Amanda Bynes has just been moved from a psychiatric ward at UCLA to an exclusive rehab. The 27-year-old actress has been having a tough time of it recently. She is best known as a teen star on Nickelodeon for her roles in The Amanda Show and All That. Amanda has also starred in The WB and What I Like About You.
The Recent Troubles of Amanda Bynes
Amanda Bynes seemed to be living the dream until things started to go wrong for her in 2012. In July of that year, she received a fine from the police for driving while using her mobile phone. A few weeks later police again stopped her in her car – this time she was charged with the far more serious offence of driving under the influence. Things went from bad to worse and in September of 2012, she was arrested for two hit and runs. In May of this year (2013), she was arrested in possession of marijuana and for reckless endangerment.
In July, Amanda was put on a mental health evaluation hold – this is similar to being sectioned under the mental health act in the UK. She was placed in a psychiatric ward at UCLA because she started a fire in the driveway of a complete stranger. It was decided that she lacked the capacity to give consent to treatment so she was put in a psychiatric unit against her will.
Amanda’s loved ones were very upset about her being put in a psychiatric unit, feeling that she did not belong in such a facility. It seems the psychiatrists agreed because she has just been transferred to an exclusive rehab facility in Malibu.
Addiction and Mental Illness
It seems that Amanda Bynes is dealing with mental health problems alongside her addiction. This is fairly common, and it is usually referred to as a dual diagnosis. A large percentage of people who develop alcohol or drug problems are also dealing with things like depression, mood disorder, eating disorder, schizophrenia, and anxiety disorder. It is not clear what exactly has been going on with Amanda, but it does seem that mental health issues complicate her addiction problems.
Some people develop mental health problems because of using alcohol or drugs. These substances are very toxic to both the body and mind, so it is hardly surprising when people experience deterioration to their mental health. It is also common for individuals to turn to substance abuse in an attempt to self-medicate their symptoms. They may be doing this unintentionally because they are unaware that they are dealing with some type of problem like depression. The person just knows that when they drink or use drugs they feel better.
Self-medication of mental health problems can appear to be effective in the beginning, but it is not sustainable long term. These substances actually begin to make the symptoms much worse, and if the person falls into addiction, they end up with even more problems than when they started.
It makes sense that Amanda Bynes is being transferred to a rehab facility. Hopefully she will be able to get dual diagnosis treatment here. If they try to treat the addiction without dealing with the mental health problem, it could prevent her from making any real progress. If her symptoms are a result of substance abuse, they should begin to resolve once she receives the right type of help for her addiction.
