Private thing in a Public Setting

I am still very concerned about Miss Spears. This is obvious a very private circumstance being lived out on a very public stage. I only wish her the best.

How Britney's Second Psychiatric Hold Went Down

Posted Jan 31st 2008 9:21AM by TMZ Staff

TMZ has broken story after story in the middle of the night, detailing the second commitment of Britney Spears that occurred in the last few hours. For all of you who have just logged on, here's a summary:

Last night, Britney's new psychiatrist went to her home and felt she was a danger to herself and others -- partly because of her reckless driving and partly because of her "downhill behavior." As a result, the shrink launched a plan (days in the making) to have Britney committed to UCLA Medical Center by calling the cops.

Sources tell us the cops knew it was coming. In fact, the plan was for cops and paramedics to take Britney away the night before, but it was scrubbed. Last night, it all went down according to plan. Cops even used code to minimize craziness in transporting Britney to the hospital. Over the police radio, she was referred to as "The Package."

Before the cops arrived, the shrink told her she was going back to the hospital and she offered no resistance. She said, "Is something wrong?" She made hot chocolate and waited. Her mom, Lynne, got extremely agitated, accusing Sam of engineering the impending commitment. We're told Brit told her to "shut the hell up." She demanded silence, sat on the floor and wrote notes to people who were there as they waited. When emergency personnel arrived, Brit went on the gurney without resistance.

When everyone arrived at UCLA, things got heated. Jamie Spears began screaming at Sam Lutfi, accusing him of trying to control Britney. We're told as far as the doctors are concerned -- at least for now -- Lynne and Jamie Spears are not calling the shots. The point guy for the docs is Brit's friend, Sam Lutfi.

Sources say after Britney's commitment earlier this month, she was extremely upset at her dad for getting angry at Sam and the hospital staff. Britney had lawyers draft several documents, however, we're told she did not sign a durable power of attorney giving Lutfi the power to make medical decisions on her behalf. Nevertheless, something was signed and doctors are going to Lutfi for guidance. Jamie went off on Lutfi in the hallway, accusing him of trying to control his daughter.

Britney has been calm in the hospital, even getting a "cigarette break."

We're told during the initial 72-hour stay she cannot be forced to take medication against her will. If, however, she refuses to take the meds, the plan is for the psychiatrist to go to court and have Britney held for an additional 14 days, during which time he could administer proper medications.

As TMZ first reported, Britney has already been diagnosed with a bipolar disorder and has sporadically taken her medication. But one source says the meds just aren't doing the trick.

Oh, and get this. Lynne Spears drove to the hospital tonight with Brit's pap friend Adnan!

Stay tuned.

No meds approach to treating mental illness??

Recovery from mental illness can happen with help and hard work
By Paddy Kutz


This is not the first article I have recently read about the no meds. approach to mental illness. On this blog, from uTube is someone promoting 5 books using the no meds. approach. I would like to see if this works on severely delusional bipolar patients. This is what I have experience with. There is a lot of fear on the part of the delusional person and from the people that are surrounding them. Their manic actions are frightening and very problematic. I do totally sympathize with them when it comes to taking brain killing drugs. I saw my mother literally die from the anti-psychotic drugs she had taken her whole life. So if there is an alternative that really works, and I would like to see the evidence, that that is the solution to a major problem in America.

"If I gave you my entire psychiatric history," Ken says, "you'd probably wonder how I could put two sentences together and function on any meaningful level. During tough times, I look back and see only the darkness, but there has been a lot of light, otherwise I wouldn't have survived."

Meet my friend Ken, a person who has struggled with his mental illness, but is now doing very well in recovery. Ken began fighting depression early. He had life experiences that were very challenging. He tried everything to treat his depression.

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Years of talk therapy, medication of every size, shape and color, moving across the country, climbing mountains, being constantly busy, trying to build a relationship with his father. All the things he accomplished were worth a lot, but they meant nothing to him at the time because he couldn't get rid of the depression. Today the outside world hasn't changed, but his internal perspective has. He tells me he has learned to look at things differently.

