When we last checked in with Amanda Bynes, she had been released from a psychiatric facility on Thursday and she’s spent the last four days wandering around LA, talking to herself, eating a lot of food and trying to check into various hotels. Amanda’s parents got a conservatorship over her finances and medical care last week, but as of yet, Amanda still isn’t back in a psych facility. Then, last night, Amanda got on Twitter and tried to explain what’s happening:
Amanda Bynes announced that she has been diagnosed as bipolar and manic depressive and is taking medication. The former All That star revealed the news via her Twitter account early Tuesday morning.
“I was diagnosed bi – polar and manic depressive so I’m on medication and I’m seeing my psychologist and pyshchiatrist weekly so I’m fine :D,” she tweeted. In a series of tweets, Amanda continued, “I’m not living with my parents. I’m not legally obligated to. My lawyer said if I comply with the courts and take my meds and see my psychologist and pyshchiatrist weekly then I will get unconserved. Thank GOD.”
In October, Amanda posted tweets alleging her father had verbally, physically and sexually abused her. She quickly retracted her claims and deleted the tweets. “My dad never did any of those things,” she wrote. “The microchip in my brain made me say those things but he’s the one that ordered them to microchip me.” She deleted that tweet, too. Shortly after, Amanda was hospitalized on an involuntary emergency psychiatric hold.
A conservatorship hearing was held while Amanda was hospitalized. A judge ruled that Lynne will have control over her financial and medical decisions pending a hearing set for Feb. 24, 2015. “I need to get an apartment and my parents won’t give me access to any of my funds,” Amanda, 28, tweeted Tuesday.
Amanda also tweeted that her parents have put her on a $50 a day stipend, but she has since deleted that post. “It’s really annoying,” the Hairspray star wrote of her alleged allowance.
To be fair, just this morning Amanda tweeted: “I was at a friends apartment last night and one of my friends tweeted my phone , sorry guys !” Which might mean she’s about to delete all of the tweets about her bipolar diagnosis and claim that someone else wrote all of that stuff. And she might even be right – I’m sure one of the “friends” in Amanda’s head did write those tweets. I have no doubt that Amanda was diagnosed as bipolar and manic depressive, but I have EVERY doubt that she’s on her meds right now.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
Wait, bipolar IS manic-depressive, right?
Yes, the term manic-depressive isn’t used much anymore.
If that is her diagnosis, I’d venture a guess she was diagnosed as bipolar with psychotic features.
For my job I had to research bipolar disorder. Here is some info I found.
Bipolar disorder is also known as manic-depressive illness; a mood disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person’s mood, energy and ability to function. The symptoms can be very severe-different from the normal ups and downs everyone goes through.
Symptoms usually start appearing in a persons late teens or early 20’s. Some people develop symptoms as a child while others don’t experience their first symptoms until later in life. Typically signs start to appear before someone is 25 years old.
Bipolar disorder is not easy to spot, especially early on. Some people will suffer for years before being diagnosed. People who suffer from bipolar disorder have the highest rates of suicide over any other mental health condition.
As someone who is bipolar, manic-depression is the same thing. It was the “old” way of labeling bipolar. It fell out of favor for a few reasons but mainly because there are different diagnosis of bipolar. It’s not a one size fits all. I have ultra rapid cycling bipolar which is one of the rarest and hardest forms of bipolar to treat because my brain chemistry changes faster than my meds can adjust to. There is bipolar 1 and bipolar 2 disorder, one being there are more depressive episodes than manic and the other with more manic than depressive. There are mixed states. There are rapid cycling and then there is ultra rapid cycling. So you can see how manic-depression really doesn’t accurately describe the illness. I also have schizoaffective tendencies with my bipolar when I am in full manic mode.
From a professional aspect – Ashley is spot on.
Yes, bipolar is the replacement term in the DSM for manic-depression.
right. this poor girl.
This is just so sad. I feel for her and for her parents.
Not surprised. At all. But it doesn’t sound like her medication has stabilized her. I hope she gets help and will submit to treatment.. Dealing with trying to get my dad back into care right now. He’s got OCD, depression and some undiagnosed mental illness and is off his medication. It’s wrecking our family. :-/
She was diagnosed as double bipolar? Ugh whatever, she really doesn’t want to admit to the schizophrenia.
Yep.
People with bipolar disorder can sometimes have some symptoms very similar to schizophrenia, so she may be telling the truth.
Agreed. I saw plenty of both working in mental health. My guess is either schizophrenia or massive illegal drug use.
I wouldn’t even hazard a guess because armchair diagnosing is unprofessional. But she is stating she is bipolar and she could easily be.
•paranormalgirl•
Yep.
I dislike armchair diagnoses, and all too often, people do it. Even if they have no background in psychology or mental health; or just as bad, the barest minimum in order to work in a peripheral field.
I hope for Amanda’s sake — whatever her diagnosis is — she is able to get stabilised and back on her feet.
