There was a time when Britney Spears’ stage show was one of her only redeeming qualities as a recording artist. Though she always lip-synced, her stage presence and dance abilities thrilled fans. Then came the breakdown and the infamous dead-eyed performance at the 2007 Video Music Awards. Since then, sources say Britney has been trying to overcome nearly crippling levels of stage fright – something she will have to beat if her upcoming tour is going to be successful.
Tickets for Britney Spears’ world tour are already selling out – and nine shows have been added to meet the demands of fans anxious to see her comeback tour. But Britney is feeling the heat. Under pressure to put on the best show if her life, the star has been rehearsing nonstop.
Yet behind the scenes, Britney is is secretly terrified of not living up to expectations.
“Britney has a great time doing choreography and rehearsing, but when it’s time to perform, she gets nervous,” says a source. “She really wants to please her fans.”
Despite a smash single, “Womanizer” and a hit album, Circus, she still feels overshadowed by her humiliating performance at the 1007 VMAs.
…Since being diagnosed with what is believed to be bipolar disorder, Britney has been prescribed a range of medication, which a source says is being adjusted to help her deal with her stage fright.
She’s been prescribed two antianxiety drugs, one of which she is allowed to take only twice weekly,” the source reveals. “She’d been on the other medications before, but now she’s been prescribed a higher dosage to take before performances.”
[From In Touch Weekly print version, Jan. 5, 2009]
I’m not familiar with antianxiety drugs – but one that she can only take twice a week sounds pretty powerful. As for her fears of a repeat of the 2007 VMA debacle, perhaps that’s a good thing. That’s what happens when stars think they can get away with no rehearsals and a mediocre song. I’m not saying she should dwell on it, but if she is serious about getting her career going again, she needs to use that incident as motivation to stay on track and keep taking care of herself. There is definitely a lot riding on this world tour and many people think Britney is rushing things.
Britney Spears is shown performing on 12/2/08 on Good Morning America. Credit: WENN
Her family needs to quit milking her for money. Until she takes time away from the public eye to work on whatever has been causing her problems… Its a disaster waiting to happen.
I agree Vibius, I think thsi is to much to soon for this girl, nevertheless, my best friend and I are going to one of her shows in the NYC area, we’ll see how it goes.
Just pump up the meds and trot her onstage. She’ll be fine.
Hmm maybe so, but the sooner she gets back into it the easier it will be. I don’t know what else she can do to help herself except get back into a “normal” life (normal for her anyway).
As for the anti-anxiety, maybe it is not as powerful as it is addictive.
Anti-anxieties really just sedate you, the stronger the pill the more sedated you’ll be, so I don’t know that extremely powerful pills would be a good idea before a performance!! It is probably just valium or the like.
I switched up my handle for this post, because I comment somewhat regularly but want a little more privacy for this one.
I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder nearly four years ago. Until that point, I had issues with depression, but it never occurred to me that I was also manic. For about two years before my diagnosis, I did a lot of things that you saw Britney Spears doing when she “went crazy.” True, I was on a smaller scale because I was just a girl with a regular salary, not millions in royalties, but still.
I worked ten hours a day and developed a reputation as an dedicated employee but there were whispers about my intensity, temper, and after-hours behavior. I slept with a coworker off and on for months and everyone knew about it. I went to happy hour at 5 and stayed until the bar closed. I danced on tables and was carried out more than once. I gave a killer lap dance, and spent a few evenings in strip clubs. I cut my hair to a chin length bob on a whim and dyed it black. I woke up some mornings not remembering how I got home but thinking that my car was parked remarkably well. I got a tattoo on my lunch hour. I slept with other guys in between bouts with the coworker – one of whom was engaged, but since it was a one night stand I didn’t care. I lived on black coffee and cigarettes. I realized something was wrong when I woke up one day and couldn’t stop crying. My doctor and therapist teamed up and diagnosed me. I changed jobs, adjusted to a medication and therapy regimen, and got off the roller coaster. It’s still something I live with every day, and it’s not easy.
My regimen includes antidepressants, an anticonvulsant (for the mania), sleeping pills, and antianxiety meds. Without the latter two I simply cannot turn my brain off and can easily stay awake for a couple of days in a row. If I don’t take care of myself, I will easily go off the rails.
It’s a chemical disorder, people. Just like diabetes or hyperthyroidism. Pressure, stress, and physical illness can aggravate it. Just cut the girl some slack. She really seems to love her kids and she’s trying to get it and keep it together.
Britney will be fine. Her fans are dedicated and love her no matter what. We’ve stuck with her through everything!
TempAnon, thank you for sharing. It takes a lot of courage to do so, even anonymously. I can relate to what you are saying, as I can with Spears. It’s no picnic to live with a disorder; it can be quite debilitating. It’s a shame that it’s almost 2009 and mental illnesses and those forced to cope with them are not taken as seriously as they should be, and are looked down upon.
tempanon: thank you. i read your text with interest. thank you for sharing. best wishes to you.
