These are photos of Mischa Barton on the New York set of Law & Order: SVU. In case you couldn’t really tell, Mischa is “in character” as a hooker. Call me crazy, but I think she should ask to keep the coat. And those tights look expensive. But I digress… apparently, Mischa is still acting like a girl with a lot of problems. Probably because she’s a girl with a lot of problems, eh? Radar’s sources claim that Mischa was somewhat overwhelmed with her big seven lines of dialogue, and Mischa’s “unprofessionalism” turned her one day of filming into a nightmare:

Mischa Barton has been filming a guest spot on the hit NBC crime show Law & Order: SVU but she hasn’t been winning any friends on set. According to a source, Mischa spent all day Tuesday flubbing her lines and the show only shot one scene the whole day – which turned into a 10 hour day because of Mischa’s mistakes.

“She only had seven lines, seven!” the source told RadarOnline.com exclusively about the recently out of rehab actress’ problems with her lines. “Each time she would mess up she would forget her lines and Mariska kept prompting her and saying ‘it’s your line Mischa’.”

According to the source, Mariska Hargitay and the cast and crew on set were losing patience with Mischa’s “unprofessionalism.” To her credit, the actress did apologize, saying “Sorry,” each time she missed her lines.

“She looks pretty,” said the source told RadarOnline.com, adding that Mischa’s little dog was running around the set and she “always looked happy when she was playing with the dog.” At the end of the grueling day, Mischa scooped up her dog and “ran to her trailer,” said the source.

Mischa was placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold back in July by Los Angeles police and taken to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She bounced back from her hospitalization and starred in the short lived television show Ashton Kutcher’s The Beautiful Life.

[From Radar]

Yes, it’s sad. I’m of the opinion that Mischa truly has issues that have yet to be dealt with. So I’ll just say that I hope she gets some help and leave it at that.

But allow me to rant about Law & Order: SVU for a moment. As I mentioned in the Mariska Hargitay post earlier today, Law & Order: SVU has been sucking big time this season, and it’s not all Jay Leno’s fault. The story lines have been more depressing and ridiculous than usual, and the casting and usually interesting characters have been uninspired and bland. Christine Lahti’s character arc nearly killed me, and Neeylo and Lin234 noted, not only is Mischa filming her scenes now, but Sharon Stone is expected to make an appearance as some kind of cop or lawyer too. The one bright spot (for me) was Naveen Andrews’ appearance last week – but it’s too much to hope that he’ll become a cast regular or anything. But wouldn’t that be something? He was lovely and gorgeous last week. But… you know who they really need to bring back? Marcia Gay Harden’s brilliant portrayal of FBI undercover officer Starr. Harden was the bomb!

Mischa Barton and Mariska Hargitay on the New York set of Law & Order: SVU on January 19, 2010. Credit: Bancroft/Fame Pictures.

Mischa Barton seemed like an entitled brat to me when I saw her on The View last month. She acted haughty and downplayed her breakdown, blaming it on her schedule and the painkillers she was taking after the removal of her wisdom teeth. I guess you would expect her to make it seem like her involuntary mental hospitalization wasn’t a big deal, but she also made some snotty statements about the other people in the psych ward, saying “you realize I’m nothing like these people. I have a career, I worked so hard for it.”

Mischa’s career isn’t much to speak of lately. Her CW show “The Beautiful Life” was abruptly canceled after just two episodes aired, which one of her co-stars attributed to lack of promotion by the network. I saw the first episode and the show was a disjointed mess. The plot was all over the place, there were too many characters and Mischa seemed like a parody of herself. What’s more is that a lot of critics attributed the show’s failure to raccoon-eyed Mischa’s inability to carry a series. I think that may have been a small part of it, but that there was much more at play.

It doesn’t matter to Mischa, who seems to think that TV is beneath her. She told People Magazine that she doesn’t think TV is for her and that she’s getting offers for roles but they’re not good enough. She wants to “go fight for interesting things.”

Demonstrating that she’d regained her model figure with a Versace gown at the Whitney Museum Gala, Barton, 23, said she doesn’t mind not working for the small screen anymore.

“I think I need to back away from the whole TV approach,” she said. “That whole world of network television, probably isn’t, for me, a good idea now. I need to start reading for more serious roles.”

But she’s not sure exactly what the next project will be.

“It’s too early to tell yet,” she said. “I’m passing on all the [early] offers, because that’s not the stuff you want to do. I want to go fight for interesting things and look for something that’s going to be interesting for me … as a role.”

