Britney Spears Rushed To Hospital, Put In Mental Hold

Update:
Britney spent her first day in a mental hold with her parents, and requested a meal from In-N-Out Burger. Meanwhile, her new therapist has been praised by former colleagues.

Previously:
Britney Spears was taken from her home by ambulance early Thursday and escorted to a hospital by more than a dozen police officers.

Britney's mother is 'devastated': "She hadn't seen her in a while and to see her deteriorated to this level." Meanwhile TMZ reports chaos when she checked in to UCLA, as she was on Adderall and laxatives.
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A Los Angeles police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter, said the 26-year-old pop star was being taken to "get help" but did not give the ambulance's destination. The Los Angeles Times, citing unidentified authorities, said Spears was taken to UCLA Medical Center to be placed on a "mental evaluation hold." Center spokesman Mark Wheeler declined to comment to The Associated Press, citing privacy laws.

Spears' police escort included motorcycles, two cruisers, and two helicopters.

On Jan. 3, police were called to her home when she refused to return her two young sons, Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, to ex-husband Kevin Federline, who has custody.

Unlike that time, TMZ reports Britney was calm and went willingly:

TMZ has learned the plan to get Britney into UCLA Medical Center had been hatched for days -- it was aborted last night, but executed just minutes ago. And we're told the plan was so intricate the FAA had cleared airspace in route to the hospital.

Back at her house, Britney's psychiatrist told her she was going to the hospital. Her response was, "Is something wrong?" She was not resistant. She made hot chocolate and waited before paramedics arrived and placed her on a gurney.

We're told the psychiatrist felt her condition had deteriorated. Britney had not slept since Saturday -- a day and half longer than she stayed up in recent memory.

The reason she's at UCLA is her new treating psychiatrist practices out of that medical center.

Last time, officers had paramedics haul Spears to a hospital for undisclosed reasons. She was released after a day and a half in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Police also went to the home Monday night after someone reported a swarm of paparazzi trespassing in the singer's gated community. When officers arrived, they didn't see anyone trespassing, police said, but citations were issued for several illegally parked cars.

Spears has been in a highly public downward spiral since filing for divorce from Federline in November 2006.

Her bizarre antics include shaving her head bald, attacking a car with an umbrella and bringing along a paparazzo pal on trips to a courthouse in her child custody case.

Comments

[landmine]

I hope she gets help from REAL professionals. Not the ones who write books, have TV shows, like their name in print, etc. Whether you love her or hate her, now is the time for compassion for a struggling human being...whether she returns your compassion appropriately or not.

[colinmeister]

How comforting that crime is so low in Los Angeles that "More than a dozen" Police Officers, two cruisers, two helicopters, and some motorcycles are free to escort a neurotic bimbo celebrity to the nut house. The taxpayers of L.A. must really appreciate such wise use of their contributions.

[Lemeritus]

Please don't think me insensitive to Britney's plight (well, maybe, at this point, I am a little), but who's paying for the motorcycles, cruisers and helicopters? I live in this 'company town' and I love a parade as much as the next person, but, really, clearing airspace?! How is it that Britney Spears gets a motorycle escort everytime she goes in for 72-hour observation while military vets languish on Main Street without cab fare to get to the VA in Westwood? Aren't these helicopters, ambulances, police staff and equipment community resources? How 'bout sharing with the rest of L.A., Britney?

[SoonerThought]

Nice priorities, cops. (Nice priorities, America, for that matter.)Did they promise the cops doughnuts at the hospital? Dang, get out there and protect and serve the citizenry, not escort a mentally ill pop princess to the hospital.

[Merg]

Finally, someone with the authority (a psychiatrist) to order her into a 72 hour hold. Hopefully, this will be extended to another 14 days and then 21 more days as possible under CA law. She will definetely need the time to be stabilized on Medicaiton (Go to Hell, Tom Cruise) and begin therapy. I will pray that her Lawyers can't find a way to break her out of there. That would be the cruelest blow of all. And probably her death knell. God Bless you Brit.

[helonias]

Helicopters WTF.

I sure all the Iraq vets that have the same mental problems would get helicopters too.

[BeamMeUpScotty]

Spears has the money to get treatment. As for the rest of us, you can thank Ronald Reagan for closing down state mental hospitals in the 1980's.

Even if you have insurance, at some point, hospitals will discharge mentally ill people or dump them on the streets if no one claims them.

Our jails and our streets are the "compassionate conservative's" response to mental health.

[blueshift]

We interrupt real and vital news to bring you this intrusive report on somebody who really needs privacy right now....but all those flashing lights. So shiny. So much footage.

Please, it's time to get this young woman out of the glare of prurient public 'interest.' Wouldn't it be better if she got the help she needs right now, instead of our making her crazy?

[Earl]

Entertainment >> Britney Spears Rushed To Hospital, Put In Mental Hold

Since when is someone's mental health crisis "entertainment"?