AMANDA BYNES REALLY A TRAIN WRECK ?
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GOTTA GO TO REHAB
NO NO NO!
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Amanda Bynes
Is hitting rock bottom in the cards for all young Hollywood? This week, the once bubbly child star, Amanda Bynes, former Nickelodeon star and “Forbes richest under 21″ lister has been careening for the title of “celebrity train wreck” by racking up multiple DUIs and hit-and-runs with a suspended license. A source spoke about her rapid downfall, telling RadarOnline that, ”She has been told by her agent and her dad Rick that she has substance abuse issues and needs to get help.”
Yet Bynes is refusing. So what’s in the cards for this former role model?
RESPONSE: ADDICITON EXPERT BEN LEVENSON
Co-founder Of Origins Recovery Centers
“Amanda Bynes' refusal to accept professional help is a hallmark of addictive illness and the thinking that clouds the mind of the sufferer. Ideas like ‘I'm not that bad’ or ‘they don't understand’ or ‘I can think my way through this,’ might be what she's telling herself,” states Ben Levenson, co-founder of Origins Recovery center. .
The brain of the active addict is fundamentally impaired. The regions of the brain where executive thinking and higher reasoning reside are virtually non-functioning in the toxic brain. Bynes is actually unable to utilize reason and logic to make competent decisions about her healthcare, including her recovery.
Continues Levenson, “As if a broken brain is not enough, her ability to recover is further complicated by co-dependency in her family and the constellation of enablers surrounding her. No one wants to upset the active addict. Everyone is walking around on eggshells. So all of these factors taken into account leads to what we are witnessing - an addict who is out of control and a system of people around her that are paralyzed to do anything about it.”
“As a recovered addict, I know firsthand that this disease is insidious, progressive and fatal when left unarrested. It pains me to no end to see another addict suffer and from the horrors of addiction. Having lost my brother to an overdose in 2001 my heart goes out to Amanda’s family and friends,” empathizes Levenson.
What must happen soon is an intervention - led by professionals, followed by multi-disciplinary, longer-term treatment and aftercare.
“Addiction does not exist in a vacuum - she needs to be in the care of a treatment team comprised of variety of specialists (Psychiatrists, Internists, Psychologists, Therapists, and Spiritual support) that can correctly diagnose and then simultaneously treat all of the problems and challenges she is facing,” states Levenson.
Celebrities with addiction, like Amanda, don't have it easier, but rather, harder because the very things they crave: fame, power, money and acclaim, happen to also fuel the very illness that is killing them.
“Her case is NOT different, she IS that bad and we DO understand - left untreated, her addiction will try to kill everyone around her and when it's finished doing that, it will try to kill her,” concludes Ben Levenson.
Treatment works, but only if you live long enough to make it in the door.
Photo By: Sara de Boer/Retna
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