Ken credits much of his turnaround to the doctor he began working with four years ago. After briefly discussing medication, to Ken's surprise, this doctor, trained to prescribe medications, began explaining the process of finding peace of mind.

Overcoming depression, for Ken, involved a spiritual approach. By trying to control his own emotions, he found that he only allowed them to control him. When he gave up control and used that energy to follow his own creative path, he was better able to cope with the emotions and get through each day.

"My depression hasn't changed," he explains, "but my reaction to it has." He uses the analogy of encountering a bear in the forest. Your gut reaction is to run, but you have the best chance if you lie down and act as if you're totally relaxed. Similarly, it's difficult to outrun one's own emotions. Another apt comparison is quicksand. Ken says, "the more I wiggle, the faster I sink, so I'm learning to stop wiggling."

Since he began working with this doctor and joined a support group, who believed in him and encouraged him, Ken has written and recorded several songs and is continuing his musical pursuits. Today he lives in the present: "I've grown a lot through my illness and have a lot to show for it, if I stay in the present. Don't regret the past," he says, "because everything you've experienced, good and bad, got you where you are now, which is on the verge of creating the kind of life you've always wanted."

Ken concludes with this message, "Have gratitude, have patience, get in touch with who you are and go for what you want now. Give yourself credit for the person you have become. The real power for all of us lies within ourselves. Tapping into that power is exhilarating and a bit scary. But by all means, enjoy the ride."

Recovery from depression and other mental health conditions is possible and Mental Health America wants to help you. Ken, who now has a rewarding career and full life, worked hard to get where he is today and you can as well. MHA offers free support groups for people experiencing depression and other disorders. Call me at (740) 522-1341 for information and referrals.

Paddy Kutz is the executive director of Mental Health America of Licking County. MHA is partner agency of United Way, NAMI and the Community Mental Health & Recovery Board.

Information on new Legislation from NAMI

Support SAMHSA Reauthorization!

This article came from the NAMI website. This is very important legislation as we desperately need to help our mentally ill homeless people. Most of them, in my opinion, just need to be taking the correct medicine, then they would probably be positive, contributing members of society.

January 18, 2008

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is scheduled to consider legislation to reauthorize the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) on January 30th. The draft bill includes a package of important initiatives that NAMI has been working on for years, including:

• Expansion of suicide prevention programs,
• Prevention of custody relinquishment,
• Services for homeless individuals with mental illness and
• Efforts to further reduce the use of restraint and seclusion of young people.

ACT NOW!

One of your state’s U.S. Senators serves on the HELP Committee and it is now critical to contact their office to press them to support this draft SAMHSA reauthorization bill. Call or email your Senator today, and urge them to vote in support of the reauthorization on January 30.

---

Call Instructions:

Find your Senator from the list below, and call the number:

State Senator Telephone

AK	Lisa Murkowski	202-224-6665
CO	Wayne Allard	202-224-5941
CT	Christopher Dodd	202-224-2823
GA	Johnny Isakson	202-224-3646
IA	Tom Harkin	202-224-3254
IL	Barack Obama	202-224-2854
KS	Pat Roberts	202-224-4774
MA	Edward Kennedy	202-224-4543
MD	Barbara A. Mikulski	202-224-4654
NC	Richard Burr	202-224-3154
NH	Judd Gregg	202-224-3324
NM	Jeff Bingaman	202-224-5521
NY	Hillary Rodham Clinton	202-224-4451
OK	Tom Coburn, MD	202-224-5754
OH	Sherrod Brown	202-224-2315
RI	Jack Reed	202-224-4642
TN	Lamar Alexander	202-224-4944
UT	Orrin G. Hatch	202-224-5251
VT	Bernard Sanders	202-224-5141
WA	Patty Murray	202-224-2621
WY	Micheal B. Enzi	202-224-3424

Talking Points

Remind your Senator that the SAMHSA Reauthorization bill includes the following critical provisions for children and adults living with mental illness and their families:

• Renewal of expansion of the Garrett Lee Smith Act that support state and local efforts to replicate successful strategies for youth suicide prevention and college-based mental health programs,
• The Keeping Families Together Act (S 382) that authorizes planning grants for states to implement strategies designed to address the tragic and unnecessary policy of families relinquishing custody of a child in order to access mental health services,
• The Services for Ending Long-Term Homelessness Act (SELHA, S 593) that authorizes services in permanent supportive housing for individuals with mental illness and co-occurring disorders that have experienced chronic homelessness,
• Efforts by Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and others to expand federal efforts to curb the inappropriate use of restraint and seclusion, particularly for adolescents placed in juvenile facilities and correctional schools, and
• Expanded requirements for states to collect data regarding expenditure of federal mental health block grant funds and their relationship to specific outcomes.

Bush signs bill

Bush signs bill to prevent severely mentally ill people from purchasing firearms
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- President Bush signed legislation Tuesday aimed at preventing the severely mentally ill from buying guns, in a rare bipartisan agreement with the Democratic-led Congress after the bloody Virginia Tech shooting.
New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy introduced the bill in 2002 after a shooting that year in a church. But the legislation did not gain the momentum it needed until after the Virginia Tech shootings in April, and families of the victims lobbied to strengthen the law.
"Had it become law earlier, it may well have saved the lives of 32 students who were killed at Virginia Tech by another mentally ill gunman," Schumer said.
Virginia Tech gunman Seung Hui Cho passed a background check and bought two guns even though a Virginia court had deemed him mentally defective.
White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Bush strongly supports the goals of the bill.
"We saw with the terrible shootings at Virginia Tech last year that an incomplete system can have tragic consequences," Fratto said.
Also Tuesday, Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine proposed requiring background checks for everyone who tries to buy firearms at gun shows -- legislation that he called crucial to helping prevent incidents such as the shootings at Virginia Tech.
In Virginia and most other states, people can buy firearms from private, unlicensed sellers at gun shows without a background check. Such checks are required for sales by licensed dealers, whether they are at gun shows or elsewhere.
Attempts to expand background checks in Virginia have failed repeatedly.
Gun law
The bill authorizes up to $1.3 billion for states to improve tracking and reporting of individuals who shouldn't qualify to legally buy a gun, including people involuntarily confined by a mental institution.

Bipolar Britney?

ThStill Rooting for Britney
Categories: britney

I've been hearing from a reliable source for almost a year now that some of Britney Spears' family members believe she has bipolar disorder. They don’t think it’s drugs. They don’t feel she has a drinking problem.
In plain and simple language, they believe the former pop princess has a mental illness.
If, in fact, Ms. Spears has a bipolar illness, isn’t it time for the haters to back off? I'm talking about those who post comments on blogs that go so far as to wish her dead.
Making fun of Spears for a bad song, a poor performance or maybe even a not-so-in-shape body, I can handle. But the venom that's been spewed in the last 24 hours alone is unreal.
Why so much hate? My armchair theory is, it’s jealousy. No one is jealous of her downfall, but surely they may be envious of all she's achieved in her very young life. She wasn’t even an adult when she became one of the world’s biggest pop sensations. And she got very, very rich along the way.
Fast-forward to today. Spears is in a hospital, locked down for her own good. No one knows for sure what exactly went down last night at her house, but I don’t care how famous you are, being strapped into a gurney and thrown into an ambulance as paparazzi and news helicopters hover overheard to catch every minute detail cannot be fun in any way.
While her particular situation may be unique, Spears is not exactly alone. According to the National Institutes of Mental Health, bipolar disorder affects 5.7 million American adults. The median age of onset for the illness is 25. Spears just turned 26 Dec. 1.
"The symptoms of bipolar disorder are basically extreme highs and lows," says Los Angeles-based psychotherapist Stacy Kaiser. "It's a very undertreated disorder. Most people end up medicating themselves with drugs or alcohol."
I was talking to a friend earlier who said of Spears’ messy life, “She asked for it.” Would you say the same thing about someone with cancer?
No one in their right mind asks to have bipolar disorder. No one in their right mind asks for their children to be taken away from them. No one in their right mind asks to be called trash by overzealous bloggers.
I am not saying Spears' behavior should be condoned or supported. Of course not. Not only has she apparently put her own life at risk, she’s appeared to have endangered her children’s safety and well-being.
But with the right medical care and supervision, there’s no reason Spears can’t get back on her own two feet. Up to 80 percent of those treated generally show an improvement in their symptoms within four to six weeks of beginning medication, psychotherapy, and/or attending support groups, according to NIMH.
She could be a mom to those kids. She can be a wife again someday. And yes, I really do believe she can fill stadiums and concert halls like she once did not so long ago.
"There are a lot of people with bipolar disorder that function in the world like normal people," Kaiser says.
Still, as the hours have gone by today, I've noticed a shift. Comments posted on blogs seem to be more sympathetic. People, I hope, are slowly coming to realize she isn’t just a spoiled brat dancing on table tops. Spears is a sick woman who needs help.
My heart goes out to her. It really does.
Remember, she’s just like us.