For now, her focus is on her body – she said she regularly works out with girlfriends – and on embracing life in Gotham.

“Reading scripts and enjoying living in New York,” she said, calling her break from work “lovely.” “Now that I’m not doing the TV show, I’ve got lots of time to work out.”

[From People]

You know, I really was rooting for Mischa after she had her breakdown. I loved her on The OC and was hoping that things would work out for her and that she would move on to better things. Mischa just sounds like such a snob though. According to IMDB she’s done a bunch of movies but I know I haven’t heard of any of them. Maybe she’s overcompensating because she feels insecure that she doesn’t have something lined up right away, but she doesn’t need to act like that. It’s her voice, too. I just hear her nasally voice in my head saying these quotes and think “give me a break.” Maybe I’m misinterpreting her, though, and she’s not that bad.

On a positive note, Mischa looks really pretty here and she didn’t overdo the makeup.

Mischa Barton is shown on 10/19/09 at the Whitney Museum Gala. Credit: Andres Otero/ WENN.com

In my opinion, the verdict is still out on Mischa Barton. I could conceivably buy that her wisdom teeth situation caused her serious physical and psychological pain, I still kind of think she’s got some kind of substance abuse problems. Whether or not she’s actually on something, she’s still out there talking about how she’s definitely not crazy. She told OK Magazine, “One stay in the hospital was turned into this huge, ‘She’s lost her marbles’ thing, and people look at me like I’m unstable and they should probably cross the street when they see me…I just had a bad time of year and now it’s all over and done with. I’m just very happy to be feeling happy again and back on top of it and not so worried about everything. It was just too much to handle for me at the time.”

Meanwhile, Page Six is staying firmly on the “Something is up with Mischa Barton” train. Last week they ran a story about how Mischa has been acting on the set of The Beautiful Life. A source told Page Six that Mischa is “bleary” and out-of-it on the set, and that “She was getting snippy with the director and kept demanding that someone make instant coffee for her. Often, she’ll stare at the coffee for minutes at a time and say, ‘Who will fix my coffee? I need someone to fix my coffee.’” The latest evidence that something’s not right comes from a new report – apparently Mischa was invited to the Metropolitan Opera’s opening of Tosca. Unfortunately, Mischa got confused:

Things were topsy-turvy at the screening of Michael Moore’s “Capitalism: A Love Story” at Alice Tully Hall Monday night.

Our spy said, “Mischa Barton showed up and was asking for tickets. She started walking the red carpet and saw it was sponsored by Es quire Soho, the men’s magazine’s Soho Mews penthouse.

Then, our witness says, “She took one look around and realized she was in the wrong place.” Barton finally ran across the street to attend the Met Op era’s opening of “Tosca.”

[From Page Six]

Mischa did end up at Tosca, and posed for pictures with designer Zac Posen, who designed her dress. Ah, horizontal stripes. When skinny girls want to look heavy. What were you thinking, Zac Posen?

My last piece of evidence for why I think something is still going on Mischa? She uttered some drivel to the Los Angeles Times (via Just Jared) a few days ago, about why she took the part in The Beautiful Life. And no, her excuse didn’t involve the words “It was the only project I was offered” or “no one wants to work with me because I’m not a good actress.” Instead, Mischa snotted this: “The fashion world is something I don’t think anyone’s ever examined in a really realistic way, and I thought this show would be a good fit for me because I get to play a real character, and a lot of people associate me with fashion like I’m a fashion icon already.” Fashion icon? Seriously? Showing up on every red carpet for the free booze does not a fashion icon make.

Mischa Barton is shown at the Metropolitan Opera’s season opening with designer Zac Posen on 9/21/09. Credit: Fame Pictures

Troubled actress Mischa Barton sat back on The View’s couch this morning to promote her new CW show The Beautiful Life and (of course) answer any and all questions concerning her hospital stay this summer. Barton was forcibly removed from her Los Angeles home in July and taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s psychiatric ward.

Barton at first tried to play off her hospital stay saying it was “silly” and “blown out of proportion” but when Barbara Walters pointed out that she was actually in a rubber room and not just your normal hospital ward, Barton again blamed her teeth.

“I had an infection and a dry socket and I woke up on a Sunday morning and there was no doctor available,” Barton continues. “I was trying to take the minimum amount of pain killers and get through it because I had to go to work soon and I was getting ready to go do this show, ‘The Beautiful Life,’ and meanwhile I still had a schedule to travel. I was going to Europe. I was going to London. I had things to do and I was prepping to do photo shoots and I was just overwhelmed. I had so much work to do and the surgery had gone so badly for me. And I think that I was just starting to feel completely overwhelmed. It was just too much to have this surgery go so wrong.”

