Britney Spears: There But for the Grace of God Go I

re: "I wish he'd spoken about mental illness too, though. We live in a society where people laugh at Tom Cruise -- but secretly believe him."
Posted by: Larry Parker | January 7, 2008 5:24 PM

ok, you got me.... believe him about what?? (see, I don't even listen to him)
Cully

I feel for the poor thing. When I recall how mixed up I felt at her age, without the burdens of fame, early marriage, children, and a messed-up family, I marvel that it hasn't happened before now. I just want to give her a hug.

In view of all the dreadful happenings which so routinely occur in our world and with so many deprived and suffering people shuffling off the mortal coil by the minute, to observe that everyone is so centered upon Speers, including 24 hour news channels, results in my feeling irate. So, she is mentally ill? OK, join the club, already, is how I feel! What the heck is all this celebrity worship and adulation? There are thousands of people roaming the streets, all over, who are deserving of equal interest because they suffer from the same! At *least* she might serve to make mental illness popular, come to think of it!

I've never been a Britney fan, but I am now.

She has to do what most of us get to do in the privacy of our own homes.

Her new song "You Want a Piece of This?" only makes me cluck my tongue and tap my feet at those folks who want to see her sink further. This gal is a scrapper and deserves a lot more credit then I think she gets.

I harken to Elton John's "I'm Still Standing"...my Ally McBeal style, life anthem!

I don't know why I have taken an interest in her. Maybe something Gloria Steinman wrote about in "The Revolution From Within"--she wrote about how as mature women, we need to embrace and support the younger woman across the room and give them space to make mistakes.

Gloria didn't say anything about being judgie.
She's so darn cool, that bra-burning-she's-in-her-sixties-and-she's-still-a-babe, feminist.

I have had a few marvelous discussions with my children about Britney. Is she a role model? Is she human? Is she --like all of--capable of monumental mistakes and deserving of compassion?

I'm going to forgo connecting any dots and hope that she lands on her feet with grace and style, in a way that a young, inexperienced 20-something should.

Thank God people weren't cheering against me when I was at my lowest.

chatter:

"I'm Still Standing" -- great anthem!

Though I might choose "Solsbury Hill" or "Unwritten" myself.

("Oops I Did It Again" might be a little inappropriate in this context, though ...)

and thank you Therese, Craig Ferguson, Britney Spears, and all of you here for the insight that came a few minutes ago.

As for theme songs... even though I also chose "Solsbury Hill" for many years as mine and have a deep love for Peter Gabriel, I'd say my real one is either the Fuzzy and Blue song that Grover sings or Amazing Grace no matter who sings it.

Marquous,
That's called "empathy, my cyberfriend; something tis world doen't seen to practice a whole lot anymore. As I said in response to There's last post on Britney, I fear thar before long the media will end up creating ann end similar to that of the late Princess Diana, who was also a membe of our not-so-exclusive club and had to see her very personal struggles played out it the media
"How many roads must a (wo)man walk down before you can call her a (wo)man....(With apologies to the great Bob Dylan)..."When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn? I grant you that britney has in some ways courted this coverage, but I doubt very seriously if she's invited ALL of it, especially the speculations.

I advocate giving Britney all of our love and support! She was gifted with incredible beauty, talent and personality, but with all of the demands on her, I think she may have forgotten to take care of "Britney" in the process. Now, she is "crying out for Love" and likely wants to be accepted as just a person, with faults and shortcomings, just like the rest of us. I think she deserves that.

I offer Britney all the love and support that I have and I encourage everyone to do the same. When she "gets it" that she is loved no matter what, when people in her life take the time to meet her needs and perhaps with some assistance from counselors, etc., she can fully recover. Once through this crisis, she will again be able to deliver "Britney" to her fans, give appropriately to her children, and still have something left over for herself as well.

Britney is the poster child of bipolar people who fuck around and fail to deal with their illness. Yeah, it's an illness. But if the individual chooses to drink and fuck off instead of seeking treatment, it becomes a self-propelled problem.

The best thing would be for that ditzy bimbo to grow up and take some responsibility for herself. "Poor Britney", my ass.

(((Mark)))

And you're right about the camera crews -- I have my own story about that, about a public figure even more unsympathetic (at the time) than Britney is now, I can share off-line. (Didn't involve mental illness, so it's not really on-topic.)

Jill, you're right about the cult of celebrity both contributing to and enabling the problems of Britney and so many others. But given what we've learned about Britney's dysfunctional family just in the last few weeks, I give Britney a touch more mercy.

