Pssst - see post #23. 
And yes, it is a good article - I gave it a read yesterday and enjoyed it.
:smack:
It’s just a hunch, but I’ve wondered if Amanda’s pot habit is self medicating? Trying to calm down the anxiety and paranoia? Any heavy drug habit is a problem, but as other people said Amanda was never known as a Hollywood party girl. She had a very good reputation as a hard working actress up until three years ago.
[QUOTE=drewtwo99]
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.
[/QUOTE]
It doesn’t even have to be “hard drugs” unfortunately, and one can experience drug induced a psychotic break with no prior or subsequent mental diagnosis. For every one Amanda Bynes that we hear about, sadly there are a million other Average Joes that struggle with it. If she does have a mental disorder, the drug use certainly exacerbated it. Sorry about your brother btw.
People who like to use drugs don’t necessarily like to “party”. She could have been indulging in her substance of choice in the comfort of her own home. Glee star Cory Monteith didn’t have a reputation as a “Hollywood party boy”, but that didn’t stop him from fatally ODing a couple of weeks ago.
But his addiction problems were also well known before his OD. Part of Bynes’ hearing is determining if she’s even taking drugs now, because no one knows for sure.
Are Bynes’s problems not well-known? Looking at Wikipedia I see she’s been arrested twice for drug/alcohol related reasons within the past 18 months. I have no idea whether she’s currently using drugs and am certainly not qualified to determine whether she’s a drug addict, mentally ill, or a drug addict who’s also mentally ill, but her lack of a “party girl” reputation isn’t proof of anything.
With respect to movies, she co-starred with Colin Firth in What a Girl Wants ten years ago - I thought she did a very good job. Light comedy, but she and Firth had good chemistry in it as a daughter meeting her father for the first time.
Oof. I’m not sure what to post. I shall tread (type?) carefully.
While I don’t know Amanda, her father was our family dentist for over a decade. He took tremendous care of my father in his final years, when his teeth started rotting out of his head. He was gentle, he was generous, he was incredibly kind to work with a man whose body was slowly being robbed of its function. His wife, Amanda’s mom, was his receptionist for his entire career, and she was always kind and welcoming–one of those people who just warms up a room. As Dad had severe problems in his final years, Doc Bynes became more of a family friend than a doctor.
Amanda’s brother was a classmate of mine, so at first, Doc talked to me a lot about him, school, that sort of thing. (Her brother became a chiropractor, classmates told me–he’s not on Facebook because he doesn’t want to be inundated by her fans.) Then, little Amanda started going out on acting gigs, and my family watched as her career began, then took off. Doc 's office was wallpapered with photos of Amanda with celebrities on the red carpet (this was a hobby of hers–she collected photos of herself with everyone from Phil Hartman to Dustin Hoffman), posters of her movies, cast photos of her shows. Whenever I’d see the doc for my appointments, he was always surprisingly candid about Amanda’s career and Hollywood in general. He shared some interesting anecdotes that pulled back the curtain, so to speak, and out of respect to him and her I’ll keep those to myself. Nothing major, just insightful; some laughable, some confusing, some just plain sad.
He retired about 8 years ago or so, around when she started shooting some of the movies. I believe they retired early–although granted, they were in the 60s by then anyway–so they could travel with Amanda to the shooting locations. Last I heard, the parents moved to Texas, but I’m hearing conflicting reports now.
I was actually back in our home town yesterday visiting friends, and realized the street where Amanda had set fire to those items in the driveway was just a block or so away from where her dad’s dental practice had been. I wonder if there’s a connection there.
A high school friend of mine who was buddies with her brother recently posted a picture of herself over at what I presume is the Bynes’s house, posing with a big-smiling, adorable 5yro Amanda. She simply said “Get better Amanda!” And really, that’s how I feel, how my family feels. Get better, hon. You’re sick.
There are reports that Amanda has been hearing voices for years. Granted, this is from Radar online, so take it with a grain of journalistic salt:
I adore her family, but admittedly I only see one thin slice of how and who they are, and haven’t interacted with them in years. But from what I know, my heart aches for them as well.