[ABC News]

Barton, although seemingly a little malaised, appeared to be in her right mind, and spoke calmly about the dramatic incident. The former star of The O.C. explained that she had “a meltdown” and that because she mentioned that she “wanted to die” because of the pain, they took her very seriously. Hence the 5150 hold. The wish for death is understandable. I’ve had dry sockets and they’re no joke. But she must have been FLAILING and seriously flipping out for them to lock her up.

Walters (who is showing her advanced age, I could barely make out the question) also asked her how she got through it.

“I just figure that if you hit rock bottom like that … and you’re around people, you know, you realize I’m nothing like these people,” she says. “I have a career, I worked so hard for it. I’m such a positive person and I really … I think you can overcome anything and for me having that kind of chronic pain for the first time in my life, like being in serious pain was such a wakeup call because, you know, I’ve seen friends go though terrible, terrible pain and I’ve worked in hospitals and never experienced it myself. And I have such a newfound respect for people who live with that kind of pain and I think it was just a wakeup call for me about life and respecting life so much more.”

“Anyway, I got really healthy since then,” Barton adds. “I’ve just been doing everything I can to keep my job happy and healthy and I’ve moved to New York with my two dogs and I have a great apartment I just got.”

Barton, who has long been rumored to be a party girl in excess (remember the freakout at Nicole Richie’s 2007 Memorial Day BBQ and her drunk driving arrest?), seems to be taking this incident as a wake up call. Hopefully this is a sign that she’s getting it together, focusing on her career, and not having dental surgery again anytime soon.

Mischa is shown out in NY with her dog on 8/31 (graphic print shirt. Credit: WENN.com) and 8/17 (purple shirt Credit: Fame Pictures)

Mischa Barton has spoken for the first time about her psychiatric hospitalization earlier this summer. She’s a smart woman, and her explanation sounds like she’s trying to be purposefully vague and not admit much. Mischa says that it all happened due to the intense pain she was in after having four wisdom teeth removed at once. She suffered terrible migraines and was under a lot of pressure from work. Barton doesn’t admit that she was on any painkillers, just that she couldn’t take them when she was working and that she suffering a lot a pain. She also says it wasn’t a breakdown exactly but won’t say if she was hospitalized due to drugs:

A lot of people are watching you now, speculating you were in rehab back in July.
Here’s what happened: Before the show started, I was traveling abroad for contract stuff and I went through a terrible surgery—a wisdom tooth surgery, all four removed. It was a nightmare. I’ve never had surgery before—it all went wrong and I had to have a second surgery and it almost delayed shooting because it was a nightmare to me, because I couldn’t deal with the thought of not getting there on time. So with the travel, and surgery and prep for the show—it was hell.

Is this when you were checked into Cedars?
Yeah, I went through a tough spot where everything compounded on me, and it was like a perfect storm, like everything was happening to me at once. The show, travel and then this fairly routine surgery that went wrong—it’s still just healing. But I had to get through it without proper painkillers because I couldn’t take those during work. So it’s been a nightmare.

How did you end up in a psychiatric hospital?
I was down in the dumps about everything there for a while. Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom about things and have to get the most stressed-out just to feel better again. I got completely stressed-out and couldn’t handle everything, and now I feel really in control.

Was it an official nervous breakdown? Drugs?
I don’t know. I don’t know. I had a friend who had a quasi–nervous breakdown, but I’m not sure it’s the same thing. I’m not sure I’m capable of a full-on nervous breakdown, but it was pretty bad. It didn’t last that long. It was more about the pain. I have a newfound respect for people who have chronic pain. I started getting migraines.

How long were you in Cedars?
They don’t keep you in the hospital. I wasn’t there very long.

[From NewYork.Timeout.com]

I’ve only had a couple wisdom teeth removed at once and it wasn’t that bad. I understand that if the teeth are compacted it can be incredibly painful, though. It probably was as awful as she’s saying, but the cause of her incident was most likely the drugs she was on, prescription or not, coupled with the pain. She’s not revealing much here, and I guess I don’t blame her. The press has moved on, and Mischa didn’t get much mileage out of this. As cynical as it sounds, you can understand why she’s talking about her hospitalization again now. Maybe if she was a little more open about it she would be getting more coverage.

