years of a full time internship before therapists were able to do so.

I had a friend who, while divorcing her husband, began to tell everyone she knew that her husband had bi-polar disorder. He didn't. In fact he had never even been to a therapist and he didn't have the symptoms necessary for diagnosis. But she was sure of it, and so the rumor was spread around her small town.

Even insurance company employees want to believe that they have the ability to correctly diagnose patients they have only met on paper. I know a woman who has suffered with bi-polar disorder and psychosis for most of her adult life. She has a strong family history of the illness and all of the troubling symptoms that keep her from functioning in life. And yet her attempts to be granted Social Security Insurance have been denied over and over again. Her neighbor is a drug addict who was approved for Social Security the first time he applied - stating that his drug addiction kept him from keeping a job.

Mental Illness is a complex and often perplexing state of mind. Sometimes Its symptoms are easily noticed, more often they are not. Britney may be suffering from some form of mental illness, but unless and until the public is made aware of a specific illness it is senseless to speculate and cruel to arbitrarily assign a diagnosis.

The Real Role of Rehab

How Rehab Works
Rehab isn't designed to help people who what to escape jail time or who want a reprieve from public scrutiny. Regardless of your social status rehab only works for those who fully work the program during and after treatment.

Whether you're a celebrity or just a regular person, addiction treatment typically involves a similar series of steps:

* Detoxification. About half of the addicts who come to Butler Hospital in Providence, R.I., must check in as an inpatient for three to five days of "acute stabilization," Alan Gordon, MD, Butler's chief of addiction rehabilitation, tells WebMD. Some must cope with symptoms of withdrawal such as tremors, paranoia, and depression. Others must deal with the crises that brought them in to treatment, such as legal or domestic problems. (In outpatient programs like those at Butler Hospital, "detox" is the only inpatient component.)
* Diagnosis. Many addicts also suffer from psychiatric problems--such as sleep disorders, bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety--or have faced traumatic life experiences such as rape or incest. While the exact relation between these problems and substance abuse may not be clear, many addiction treatment programs link up patients with psychiatrists or therapy groups.
* Cognitive therapy. This therapy helps addicts realize which life situations are most likely to trigger substance abuse, says Newt Galusha, MD, of Harris Methodist Springwood Hospital in Bedford, Texas. Then the addicts develop alternative plans. For example, if an addict usually drinks after arguing with a spouse, he might learn to end those fights by counting to 10 or going to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting instead of going to a bar. Addicts also learn "assertive skills" that help them learn how to say no to drugs or alcohol, Gordon says.
* Family therapy. Many programs bring family members into the program to heal damaged relationships and shore up the addict's support network. Support from family members is key to helping addicts stay clean over the long run, Garrett O'Connor, MD, chief psychiatrist at the Betty Ford Center, tells WebMD.
* Medication. An FDA-approved medication, Campral, helps people with alcohol dependence who have quit stay alcohol-free. Another FDA-approved drug, Suboxone, treats addiction to opiates (including heroin and some prescription painkillers); it reduces withdrawal symptoms and cravings. Suboxone has a similar effect as methadone but is less prone to abuse, Gordon says.
* Introduction to 12-step programs. The Scripps McDonald treatment center in La Jolla, Calif., recommends "90 meetings in 90 days" for all of its patients, says Fred Berger, MD, center medical director. Many centers encourage patients to attend Alcoholics Anonymous or other forms of group therapy for a year or more after treatment.

Is ADHD, ADD Real?

Many of you have heard by now that the latest research has shown that as many as 85% of all children in the USA that have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) have been misdiagnosed. Consequently, thousands of our school age children have been given harsh, addictive drugs for years. For many of them, once they have grown to adulthood, feel they have little choice but to begin using illegal drugs like cocaine to maintain their habit.

We are raising a generation of drug dependent people who have a defeatist, victim attitude about life in general. Instead of growing up clear-headed and optimistic about life, they were being misdiagnosed for years, ingesting drugs that they didn't need. Their brains have been soaked in a chemical brine that can cause all kinds of other problems. Often they take on a victim role and they use their "diagnosis" as a way to avoid social, academic and occupational success.

The good news is that there are now definitive medical tests that can be done to determine once and for all if someone has ADD or ADHD. The unpleasant news is that most of those tested are found not to have either illness. How is that unpleasant you ask?

Well, suddenly realizing that your child has been ingesting powerful, mind altering drugs, can devastate even the most forgiving parent. And there is the original issue that still needs to be addressed; "What is the cause of my child's poor behavior?"

Being mature and sophisticated enough to accept that family dynamics may have started this whole ball rolling is difficult to assimilate. Most people want to blame someone else instead of looking at the obvious especially when it means taking some of the responsibility for the problem.

Who is the best patent here? The one who refuses to look at the truth or the parent who is willing to took around every corner to find all the pieced to this complicated puzzle?

For more information google Dr. Frank Lawless, a world leader regarding ADHD and ADD.

Are Video Games Addictive? Why?

More than just fun, a 2007 study suggests that the best gaming platforms fulfill basic psychological needs.

A study that just came out this month shows that video games may be difficult to give up because the authors have discovered a way to put such realism into the games that they are actually fulfilling basic human needs.

Although some games were found to be just "fun" it was the games that provided opportunities for achievement, freedom and a connection to other players that created a players desire to come back again and again. "Players reported feeling the best when the games produced positive experiences and challenges that connected to what they knew in the real world," said one researcher.

It's the gamers' connection to other players that's the psychological pull of games, the study reports. And it is their capacity to create feelings of autonomy, competence and relatedness" - thus creating a short term feeling of wellness that brings players back.

For those who play massively multiplayer online, or MMO, games -- which are capable of supporting many thousands of players simultaneously -- the need for relatedness was found to be a key satisfaction, one that promotes a sense of presence, game enjoyment and an intention for future play," the researchers found.

In our culture of latch-key kids and using video games and the television as babysitters are our children being vicariously denied their basic psychological needs? It would seem so. If not, they would not have the intense need to find electronic ways to get their needs met. Healthy families require time - both quality and quantity.

Source: HealthDay, Medline, and psych-net.com