Celebrity bi-polar

I don't know if Britney is bipolar or not. It seems pretty clear that she's nuts, and she has a lot of symptoms that suggest bipolar disorder, but you can't really make a diagnosis without talking to the patient, you have to get a sense of what the persons thoughts are to actually make a diagnosis, you can't rely on observed behavior alone.

But we don't really hear about celibrities with bipolar disorder until they go completely off the rail. Most of us with bipolar disorder don't really do the kind of extreme public acting out we see in Britney.

Here's a discussion of what bipolar disorder is like for one non-celeb.

Law and mental illness

The Harvard Law Review has a long article on Law and Mental Illness. Given that it's the Harvard Law Review it's probably somewhat definitive on the state of the law and mental illness. The problem with it is that it's poorly written and hard to read.

BiPolar Britney

I only half-heartedly follow the Britney saga, I know what's going on although I don't keep up with all the details. But it does seem clear she has a mental disorder of some kind and my best guess is bipolar. Maybe something else, but clearly she has a problem.

What I hadn't realized is that she's lacking in competent legal representation also. I read about this in one of my favorite public defender blogs, Ipse Dixit,

I was a bit confused by the turn of events a few weeks ago when she was brought in on a 72 hour hold that was then extended because she was found to be "gravely disabled". The criteria for gravely disabled, as far as I am aware, indicate that a person is unable to provide themselves with the basics of life: food, shelter, clothing. She's Britney Spears. She has the wherewithall to purchase brand new Mercedes at the drop of a hat, I am pretty sure she is more than capable of providing herself with food, shelter, and clothing (although clothing is a bit of a question considering some of the shit that she leaves the house in). Being deemed gravely disabled is a big, big deal.

If she had competent legal representation courts would not be finding her gravely disabled. She has a big problem but she isn't gravely disabled. I'm a little worried somebody might be trying to make a grab for control of her money. Her relatives don't seem all that trustworthy to me.