The National Enquirer reports this week that Mischa loves to sing and play guitar and that she’s planning some sort of folk music CD. They write that “the 23-year-old actress has thrown herself into songwriting and hopes to release a CD of original folk-rock songs next year.” We’ll see if Mischa has any talent, but even if she doesn’t she’s sure to get some opportunities in the music industry given her name recognition.

Mischa is shown on 8/21/09 at the “I Heart Ronson” collection in NY. She’s looking much better physically, but her fashion is still atrocious. Credit: Patricia Schlein/ WENN.com

Mischa Barton made her first tenuous public appearance since being released from the psychiatric ward of Cedars- Sinai. She showed up to the Cooper Union Hotel in New York for an All Points West celebration. She stuck to water all night, and wore a pretty bizarre dress. But other than her attire, she seemed to be doing well.

Despite having been hospitalized following a mysterious breakdown only a few weeks ago, Mischa Barton insists to OK!, “I’m feeling great! I’m really happy.”

Speaking exclusively to OK! on Sunday night at the Arizona Ice Tea-sponsored party for Music Unites, the controversial actress revealed that filming on her new movie [sic – TV show] The Beautiful Life is, “Going really well… I’m excited.”

For most of the evening, Mischa sat snuggled up on a sofa at the Cooper Union Hotel, drinking water and talking to a male party-goer. Around 10:40pm, Mischa and a gal-pal exited the party to “go home to watch True Blood.”

Said one fellow guest to OK! about Mischa’s behavior, “She seemed to be in a good mood. She was smiling and appeared to be genuinely happy.”

[From OK!]

While her dress is strange, it’s also characteristically strange, which is sort of a good thing. If Mischa were wearing something dull or common – say a little black dress – then I’d worry something was still wrong. But her “funky” attire (I’m going to be nice here) is part of her persona, and I think it’s a good sign she’s doing well enough to still express herself that way.

Mischa’s got a sober companion with her, according to In Touch. They claim she’s more worried about her career than her addiction issues, so instead of going into treatment, she’s doing an outpatient program.

While the friend thinks Mischa, 23, should be heading to rehab, the pal fears she’s more concerned with saving her career. On July 31, Mischa is supposed to report to the set of the new TV series “The Beautiful Life,” so a stint in treatment could be “a violation of her contract” if she didn’t report to work, the friend says. “The producers have put her on probation. Any more missteps won’t be tolerated.”

Instead of rehab, Mischa is in an outpatient program and has a sober companion. “She thinks it’s silly,” her friend explains, “but she doesn’t have a choice.”

[From In Touch, Aug. 10, 2009, print ed.]

I’d agree with Mischa that it’s silly – she should be in rehab. The fact that she’s doing something halfway (but still good) like a sober companion and still complaining that it’s silly makes that evident.

If Mischa needs proof that she should take her addiction and mental health issues seriously, she should take a look at these pictures from last month. Now look at the picture of her last night and the shots from this weekend. True, the dress is still crazy. But look how much better she already looks? Less bloated, fewer crazy facial expressions, eyeballs not all round and freaky. Right there is a good reason. If her mental and physical health isn’t enough of an incentive, maybe her vanity is.

I’m rooting for Mischa Barton. Some of you say that she’s stuck up or can’t act or whatever, but she’s always struck me as smart, self aware, and much more together than other celebrities her age. 23 year-old Mischa wasn’t as in control as I thought, and she had a massive very public fall from grace with an admission to the hospital for a psychiatric hold almost two weeks ago. Maybe people will say they saw it coming, but it was a shock to me and I assumed that Mischa just liked to party but wasn’t into anything dangerous or excessive. In Touch reported this week that Mischa was so out of it that she’s the one who called the cops, saying “I see tree people.” They reported that “she was hallucinating and thought she saw people hidden in the foliage outside her house in a gated community.”

Anyway Mischa is out of the hospital now and has hopefully put all that behind her. Judging from her appearance at the airport in LA yesterday, she’s doing fine. Gone is the caked-on eyeliner (liquid eyeliner is only for the lids, don’t rim the bottom of your eye with it!) and spaced-out look. Maybe this will last for Mischa and she’s learned that she can’t touch the hard stuff.

Mischa Barton is out of the hospital and plans a return to work almost two weeks after Los Angeles police say they escorted her for an undisclosed medical problem.

Spokesman Craig Schneider said Monday that the 23-year-old actress is “out of the hospital and continuing to improve in anticipation of resuming production as planned.”
He would not elaborate on Barton’s condition, but said Barton planned to report to work on the new CW series “The Beautiful Life.”

