That sounds like more than just the behavior of an addict.
No, she’s been in several movies. Nothing big–except maybe Hairspray–but some moderately successful kid/teen movies. I liked her in that one with Frankie Muniz.
Partially, it can be tough for child actors to keep their shit together* even without a major psychiatric illness to throw them completely out of whack.
I’ve mentioned before that I had a roommate in college who developed bipolar disorder with serious paranoid/delusional elements in her mid-20s. She finally got to the point where she was both unable to hide her problem and truly realized something was wrong when she drove halfway across her state to get away from the conspiracy against her that, among other things, involved people spying on her via means like drivethru speaker boxes and had roped in her husband into the conspiracy as well. She stopped driving and tearfully called him, explaining what she was feeling and that she couldn’t entirely believe he was in on something like that.
It hasn’t been smooth sailing all the time (some of the meds’ side effects were rough, and she’s had to do a lot of therapy and medication changes), but she’s gainfully employed and doing well. Having a normal life and supportive, involved people (not just fame-seeking hangers-on) helped tremendously.
- You should really read this. It’s a Cracked article written by Mara Wilson, who played Matilda in the film when she was a kid. Not only is it intelligent, it also fits the site’s quirky sense of humor.
So the news has "speculated that it’s schizophrenia? And based on that, this thread has turned into a pity party for what appears to be a spoiled, mean-spirited, nasty little self-indulgent twat? I’ll change my opinion when I see an illness diagnosed, but until then I’ll stay with what I’m seeing.
Based on some of the crazy behavior I’ve been reading about (sue me, I read Gawker), I’d wager good money on a serious psychiatric problem instead of “spoiled junkie” as the explanation. But I’m not involved with her healthcare or legal case, so it doesn’t actually matter what I think, fortunately.
I felt the same way until Mon nights fire incident. She must of been pretty incoherent for the authorities to issue a 72-hour involuntary psych hold. The judge has extended it a full two weeks.
Somethings wrong besides booze & drugs. She would have mostly detoxed in 48 hours. If she still had odd behavior then thats why they extended the psych hold. She needs more evaluation.
Her recent behavior is way more bizarre than an addict like Lohan.
I don’t see any reason not to feel sorry for someone who has become addicted to drugs and ruined their life. Most child stars do do drugs at some point, it’s just that only some of the psychological problems that lead to addiction. Granted, the child star lifestyle itself is probably a big part of that.
And it seems to be nearly impossible to get these type of people the help they need.
I will never take someone’s personality while on drugs to be their real personality, as it always, always changes when they get off.
At some point does the business that is “Hollywood” get tagged for child abuse? Mostly tongue in cheek but it can be ruinous to kids in a way that wouldn’t be tolerated in most other industries.
Both Spears and Lohan were doing massive amounts of hard drugs. Bynes is supposedly doing hard drugs (according to her parents) but she also has serious underlying psychological issues.
I believe it because this behavior seems to have come out of nowhere. In all those “Child Stars Gone Wild!” articles, Amanda Bynes was always held up as a child star who was on the right track. She was supposed to be a hard worker and didn’t seem to go in for the hard partying that some of her contemporaries did.
So yeah, I sincerely believe there’s something more going on with this extremely sudden weirdo behavior.
Spoiled, mean-spirited, nasty self indulgent twats don’t start gasoline fires in random driveways. They go clubbing and get into fights, they drink and drive, they do drugs and drive, they skip their court dates and fly to Paris.
This latest behavior makes me think she’s really gone off the rails, and needs professional help, not a slap in the face.
When I read things like this, I always wonder what the star in question did to the poster? It just seems so personal.
Hey Chefguy, did Amanda Bynes not return your calls or something?
Which is a moment more worth of attention than she deserves. Ten years ago (pre- “social media”), her travails would’ve merited a paragraph in Varity or some other Hollywood industry rag. These days though, everyone and their brother-in-law gets to watch the train wreck and opine about it.
More’s the pity…
Everything all of you has posted has been in the I-think-I-believe realm of speculation, which is far more egregious than any observation that I’ve made. I’ll wager that none of you is a medical or mental health professional, so your opinions what is causing her behavior mean squat. Has it occurred to any of you that excessive drug use is causal to bizarre behavior, depression, and suicidal acts, all of which are self-induced wounds?
Yes, but in a world where the excessive drug use of teen starlets is cataloged for posterity, seeing this kind of breakdown from one who supposedly did not partake is a little surprising. Which is why I vote mental illness.
Well, shes definitely staying in the hospital another week. Then the legal fight starts again.
It’s ironic that the hospital is giving her meds that ultimately may defeat any attempts to grant the parents conservatorship. She may be completely rational in time for her Aug 9 hearing. That may complicate the conservatorship hearing.
Meanwhile theres a Aug 1 hearing that could release her from the hospital early.
Hollywood treats kids pretty well these days, because there are laws in place to make them do it. The problem is usually the child actor’s parents, and the studios can’t do much about that. It is unfortunate that fame and fortune is often a path to personal ruin for these kids, but it’s difficult to blame the business itself for that anymore. That is not to say that there aren’t still individuals in the business who take advantage of the children, but it’s pretty much the same kind of thing their parents are doing.
Hard drugs can easily take a person with some subtle/underlying mental issues and change them into a complete, scary, shell of a human being. I witnessed this transformation first-hand in my half brother when he got addicted to meth. Even years after being off the stuff, he’s never been the same. In fact, he’s rather unsettling to be around. This was a guy who was an eagle scout and decent student, too. 
So I do feel bad, not really so much for Amanda (although I do a little), but mostly for her family, and for all the families of people like her. It’s so hard and so devastating to see someone irrevocably mess themselves up with drugs. Hopefully Amanda isn’t like that and can come back to normality, but her behavior seems so much like my brothers’, I’m not having much hope.
There was a really interesting article on Cracked, written by Mara Wilson (the cute little girl from Matilda) talking about child stars. Well worth a read.