The fact that the anti-anxiety medication is limited to two times a week may not be related to its potency, but more likely to control its interaction with the multiple other meds she is taking. It’s a fine balancing act, as TempAnon has said, and it is of the utmost importance that the medications be finely tuned to meet the needs of her disorder and current lifestyle.
As for pushing her out on the road when she is barely one year into recovery, her family and physicians may feel it is the best way to build her self-confidence and reunite her with a lifestyle that she previously enjoyed with great success.
Clearly she is longing to return to the stage or she would not have wandered out onto the VMA stage even though she was 10 feet under the ground medicated with the wrong types of drugs. Maybe somewhere deep down inside she knows that she is a performer and that performing is her salvation? Who knows, maybe this will be the tipping point and she’ll fall into the abyss, or it could re-introduce her to a life of order, discipline and creativity? Only time will tell. I, personally wish her luck and hope that the rapid ticket sales are due to “true fans” and not gawkers who are hoping for a disaster to occur on their dime.
I am completely destroyed by a drug interaction. Happens more than you could even imagine, And let me tell you when it does and you end up with a few of the diseases they mention way down on the list of side effects, You realize to late that these happen at a high rate. Prescription drugs are the NUMBER 1 killer of people.Only 10 percent are actually reported.Oh and when it happens the medical establishment acts like it didn’t happen and you are crazy. So watch out people. Never take anything without researching it. And check to make sure you can combine 2 . Docs don’t bother and hand out free samples. I was f by this method. No computer to catch the mistake.You do not need to be on drugs for so long. Get on and off, No long term pills for depression. When will people get that exercise worked better than the toxic drugs. SRRI”S should be banned
She’s been a largely untreated bi-polar for a while previously, she’s got more than stage fright working against her. Her ticket sales haven’t been stellar either. They tapered off.
TempAnon, thanks for sharing that with us. Honestly, it’s hard for many to empathize with what living with the disease is like – and understanding that it is a very real condition – it can’t be easy to deal with this disease on top of people’s prejudices . . . Anyway, thanks for giving most of us some insight. Kudos to you for taking the initiative to manage it. I have an artist friend who is bi-polar. It’s on the milder side (if that’s even possible) but she chose to get off the prescribed meds because she said they sucked the creativity out of her. Now she drinks wine AND smokes up every night to ‘wind down’ from her manic highs. She loves being manic, for the most part. She says that without it -she couldn’t support herself through her art. She hates the lows, but choses to deal with it through self-medicating . . . which is already catching up with her. She hasn’t had a real relationship in years . . .
Best wishes to you, TempAnon.
I’m new to the medication thing and I’m not sure if it is helping me yet, but I have high hopes that I can pull myself up and out of this.
Happy New Year to everyone. 🙂
#11 vdantev, you don’t know what you are talking about when you say she was a largely untreated bipolar previously. Nobody knows if she is bipolar, or has any other disorder, or anything about medications. TempAnon, bless her heart, doesn’t know either. You have access to her medical records?
Her ticket sales haven’t been stellar either? There are 43 performances before almost a million people. I’ll give you data for a few venues via Ticketmaster-
St Pete Times Forum seats 20,000, 409 tickets left-
Phillips Arena Atlanta seats 19,000, 388 tickets left-
American Airlines Arena Miami seats 19600, 191 tickets left –
Prudential Center Newark seats 18,000, 473 tickets left –
Air Canada Centre Toronto seats 20,000, 98 tickets left —
The entire tour is almost sold out. You might want to hesitate before you run off at the mouth about the status of her tour or a diagnosis you know nothing about for a person you don’t know.
1. It takes, on average, 3-5 years for a newly diagnosed bipolar person to become “stabilized” with the right medications.
2. There are many different levels of bipolar, everything from having one manic episode ever, to many episodes in a month. My father is bipolar – manic tendency, my mother was bipolar – depressive tendency (she was diagnosed as a depressive only for a long time), and for quite a while, I was about 50/50 with rapid cycling.
3. Bipolar disorder is a functional problem with neurotransmitters in the brain – nothing more. Just like high blood pressure and type I diabetes, there are things that can be done to improve the condition without medication, but just like them still, usually help in the form of medication is needed.
My first psychiatrist diagnosed me as anxious/depressed and didn’t treat me properly, and something like 18 years later, I’m still looking for a good psychiatrist and the right meds. But the difference is that I’m highly aware of my moods, and I take steps to keep myself safe when I feel myself swinging one way or another. There are new meds out there now, like Cymbalta, that I have been prescribed, but can’t take, due to having to be careful of my liver and kidneys.
I believe that Brit is bipolar, and hopefully, she’s getting the real help she needs. I think she’s being pushed too quickly back into the spotlight by her dad – whom I don’t consider a nice guy – and I pray she doesn’t crack under the strain.
If anyone with bipolar or depression ever needs to talk, give me a shout, because I definitely have been there. My last suicide attempt was 1994 – the night Curt Cobain died. I only remember it because of that.
TempAnon, I understand your need for anonymity, but I really hope that someday all of us with mental biochemical differences will be able to talk about ourselves without needing to hide. One can hope…
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