Paula,
Totally agree with about the gutter language,there is without a doubt no place for it here.How can anyone be so angry at a person they don't even know!! Brittney is no different on the inside than any of the rest of us......ill and suffering extreme pain. Me thinks Mozena and Giliana need to walk a mile in Brittneys moccasins before they so cruely judge her.Does it make people feel superior to bash others,when,as all of us here are aware of,all of us have undoubtedly said and done things in the course of our ilnesses that we regret. I say leave the girl alone,she deserves the chance at recovery without the whole world recording and commenting on her every move.Those cruel and judgemental comments above,seem to be made by someone in denial and need to see a therapist asap!! Maybe those awful words would be better posted on myspace or some other teenaged based blog,where people 'just don't get it!!'

Brittney: wasn't she first promoted as "wholesome?" Seems like she was. I feel sorry for her. She has always courted the press and attention, and still seems to be doing so. Now it comes back to bite her. She reminds me of a high-speed water craft without rudder control. A crash is gonna happen.

Ah...the public loves stories like this where they can feel so superior to to these wigged-out Hollyweird types. If you ever read an online story about her, the comments following are vicious. Celebrity-watching as blood-sport. Saw the Craig Ferguson monolog just after it was posted on you-tube. Very classy. Wish I could stay up late to watch the show. I hope that Brittney's story doesn't get any more tragic than it already is.

As a mother, every highlight of anothers pain to serve our own false superiority is a disgrace. There is no need to heighten the fear and guilt. Honor the path she has taken as we are not in a direct way to intercede. Pray..of course. Write her a letter...might help. As for me,
I trust with all my heart that Britney and anyone else labeled addicted,mentally ill or just plain stupid will find their way...even a way that we as a society deem "right". My heart is with all of you struggling with your path and if Britney's story is uncomfortably close to your own, may you find something useful in it. And Britney...if you are reading this...consider looking within for what you need. I honor you and love you
Peace unto all

After getting into AA, after suffering 25 years of drinking, one thing that seems to stand out continueously is that due to a chemical imbalance in our brains (be it caused by imbalanced chemicals, imbalanced memories, imbalanced thoughts, etc.) we self-medicate ourselves to ease the pain.

The other thing is that all of us have turned to alcohol to self-medicate ourselves because we "don't fit" into what the world considers normal. I know fit into the world of AA.

Yes, AA encourages us to hit bottom and be accountable BUT that hitting bottom can be a very dangerous area. It is a very thin line when we hit bottom if we try going up or ending it all. Many have ended their lives (I came close) rather then try to find out what really is wrong with us.

I am thankful AA didn't ask me to become accountable until the 4th step when I had to do a moral inventory of myself. If my home group had mentioned that during the first few months...forget it I was going back into the pit of despair.

It took me 2 1/2 years before it finally was a "requirement" of my home group to do my 4th step (I don't recommend that to anyone) but I kept slipping and 2 members refused to give up on me.

I laugh now but I can see how my small group (only 15 of us) worked behind my back so that when it was time for my 4th step there was nothing I could say to argue with their suggestions.

After I had been around the group weekly for 3 months - they started "rotating" their seating so that they would sit with me at twice a month and got to know "how I processed things in my head".

Sneaky little devils I have often called my sponsors for they had arranged the rotation just as they had arranged me sharing my 4th step with them first THEN started bugging me to share it with my homegroup, 4 members at a time. THEN started bugging me to stand up at my homegroup and share my inventory with everyone at once.

I admit...this is not normal AA members or sponsorship etc. but they have found this to be very effective when they realize someone really wants to get their sh** together but fear stops them from doing so.

I will always and forever be in debt to my sponsors and my homegroup for each and everyone of them has told me that the more I shared my inventory with them and others...the more my emotional unstableness would balance itself out for I have faced my fears and won.

It is because of my homegroup never giving up on me and their "antics" to get me to work the program that I seldom need medications (some mental illnesses require them for life), my depression seldom flairs up, I do 12 step work regularly and not only accept but offer to do service work whereever it may be required no matter what may be required.

Nancy a.k.a. sixlittlekitties

Well, I feel for Britney & her family. My daughter has been a true fan even still now. Britney needs to want to help herself or else nothing will ever work. She needs to mend her relationship with her Mom and let her back into her life so she can help get her through this. As far as her ex, I think he is just taking advantage of a low time in Britney's life and is selfishly not trying to help her but hurt her as much as he can. He sure kissed up to her in the beginning, that's why he is where he is now all because of her. Prior to Britney being in his life he was a nobody spectacular!I think her life spiralled downwards when she got together with him and well the rest is history.I can imagine how hard it is to be in the spotlight all the time and how it takes a toll on some people,but Britney needs to know that a lot of people love her and a lot of people are praying for her and God is the only salvation for her. I hope that she gets better so she can be on top of the world again. As far as her ex and anyone else trying to crush her, I hope that they come to there senses and show some compassion and realize that they are not perfect either, so who are we to judge?

I know that no matter what we do, God love us. Just remember to keep Brittney in our prayer. We look at man outward appearance, but God see the heart. We all sin.