A CW spokesman for the show, which stars Barton as a pill-popping supermodel, said last week that production was scheduled to begin Friday.

[From NY Daily News]

Star reported this week that the very bad reviews of Mischa’s latest movie, Homecoming, contributed to her breakdown and that “she is upset over her sagging career, and she doesn’t think anybody really cares about her.” Hopefully Mischa realized that people do care and is now ready to move on with her career and her life. She has a lot of opportunities and advantages that the rest of us can only dream about, and maybe she’s starting to realize that. At least she has a job to go to now that she’s out.

Photo credit: INFPhoto.com

After Mischa Barton’s breakdown there was talk that her upcoming series, CW’s The Beautiful Life, was quietly training another actress to replace her as the lead. In a role that may hit too close to home, Mischa is set to play a down and out drug-addicted model struggling to hang on to her waning career. The series’ producer, Ashton Kutcher, dismisses rumors that Mischa is off the show and says Barton will soon be in NY to start shooting and that she’s “doing great.”

Ashton Kutcher says Mischa Barton is heading to New York to join the cast of her new show, “The Beautiful Life,” according to Reuters.

Ashton, the producer behind The CW show, commented on the actress at a technology conference in Pasadena where he discussed his involvement with Twitter.

“I can tell you right now Mischa Barton is doing great,” Ashton reportedly said.

In a previous statement to Access Hollywood, the star’s rep said Mischa was “improving each day” following her hospitalization last week.

Access previously broke the news that the former “The O.C.” star had been taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 15, after a source said she was placed under an involuntary psychiatric hold (also known as a 5150) by authorities.

Production on the show, on which Mischa plays a model attempting a comeback, was pushed back to the end of the month “due to set construction issues,” a CW rep told Access last week.

The show is set to begin shooting on July 31.

[From Access Hollywood, source has automatic music]

The National Enquirer claims this week that Ashton and his wife, Demi Moore, are trying to help Mischa by introducing her to the mystical Jewish-type cult they follow, Kabbalah. At least it’s not Scientology, but it would be a lot cheaper and probably more helpful for Mischa to get counseling and go to rehab:

Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher… want to spearhead the recovery of the deeply troubled actress, who landed in a Los Angeles psychiatric unit after a bizarre meltdown.

“Demi and Ashton both feel Mischa has an incredible career ahead of her if she can free herself from her demons of poor self-esteem and substance abuse,” said a source.

The couple believes the teachings of Kabbalah – a type of Jewish mysticism – can help Mischa, the source said, adding that both Demi and Ashton generously reached out to Mischa’s family to offer their assistance.

Ashton feels particularly responsible for Mischa because he’s overseeing the production of her new series, “The Beautiful Life,” in which she plays an aging model. He personally selected her for the role.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, August 3, 2009]

People need to find their own route to recovery and happiness, and sinking a lot of money and faith into various treatments and philosophies only helps those who believe in it. You’re better off seeing a therapist or doctor that works for you and buying a bunch of self help books, in my opinion. That’s my path, though, and other people get better mileage out of religion. I can’t see Mischa becoming a Kabbalah devotee, but a lot of celebrities do it and their involvement doesn’t make sense to me either.

In less cultastic news, Demi tweeted photos over the weekend of Ashton de-skunking their dog. She wrote that they used a combination of peroxide and baking soda and were going to try tomato juice next and that the “whole house stinks!”

Demi and Ashton are shown at Scout LaRue Willis’s 18th birthday party at the Cicada restaurant in Los Angeles California on July 17, 2009. Credit: Fame Pictures

In news you thought you’d never hear, Lindsay Lohan supposedly “sat Mischa Barton down” last year and told her to get professional help for her obvious substance abuse problem. Maybe all those stints in various rehab facilities throughout the country taught Lindsay something. You have to admit she’s not as down and out as she once was, and seems more addicted to love than anything else at this point.

Mischa Barton was submitted involuntarily to a California mental health facility last week, and she’s still there. According to insiders, friends and associates have been trying to get Mischa into some sort of treatment for months, including party pal Lindsay Lohan.

The two club regulars often partied together into the early morning hours. But last year, Lindsay walked away from the friendship after a messy Mischa pushed Lindsay over the edge. Sources close to Lohan tell Fox 411 that the two girls haven’t spoken for months, but Lindsay would help Mischa if she asked for help to get through this latest fiasco.