This was in the news today. I felt like I could have written it myself. I totally agree with what she said. We need to be more cognizant of mental illness and be patient and compassionate with people who may be struggling with a diagnosis of their own. Remember it could be you or a close loved one.

Jazz

As a music lover, I thought this was interesting.

Mental illness 'at the root of jazz'
Buddy Bolden (second from left) pioneered jazz improvisation
The mental health problems of one musician could have led to the creation of jazz.
Without his schizophrenia, Charles "Buddy" Bolden - the man credited by some with starting off the jazz movement - might never have started improvisation, psychiatrists have heard.
And without this style change, music might never have evolved from ragtime into the jazz movement we know today.
Professor Dr Sean Spence, of the department of psychiatry at the University of Sheffield, was speaking to representatives at the Royal College of Psychiatrists' annual conference.
He said jazz music arose from the attempts of a cognitively impaired performer to execute novel performances.
If we had not had this improvised music then it would just have continued as ragtime
Dr Sean Spence
He said that Bolden's mental health problems meant his motor functions were impaired.
Bolden could not read music and the only way he was able to play his cornet was by improvising.
Dr Spence said: "It may be that he had to improvise because he could not play tunes in a useful way.
"He could not read music and he had to make up things as he went on.
"If we had not had this improvised music then it would just have continued as ragtime."
Dr Spence said that Bolden was diagnosed as suffering from "dementia praecox", which later became known as schizophrenia.
Ragtime to jazz
Although no recordings of his music survive, Bolden is widely considered to have started the jazz movement, which was officially recognised in 1917.
Bolden was famous for his big bold cornet sound and although his music had a solid blues form it was closer to ragtime than to jazz.
He lived and played at the beginning of the twentieth century, leading a band that was most successful between 1900 and 1906.
Bolden's playing style was extremely popular. At one point he played with eight bands at one time.
But by 1906 Bolden's mental health had started to deteriorate and the next year, after attacking his mother and mother-in-law in the street, he was committed to a mental hospital outside New Orleans.
Bolden remained in the mental hospital until his death 24 years later.
Pete King, the co-founder of the Ronnie Scott's club, said; "Bolden might have had schizophrenia, but that doesn't take away from his incredible talent."

Another tragedy with a mentally unstable person, Colorado

I just posted the tragedy last week in the mall in Omaha. I hope this does not continue every week. America must change the laws and allow educators and medical professionals to be able to provide more help to mentally unstable students and patients. The current laws stifle the comments and observations of the mentally ill. These laws should be held accountable for the innocent deaths of all people killed at the hands of a non-medicated and non-treated mentally unstable person. All I know for sure is there are too many people dying for no reason. What if it were your brother, sister, son, daughter or loved one who is needlessly killed? Take action America. This young man had been kicked out of school, does anyone know why? Obviously, socially disabled, spent hours everyday in front of the computer. This is a very similar equation to almost all of the other recent shootings. Does anyone know anything about the grandmother who tried to enter Disney World with a gun and a knife? They detained her at the front gate. What was on her mind? Was she also trying to carry out a plan that she "heard from God'?