Great post Ruffian and some very interesting insights into the family. Thanks!
It’s a long shot that the judge will grant conservatorship to the parents. But at least it sounds like she has stable parents that could help Amanda if given the chance.
Several news reports said her parents lived a block away from where the fire happened. I guess in a weird way Amanda was reaching out by visiting her old neighborhood.
Just when I think I’m up to speed on today’s slang…
mmm
I must be totally out of all loops now - I had never heard of Amanda Bynes until the antics started and had to Google her to make sure I was just not forgetting who she was…a singer? An actor? Anything I had seen?
Nope. Had never heard of her.
Don’t like to see anyone have a breakdown - but as far as I am concerned, she is most certainly a “D List” celebrity that is now mostly known for her psychological problems.
It is interesting, but I think the priority is in the wrong order, the parents have control of a minor’s career in acting and they can act in their best interest and when they do things seem to turn out alright.
It sounds like there’s been a rapid change over last year and a half following a gradual decline. That sounds less like addiction in general, but you’re right, we don’t know, everyone is different, and a lot of things may not be known because she’s been out of the public eye for a while.
Funny, after I posted here, I was scrolling though the contacts on my cell phone looking for someone and realized I still had “Dr. Bynes” there–it must have transferred over with my phone upgrades. Obviously it’s his office number, and obviously it is no longer in effect, but it was interesting to see it there.
I think about sending a note or a card to him and his wife, with a final photo of Dad–who died three years after Doc retired–and photos of my kids. After all that playful teasing of so-when-you-gonna-have-kids, he retires right when I get pregnant with my first. Harrumph. Anyway, I’d like to extend my gratitude for how he treated my dad and perhaps offer a few simple words of sympathy, but fear it’d be lost in the swarm of media attempting to contact them as well.
Oh man–here’s the doc when he came to court the other day. The look on his face is heartachingly sad and somber.
Last I heard–haven’t confirmed this, but will continue to look–the only drug in her system was marijuana. While I understand it can make you paranoid, I don’t think it makes you do some of the sick behaviors she’s exhibited in the last few weeks.
Oof.
A friend of mine from college just lost his brother to schizophrenia. The brother committed suicide after a long, excruciating downward spiral that started in his late 20s.
Oof, again.
I don’t think that’s true. She’s mostly known by early-mid 20-somethings (my age group) for being a big actor/star in the child shows they watched. All of this psychological stuff is really sudden, it started with a silly tweet a while ago of her asking Obama to fire a cop because he gave her a DUI, followed by silence, followed by a sudden ridiculous series of blowups.
I wouldn’t say she’s a D-list celebrity known for her problems (like, say, Paris Hilton is) so much as a formerly popular star (albeit only for a certain age group) who suddenly re-entered the spotlight because of her problems. Or maybe that’s splitting hairs.
She is definitely not D list. Has been in a bunch of kid themed shows and movies and at one time was well thought of and expected to have a long career. I’d say she is B-list.
Well - as mentioned, I guess I am out of the loop.
The same could be said with most athletes for me - I don’t know of hardly any, so when some “famous” athlete is arrested or whatever, I also don’t have a clue who they are.
Although I still think if we are going to use “D” list or “B” list, we sort of have to go by wide market of public - and it sounds like only a small group of people of a certain “younger” age group are/were aware of who she was before this all started to hit the airwaves. Let’s be honest - more people would know a cast member from Modern Family, or someone who was on Seinfeld, or someone who had co-starred in some blockbuster movies than someone mostly known for kiddie shows.
I’m pretty sure that everyone from about 30-15 knows who Amanda Bynes is and at least 3 things she was in. I would not consider her d-list at all.
Absolutely. Even older than 30. I routinely come across her movies on cable. If you didn’t pay attention to pop culture I can see not knowing who she is. But I would guess 8 out of 10 people 50 years old or younger would know her.
Jesus, that “spied on via electronic devices” thing hits home, considering my friend’s situation. And I had only heard about pot as well; the previous arrest included chucking a bong out the window when the cops were trying to get in to her apartment. Considering her situation, she might have been trying to self-medicate for anxiety (created by the paranoia) with pot.