“Lindsay and Mischa used to go out all the time together in Los Angeles. They were like kindred spirits when it came to clubbing and letting loose,” says the insider. “ They have many mutual friends, but everything shifted for Lindsay last year at a party. Mischa was completely out of control, and Lindsay sat Mischa down then to make it clear that she needed help. Lindsay was desperate for Mischa to clean herself up and offered a treatment facility and a therapist to help Mischa. Mischa completely ignored Lindsay, and that was the end.”

Several people close to the “OC” actress tell FOX411 she’s been on a downward spiral for years. “No one close to her is surprised,” says one pal. “Alcohol was like the gateway to other things for Mischa. Nobody has been able to stop her until now. Hopefully this psychiatric hold will force her to seek real help.”

Mischa’s latest stylist deserted her as well, says the insider, warning that ”Mischa must get help or she will be all alone. She can’t continue down the path of the last two years or so. It’s destructive and it will end her career for good.”

[From Fox411 via Starpulse]

I guess if Lindsay Lohan tells you to get help, you have a problem. What’s next – Lindsay telling Jessica Simpson she’s pathetic for the way she’s handling her breakup?

In related Lindsay Lohan news, she was seen carrying a bag full of stuff out of Samantha Ronson’s house yesterday. It may have been the last of her stuff, or she could have wanted another excuse to see Sam. Ronson threw a bunch of Lindsay’s clothes out the window early Monday morning after a loud fight, and it looks like she told her to clear out. Someone needs to sit Lindsay down and tell her to stop going over to her ex’s house and just give it up.

Today’s Page Six reports that Mischa’s rep is upset that her breakdown didn’t make the covers of any of the celebrity glossies this week. You would think that’s something they would want to keep under wraps. The brief story from The Post includes a defensive quote from Mischa’s publicist that of course the tabloids are interested. “I can assure you that I’ve been inundated with requests and inquiries from the celebrity weeklies . . . If none of them care, then by all means, please stop calling and e-mailing.” Maybe now we know where all the stories about her in People have been coming from. It seems like there’s a new one every day.

Photos of Lindsay are from 6/23/09 outside Sam’s house. Photos of Mischa are from 4/21/09 in London. Credit: Fame Pictures

Radar Online points us to this interview with Mischa Barton, taken on June 27 when she opened the Harrod’s Summer Sale in London. Her voice is very hoarse and her eyes are droopy. She looks like she’s on something and out of it, which is sad because the answers she gives to the fashion questions are kind of impressive. Mischa always struck me as a smart, aware person and I really hate to see her like this. She slips into a British accent occasionally, but she lived in England until she was five and has parents who are English and Irish so that’s understandable. It’s her kind of sleepy, slurry appearance that makes me feel for Mischa and hope she gets help. There’s also another interview with Barton taken that day in which she’s filmed from father away and seems more coherent.

People Magazine has been running stories about Barton nonstop since she was hospitalized on a psychiatric hold. They’re saying she’s a party girl who didn’t know her limits, that she had a falling out with close friends over her drug use, and that she has body image issues made worse by the media’s focus on her weight.

She has big self-esteem issues. … She hates her legs,” says a source close to Barton. “She isn’t comfortable with her body. It’s been a big source of stress and self-hate.”

Speculation about 23-year-old actress’s weight and nasty comments from tabloids and blogs also fueled insecurity.

“She had a big problem with those photos of her cellulite. … She didn’t like it,” says another source. “That just was something that contributed to her spiraling but she didn’t do much to fix it because of her partying.”

While another friend tells PEOPLE the photos upset the former O.C. star – “[She was] more pissed off than hurt and she complained a lot about that” – she didn’t let them get “to her too much. … I never saw her diet.”

But when photos showed a thinner Barton, she took to her blog and spoke out about the “crazy press,” telling fans that she’s “happier and healthier than ever so there’s no need to worry about me.”

[From People]

Some people say they saw this coming, but I wouldn’t have guessed that Barton had any issues other than smoking up and drinking too much like a lot of young people. She comes across as articulate and self aware without being self absorbed, and that’s rare for young women in that industry. I’ve thought that friends of mine were fine, too, and didn’t find out that they were really hurting until things were out of control. Barton is just 23 and she can get her life back on track if she’s serious about her sobriety. As far as we know, she’s still in the hospital being treated. Maybe this is the wake up call she needed. Mischa has her whole life ahead of her and I hate to see the media trash her for this. She’s only human, and she has a real chance to turn things around.

Mischa Barton is shown on 6/30/09. Credit: WENN.com