Pop psychology is such a pet peeve of mine. I’m sure that part of it is because I manage BP-1, but a big part of it is that people don’t know WTF they’re talking about. I cringe when I hear crap like, ‘I’m OCD’. Oh, yes? Is that self-diagnosed syntax abuse? I’ll bet it is because no one who had the training to tell you that would let you out of the room saying that. You just wash your hands a lot. I’m no Halle Berry fan, but I roll my eyes whenever I see some rot like, ‘My Magic 8 Ball says she’s got Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder. I don’t actually know what any of those things mean with any clarity and I’ve never met her, but it fits because I don’t like her.’ O…kay. Is there a Misplaced Non-Professional Diagnosis Misdiagnosis Disorder? If there isn’t, stick it in the DSM, because that sh-t is pandemic.
Thank you Lady Slippers and Paranormal Girl. Who knows what is going on without hearing it firsthand. Additionally, meds aren’t magic. You can’t take a psychiatric pill and it zaps you back to “normal.”
ABBY sending strength your way! I’m sorry you have to deal with this. I guess some families pull together but mine blew to pieces. Good luck to you.
My daughter was diagnosed as Bipolar II and because of her meds, she tried twice to kill herself. I was fortunate enough that she called me both times to apologize. Turns out the meds were 4x the amount she needed and it messed her head, now she seems to be great and sees a counselor and psychiatrist who work with her. My daughter was no where near how Amanda has been acting but if she is not on her meds, not seeing her doctors, this will definitely not end well for her. The problem is, no one can help her but her. Our Mental Health situation in the country is horrible, they are so quick to lock up someone who has issues (not my daughter, other cases I know of), they do not want to help them at all, or you wouldn’t want to be where they help you it’s so depressing. My heart breaks for her and her family.
•justamom•
Actually our residential mental health facilities are stretched to the max and if they locked her up, it’s probably because she needed that level of care. It’s certainly not the first option people look at which is what your comment is implying. Now if you meant, throw them into jail, then I apologise because that is what now happens to the mentally ill that act out.
Unfortunately, I did mean jail…I know of a few that have schizophrenia, bipolar, various other problems (not my daughter – she was put in a hospital to get help, got off the meds and started from scratch which was the best that could have happened) and they were put in jail, treated in the hospital on the “floor” but treated like dirt because they were going to jail. It is just so sad to listen to what happens to them – they need help! Trying to get the right meds and with them not working, issues occurring and being told it is just an act…um, no! I just think this is all so sad and really, it is almost like no one wants to take responsibility to help.
This is dangerous if not treated properly. My uncle killed himself because he was bipolar but taking depression meds. Worst tragedy in my life, complete sorrow to lose him to this.
Two cousins also have it and the meds can be very hard to work out. It can take years of trial and error to get the meds correct. One of these cousins now lives a perfectly normal life because she’s stabilized and has stayed stabilized. It’s wonderful to see.
No one in my family has had psychotic episodes due to bipolar but a friend of mine has – she once ended up ranting and raving in a stranger’s basement and had to be taken to the hospital. She lost several days where she doesn’t even know what she was doing. She lives in terror of that happening again and she also has had a hard time getting meds right and accepting a huge weight gain when she’s on the right meds.
The point is it’s often a very, very hard thing to treat and the range of symptoms, even from these few people I have known with bipolar, is immense. I wish her lots of love and support and hope she gets stabilized soon.
Her lawyer most likely told her tweet this, so she looks “together”. But Amanda doesn’t want to admit to any of this, so yeah…
This makes me so sad. I don’t understand why her mother will not give her money to rent an apartment, her mom can pay all of the bills, that is why there is a conservatorship.
Is a part of her illness progressed because of the control people have had over her, all of her life? I agree she needs medication and has to be seeing a professional at least once a week, pretty sure they stop giving her meds if she doesn’t show for mandated therapy. Of course all of that information will be sent to the courts.
I really think this girl feels alone and just wants somebody to trust and love her. I am sure for the most part she agreed to all of the fame that her childhood brought to her. But, her entire life has been her living up to other peoples expectations and that is what the courts are making her do now, live up to their expectations.
I know mental illness plays a big part in her life, what ever they are doing is not working–maybe somebody can trying something different for her.
I have such severe bipolar that I usually cannot work, recently, and am on disability currently, so I feel a connectedness to and empathy for her, as I feel for all sufferers of mental illness. The thing w/ Amanda is that she reminds me (her odd tweets, her bizarre convictions) of a friend of mine with paranoid schizophrenia, so it seems possible that she is schizoaffective or schizophrenic, too. Of course, people w bipolar can become psychotic and paranoid, too, as others have mentioned. I just hope she gets on medication that is helpful to her, so that she can lead a productive and fulfilling life–as all of us, mentally ill and not, want and deserve. It can be very hard to find the right med/ combo of meds to treat mood disorders; I have as yet not found one that keeps me stable, and it’s a very crucial part of effective treatment. My heart goes out to all of you w mental disorders–and to those of you who struggle b/c family of family and friends who suffer from them, too. There are truly times where it can feel, to many, like an ongoing losing battle, a lost cause.
As yet another reader with diagnosed bi-polar disorder, I am chipping in my two cents to repeat what’s been said above – it can take AGES to get the right combination of medications sorted out, and every single case is different – not only based on different quirks of the condition itself, but personal body chemistry, weight, age, etc. I was once on a drug combination that was PERFECT for me, mentally – but dropped my sodium levels so low that I had to be hospitalised. So many weird drug reactions, so little time.