Pictures of my time here at Winthrop, so far...

Extreme Behavior: Bipolar Disorder

What's cool for Britney is cool for us right?
Since the beautiful, young bombshell hit the public eye in 1999 with her international hit "Hit Me Baby One More Time", many people have wanted to actually hit Britney Spears. What started out as a normal, sweet 17 year old American teen, soon turned into the nightmare that we know today.

Just open your newspaper or go to yahoo.com, it wont be long before you see her name plastered all over the pages, she's everywhere. As her behavior becomes more and more erratic, the singer gets more and more attention. She thrives off of it, desperately.

GET HELP
Britney Spears was hospitalized at UCLA Medical Center for a psychiatric hold early lastThursday morning, after being transported by ambulance from her Studio City home around 1 a.m. An LAPD source tells PEOPLE: "Spears was escorted by police and is on her way to get help."

What could cause such behavior and why is she still a role model for American teens?

I think I have an answer for the first question, but not a clue about the second.
She's bipolar, or at least claiming to be.

What is Bipolar Disorder?
It's a 'disease' that's also known as manic depression or manic-depressive illness— and involves dramatic shifts in mood from the highs of mania to the lows of major depression.

According to helpguide.org some signs of the 'condition' include:

• Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity


• Euphoric mood


• Extreme irritability


• Decreased need for sleep


• More talkative than usual


• Racing thoughts


• Distractibility


• Increase in goal-directed activity or psychomotor agitation


• Risky behavior


• Impaired judgment

More information is available on Bipolar Disorder below:
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/bipolar_disorder_symptoms_treatment.htm

The question remains, however, about whether or not Britney, or other normal people who are under constant, stress actually have a "medical condition" or is it a side effect of the lives that they live?

With Americans becoming more fast paced everyday, and focused on physical, and mental perfection, one has to wonder if the pressure to acheive (and the inevitable failures) of today's society are a cause of these such 'conditions'. Are we only exhibiting natural behaviors that would arise after being under such trememdous stress? Isnt that how we are biologically designed to operate under stress? The Fight or Flight theory sure sounds familiar right about now...

And while looking at the list, I can definitely identify with many of the symptoms, but what college age student with the weight of the world on their shoulders wouldn't?

Think about it.
Britney, I feel for you.

A link to an awesome article from The Times "How We Get Labeled":
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1004091-1,00.html

In case you've been living under a rock for about 8 years, here's some background on Britney Spears: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britney_Spears