Posted on 02/21/2007 10:59:35 AM PST by Extremely Extreme Extremist
(CBS) NEW YORK -- Britney Spears checked in and out of Promises Rehabilitation Center in Malibu, Calif., after less than a day of treatment.
According to TMZ, Spears, who had been tracked down by the paparazzi and photographed while at the center, left Promises because she "just couldn't deal with it."
After a highly publicized breakup with her husband, Kevin Federline, followed by a rapid decline into a hard-partying lifestyle, Spears publicly endured what appeared to be meltdown over the weekend in which she shaved her head and went dancing in a blond wig the next.
The reasons may be more complex than original rumors that said Spears was rebelling against her mother or simply trying to get rid of her hair, which was badly damaged from excessive dye jobs and extensions.
OK! magazine reports that Spears engaged in a screaming match with her estranged husband, the father of her two children, who threatened to force Spears to get a hair test to determine if she had done any illegal drugs.
"They had a huge argument," a source told the magazine. "Kevin threatened Britney that he was going to have people test her hair to find out exactly what she's been up to. She was so scared. That was what made her have her head shaved."
If Spears was found to have been abusing illegal drugs, it could hurt her chances in the impending custody fight for 1 1/2-year-old Sean Preston, and Jayden James, 5 months.
Us magazine, on the other hand, reports that Spears checked in to rehab after her father pleaded with her to get help while out to dinner Sunday night with his daughter at Stevie's Creole Cafe in Encino, Calif.
"Jamie just told Britney how much he loves her and that he wants her to get help," the source told Us. "He told her that he's afraid for her safety and that she needs to take a look at her life and make some major changes or everything is going to get worse. Britney listened to her father and nodded, but was very serious."
Spear's downward spiral began with the separation from Federline and many people have been wondering what exactly is behind the pop star's fall from grace.
Psychoanalyst Dr. Bethany Marshall said there are four underlying reasons why Spears has checked in to rehab for drug and/or alcohol abuse.
"The first possibility is that she understands she has an addiction. Her symptoms are painful, she wants to seek treatment," Dr. Marshall told The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen. "I think that the second possibility, sometimes addicts check themselves in as a way to slow themselves down. They really don't want long-term sobriety … They want a container so that they don't go out of control."
It's also possible that Spears could be suffering from a psychiatric disorder, which is masked by drug and alcohol abuse. It's unlikely that Spears has postpartum depression, Dr. Marshall said, because a depressed person wants to isolate from the world, but Spears has been very public in her partying.
"Unless she's camouflaging the postpartum depression with some stimulant, such as methamphetamine, it's unlikely," Dr. Marshall said. "The fourth thing is that she's complying with requirement, say to get a sponsorship back or say K-Fed is going to release a tape and she wants to look like a good mother seeking sobriety."
Her constant clubbing has left some wondering who was watching the kids, another problem Spears will have to overcome when petitioning the courts.
"It's really not good for her divorce case having all these ridiculous things coming out," family law expert Joshua Forman said.
"The only difference between a celebrity — they are in the public eye so when they hit bottom it's for all the world to see," said Dr. Howard Samuels, executive director of the Wonderland Treatment Center.
Indeed, the world has witnessed months of Spears' heavy drinking and partying and public appearances without underwear. Celebrity blogs chronicled her every move whether she was alone or on the arms of her former best friends, party girls Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. Rehabilitation experts say it was clear what was going on
"She's had a complete emotional break down and she's going to have to stabilize, get sober and work on all the underlying issues that have been creating this dysfunction," Dr. Samuels said.
Spears is not the first celebrity client of Promises rehabilitation center. Ben Affleck, Robert Downey Jr., Matthew Perry, Charlie Sheen and Diana Ross also received treatment at the center, where they typical stay lasts around 45 days and costs between $40,000 and $60,000, according to the New York Daily News.
Last week, Spears made a one-day appearance at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Rehab Center in Antigua, which Richard Rogg, founder and CEO of Promises, told the Daily News was desperate act.
"It usually happens when someone is coerced into being there, or they're so drunk and loaded that they come into treatment, wake up and they're gone," Rogg said.
She goes in and out and in and out and in and out and in and out
And she's playin' all night
And it's feelin' all right...
A celebrity in rehab is a huge distraction to the normal folk in there. Having said that, I hope the woman can find some help.
With a CEO of the Rehab Center talking to public like this, no wonder Britney left the rehab.
Funny how obvious and "normal" her erratic behavior looks, once little gems like this one come to light...
The disturbing aspect of the "hair follies" is that she did this in public, in some run down salon, with all the paparazzi recording the entire incident. Why didn't she shave her head in the privacy of her bathroom?
This is the second rehab failure in one week. It is straitjacket time for this young woman now. She needs the help. Even Frances Farmer would agree, I think.
And why should any of us care????
Tell me about it. I'm no fan of hers, trust me, but there are those poor babies involved. She obviously needs help, and with pictures of her at rehab already posted online, they aren't making it any easier for her to get it.
I wish they would leave her alone to get the help she needs. Her family really needs to intervene at some point.
Who Cares?
I seem to remember a ton of crap spewing forth after 911 about knowing what real heroes are and how we'd never idolize these trivial turds again.
Bullcrap.
This country is on the way out. Bread and circuses while Rome burns.
She ain't gonna make it to 30 at this rate.
Yes, this made me think of Justin Timberlake's constant exhortations to never underestimate Britney Spears.
This makes perfect sense now, including the crying beforehand. What doesn't make sense is that she forgot to take the hair with her. That said, although a DNA identity could be established, there's little other way the hair could be pinned on her (so to speak ;-).
K-Fed may be immature, but he's no dummie.
It's the babies that concern me as well. I often think about when they are older enough to surf the internet and find out what was going on during the first years/months of their lives, and how angry, hurt and betrayed they will feel. Not just at how their mom is acting, but that the WHOLE WORLD knew about it and, really, no one did much to help them.
Maybe she can get a TV slot as the new Kojak.
You have a full-body version?
lolz
Because then the drug-test possiblity would make everyone think "yep. she's nuts... nuts, like a fox"
Nope, DNA testing requires the hair root follicle
Rehab has become the socially fashionable haven of first choice by spoiled rich misfits who can't help but play to public attention.
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