What Britney needs is a mom who wouldn't pimp her kids out...Jamie Lynn is going to be the same way when she is 25. And I don't think its bipolar...I think its realizing the one person on Earth who had the job to protect you failed you miserably. Can't wait to be enlightened with Lynn Spears new book if it ever hits the shelves.

My thoughts exactly, Laura. We all could use more hugs.

Unfortunately, what we're observing here appears to be symptomatic of a much larger issue or problem. What Dr. Viktor Frankl termed the "mass neurotic triad" many years ago, I've re-labeled in today's lingo, the "psychological axis of evil," that is, ever-looming problems of addiction, aggression, and depression. These societal symptoms, moreover, are exacerbated when the aura of celebrity status, especially among the "young and the restless," enters the picture. Whether we like it or not, and whether we want it or not, we're all "victims" of what is happening in the lives of the "Britney Spears" and their world. Moreover, I submit that besides her need for a hug and professional "treatment" in accordance with whatever diagnostic category ultimately is assigned to her, she is suffering from an "existential vacuum" (a not-so-uncommon phenomenon in this day and age) that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. Meaningfully, Alex

Thanks to all for comments on the Britney Spears matter, especially the comments from Alex about Britney suffering from an existential vacuum. I think the question "am I?" precedes "what am I?" or "who am I?" or "what matters to me?" And "am I?" seems to have a lot to do with how one feels accurately or inaccurately experienced by others. When one feels either coddled, criticized, or ignored it can trigger a reaction to each without feeling as if you have a self. When however you feel that someone gets where you are coming from and you feel "felt" it seems to establish a core to build upon. I see a continuum of responses from others ranging from: a) misunderstanding; b) figuring out; c) understanding; d) empathic knowing.
Over the years when I have asked patients what seemed to help from our sessions, more than a few told me that what had the most steadying and calming impact was not that they felt understood by me, but that they felt understandable to themselves as a result of our meeting. And when that happened, chaos and confusion seemed to spontaneously dissipate and they stopped feeling crazy. And that experience caused them to feel hope.
Mark Goulston, M.D.
"Get Out of Your Own Way"
http://markgoulston.com
http://markgoulston.com/blog

Hi Mark,

Thanks for sharing more of your perspective on this issue. It is helpful! And I agree with your train of thought--up to a point. The nature of "being," especially as it relates to "meaning," has both "extrinsic" and "intrinsic" dimensions. The personal experiences and "continuum of responses" that you describe, in my opinion, fall primarily in the former category. To be sure, they are necessary for helping to establish our "being-ness," even though they are influences that come from outside of ourselves (much like the South African notion of UBUNTU that I have introduced elsewhere on this site). In Viktor Frankl's System of Logotherapy and Existential Analysis, we begin with the premise that the answer to "am I?" is affirmative, recognizing that the primary "intrinsic" motivation of all human beings (there's that word again!) is the "search for meaning." Importantly, the root word of Logotherapy comes from the ancient Greek work, "logos," which is commonly translated as "meaning" but, more deeply, can be translated as "soul" or "spirit." In this context, ALL lives, even those that may have been "cut short" for some reason or are plagued by inescapable suffering, are "meaning-full" and can therefore can answer the question, "am I?," in the affirmative even if external conditions or people don't support such an answer. In large part, this is how Dr. Viktor Frankl survived Auschwitz, how Sen. John McCain survived his captivity in Vietnam, and how many, many others have survived and even thrived against seemingly insurmountable odds. In the absence of external supports along the lines that you are suggesting, the power and defiance of the human spirit can and do prevail; that is, if we let them. This, however, requires that we be willing to be held personally responsible for our choices and actions, including how we may answer the existential questions that you included in your post. Let me end by quoting from Viktor Frankl: "Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible." Thanks again for stimulating such a meaningful topic!

Alex Pattakos, Ph.D.
Author of Prisoners of Our Thoughts
Center for Meaning
223 N. Guadalupe St., #243
Santa Fe, NM 87501 USA
505.988.5235
alex@prisonersofourthoughts.com

I recently heard someone exclaim that they were a victim of psychiatry and that the detox program offered by Scientologists is one of the best in the world. Do our experts know anything about scientology? I'm curious to hear what you all think about psychiatry as well and our "fix-it-with-this-pill" culture with its many people suffering from existential vacuums.

Amanda,

I think there are many ways to get help with a mental problem. Scientology has probably helped more people than it has hurt, psychiatry has also helped more people than it has hurt. My problem with any approach to mental illness is in the fanatical zeal of the practitioners, claiming their way is the only way and all others are wrong.

I think to put vulnerable people in such a position of choosing what they need when up against zealots is like putting children in the middle of a divorce. To me exploiting vulnerability is criminal.

My problem with Scientology is that its helpfulness is almost purely anecdotal vs. having controlled scientific studies; my problem with psychiatry is the way it has stacked the deck in favor of medication which doesn't give due to the influence of one's spirit and mindfulness.

I would also warn people about dumping too much hard earned savings into any single approach that is not getting the results that are promised, I also think if you have a mental illness you need to listen and consider (which doesn't mean you have to obey) what the people who care about you are saying as ways to get help.

Mark Goulston, M.D.
"Get Out of Your Own Way"
http://markgoulston.com
http://markgoulston.com/blog

Hi Amanda,

First, let me say up front that I agree with Mark's last reply. He very eloquently lays out some of the key elements related to the issue that you have raised. To be sure, there is no clear-cut answer to your question.

Many years ago when I worked for the Illinois Department of Mental Health, I was fortunate to have a mentor by the name of Walter Fisher (a superintendent of a mental institution that was the location for the movie, "The Snake Pit"), who had written a book entitled, "Power, Greed, and Stupidity in the Mental Health Racket!" Basically, Fisher was "against" the psychiatric, "medical model" of treatment and was "for" a more humane, integrated and holistic approach. I recall once when Fisher had to testify before a Congressional committee on the use of lobotomies. He offered the following advice: "No one should prescribe a lobotomy unless s/he has first had one!"

My longstanding adherence to the philosophy and approach espoused by my primary mentor, Viktor Frankl, M.D., Ph.D. (who was a neurologist, psychiatrist, and philosopher), has been influenced greatly by his desire to not only "humanize" psychiatry and the overall practice of medicine (he called it his 'medical ministry") but also to "spiritualize" it. As we slowly move away from a reductionist approach to dealing with the human condition, and especially human suffering, I believe that we'll begin to focus on human beings in a more integrated and holistic manner. Such an approach will take into account the "best" from all disciplines, even those that don't yet have (and may never have) the benefits of rigorous scientific studies to back them up. The antics of Tom Cruise and his fellow Scientologists notwithstanding, I firmly believe that there is a difference between "knowledge" and "knowing," and that as long as we are not "prisoners of our thoughts," there is hope for the mental health of all humankind! Meaningfully, Alex

Alex Pattakos, Ph.D.
Author of Prisoners of Our Thoughts
Center for Meaning
223 N. Guadalupe St., #243
Santa Fe, NM 87501 USA
505.988.5235
alex@prisonersofourthoughts.com

Are we supposed to be impressed that you are in People? I thought you all were intelligent psychiatrists and doctors. Isn't People Magazine something that you leave in your waiting rooms for dumbass patients like us?

God help us. When the doctors start reading People Magazine proudly, it's time to head for the hills. Or move to Cuba. Where they happen to have very good medical care and no teenybopper hootchie mama celebrity nitwits.