Gunman Posted Anti-Christian Rants
By JUDITH KOHLER,
AP
Posted: 2007-12-11 08:06:02
Filed Under: Crime News, Nation News
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Dec. 11) - With the identity of the gunman now known, residents of two Colorado towns were left Tuesday with deeper questions: What drove Matthew Murray to a rampage that claimed four lives at a church and missionary training center, and were there warning signs that could have prevented it?Investigators were reportedly looking for answers in several rants Murray is believed to have posted on a Web site for people who have left evangelical religious groups. The most recent post was Sunday morning in the hours between his attacks in Arvada and Colorado Springs, according to KUSA-TV in Denver, which first reported on the writings.

The gunman who killed four people in two shooting sprees at a Colorado megachurch, above, and a missionary training school Sunday was kicked out of the school about three years ago, police said in court documents.
1 of 9
"You Christians brought this on yourselves," Murray wrote, according to the station, which did not identify the site. "All I want to do is kill and injure as many of you as I can especially Christians who are to blame for most of the problems in the world."The postings spanned several weeks, the station said, and in an earlier one, Murray appeared to reject offers of psychological help."I've already been working with counselors. I have a point to make with all this talk about psychologists and counselors `helping people with their pain,'" he wrote, according to KUSA.The station said Murray's posts were removed from the site after Sunday's killings, and that authorities were aware of them and investigating. Police in Colorado Springs and Arvada would not comment on the writings.Earlier Monday, a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said it appeared Murray "hated Christians."On Monday, officials said revenge was one apparent motive for the attacks. Police said Murray had been kicked out of a training center for missionaries where the first shootings occurred. He had sent hate mail to the Youth With a Mission center in Arvada in the last few weeks after being removed from the program years ago.In a statement, the training center said health problems kept Murray from finishing the program, but elaborated little. Murray did not complete the lecture phase or a field assignment as part of a 12-week program, Youth With a Mission said."The program directors felt that issues with his health made it inappropriate for him to" finish, it said.The program had an office at the site of the second shooting, the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, where Murray was shot by volunteer security guard Jeanne Assam. Investigators said Murray may have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, though police and church leaders credited Assam's bravery with averting a greater tragedy.Assam, 42, said her faith allowed her to remain steady under pressure."It seemed like it was me, the gunman and God," she said, her hands trembling as she recounted the shooting during a news conference.Assam is a former police officer who worked in Minneapolis during the 1990s, Minneapolis police Sgt. Jesse Garcia said. Garcia said Monday night that he didn't know the exact dates of her employment with the force and couldn't comment on why she left.Also Monday, officials finished searching the home where Murray lived along with a brother, Christopher, 21. Murray's father, Ronald S. Murray, is chief executive of the Rocky Mountain Multiple Sclerosis Center in Englewood.In a search warrant affidavit, investigators said Matthew Murray attended a home-based computer school and worked at his computer for three to five hours a day for the past two years.A neighbor, Cody Askeland, 19, said the brothers were home-schooled, describing the whole family as "very, very religious."Christopher Murray studied for a semester at Colorado Christian University before transferring to Oral Roberts, said Ronald Rex, dean of admissions and marketing at Colorado Christian. He said Matthew Murray had been in contact with school officials this summer about attending the school but decided he wasn't interested because he thought the school was too expensive.Police said Murray's only previous brush with the law was a traffic ticket earlier this year.His relatives said they were grief-stricken and baffled."We cannot understand why this has happened. We ask for prayer for the victims and their families during this time of grief," said Phil Abeyta, Murray's uncle, who read a statement from the family.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2007-12-10 15:27:31