The Other McCain

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Special Snowflake Syndrome

Posted on | August 15, 2013 | 50 Comments

‘Troubled starlet’ Amanda Bynes, weeks before she got sent to the psych ward.

Last month, Amanda Bynes went crazy — no, wait, let me re-phrase that: Last month, it was recognized as an official fact by the state of California, that Amanda Bynes had been going crazy for a long time, and had finally reached her destination, Crazytown. Kookville. Nutsburg.

Her original 72-hour involuntary commitment was extended to 30 days, and the diagnosis is . . . Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Last week a California judge granted permission, at the request of doctors from the Hillman Psychiatric Center in Ventura County, to extend Amanda Bynes’s psychiatric hold for another 30 days. According to state law, such an order can only be approved if the patient is “gravely disabled as a result of a mental disorder” or “is a danger to others, or him or herself.”
But a source very close to the 27-year-old former child star tells us her prognosis is not all doom and gloom.
“Amanda has made significant improvements, she is doing better than she was,” an insider told FOX411’s Pop Tarts column. “There are no drug problems involved, it’s all mental. She has deep anger and PTSD, which tripped a psychotic episode. … She is very ill, but manageable. Amanda genuinely wants to get better and has wanted to get better for some time.”
We’re told the PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) stems in part from the pressures of her Hollywood career, in which she shot to Nickelodeon stardom as a child, before declaring that she was “retiring” a few years ago. Bynes also has very deep-seated conflict issues with her parents, with whom we’re told she’s not particularly close.

Uh, no, she doesn’t have Post-Traumatic Street Disorder, unless maybe she went to Iraq and watched her friends bleed to death after their Humvee got blown up by insurgents. And I’m pretty sure I don’t remember the “Amanda in Fallujah” episode on Nickelodeon.

Having your show-business career fizzle out in your mid-20s is kinda bad, but it’s not the kind of trauma that causes PTSD.

Maybe she had some stress, but trauma? I don’t think so.

Here’s my diagnosis: Special Snowflake Syndrome.

Since she was about 10 years old, Amanda’s life was nothing but success — All That,  The Amanda Show, What I Like About You — and she got used to thinking she was special because, really, she was.

Then, without warning or explanation, it stopped cold. She hasn’t done anything since 2009 — a washed-up has-been at an age where most other young people are just beginning their careers.

During the dozen or so years when she was a little celebrity, however, she never acquired any useful life skills or had to deal with anything more difficult than saying her lines and hitting her marks in order to be treated like a Special Snowflake.

And the loss of that status, while perhaps probably was traumatic from her perspective, but it was a status that most people never enjoy, so she wasn’t really worse off than most other people and, at least financially, was a lot better off than 90-plus percent of everybody.

Some people are emotionally strong and some people are emotionally weak, and Amanda Bynes wasn’t one of the strong ones.

So, over the course of the past three years, bit by bit, step by step, Amanda Bynes gradually went crazy, and by the time her craziness started causing serious problems — in April 2012, she got her first DUI — there was apparently nobody around who had a serious interest in helping her cope with her various issues.

What does “conflict issues with her parents” mean? I don’t know, but the fact that she got so far off the rails with nobody to stop her tells you that there weren’t any grown-ups around Amanda Bynes who were doing anything to help her solve her problems.

 

Category: Celebrities

Comments

50 Responses to “Special Snowflake Syndrome”

  1. MrEvilMatt
    August 15th, 2013 @ 7:40 am

    Special Snowflake Syndrome: ‘Troubled starlet’ Amanda Bynes, weeks before she got sent to the psych ward. Last… http://t.co/XWPwXZDJ0h

  2. CHideout
    August 15th, 2013 @ 7:40 am

    Special Snowflake Syndrome: ‘Troubled starlet’ Amanda Bynes, weeks before she got sent to the psych ward. Last… http://t.co/Q0k09Ikxgg

  3. Citzcom
    August 15th, 2013 @ 7:40 am

    Special Snowflake Syndrome: ‘Troubled starlet’ Amanda Bynes, weeks before she got sent to the psych ward. Last… http://t.co/7i9ZaiXme5

  4. jwbrown1969
    August 15th, 2013 @ 7:40 am

    Special Snowflake Syndrome: ‘Troubled starlet’ Amanda Bynes, weeks before she got sent to the psych ward. Last… http://t.co/zSIbSZlm2U

  5. Lockestep1776
    August 15th, 2013 @ 7:40 am

    Special Snowflake Syndrome: ‘Troubled starlet’ Amanda Bynes, weeks before she got sent to the psych ward. Last… http://t.co/vLzeCYhyz3

  6. David Riddle
    August 15th, 2013 @ 7:57 am

    David Riddle liked this on Facebook.

  7. Virginia SoCon
    August 15th, 2013 @ 8:10 am

    Stacy,
    You’re probably spot on. However, there is one other possibility that could truly trigger PTSD- she was sexually abused while in Hollywood. That pit of vipers is notorious for sexually abusing young stars, male and female. If Bynes was passed around by her pimp, I mean, agent when she was only 13-14 and her parents didn’t do anything to stop it, even when she begged them to (heck, maybe her parents were her agent), that could cause PTSD and some parent issues, too.
    Now, this might not exclude Special Snowflake Syndrome, but I wouldn’t necessarily rule out real trauma, eithier.

  8. Escher's House
    August 15th, 2013 @ 8:20 am

    This is the exact thought I had. Sexual abuse of these very young girls is rife in Hollywood. She acts like a victim of sexual abuse.

  9. Don Surber
    August 15th, 2013 @ 8:42 am

    Don Surber liked this on Facebook.

  10. robertstacymccain
    August 15th, 2013 @ 9:23 am

    I have no idea, and as there has never been any such accusation made publicly, am loath to speculate. Of course, I am aware of the comments made by Corey Feldman after the death of his friend Corey Haim, but there has never been any hint of that in regard to Amanda Bynes.

    On the other hand, one thing I did notice: There was never any rumor of Amanda Bynes having a boyfriend. It’s kind of unusual, really, that a young starlet like that would never have been “romantically linked” (as the tabloid gossips say) to anyone, but I invite you to research it and see for yourself. If she ever had a boyfriend, it seems not to have been reported, and that seems odd enough in the context as to look like a clue: The dog that did not bark, as Sherlock Holmes might say.

  11. postaldog
    August 15th, 2013 @ 9:23 am

    Also important to note — at age 20, she had already earned more money that pretty much anyone reading this post will earn in two lifetimes. She was in a position to do whatever she wanted to in her life. And instead, pierced her cheeks, shaved her head and decided to walk around NYC looking like a bag woman, set fires in peoples driveways, etc.
    A bit hard to be sympathetic. Hopefully it wasn’t abuse, but it’s even money she’s simply a spoiled little kid who wasn’t given the strength of character to deal with the real world.

  12. rsmccain
    August 15th, 2013 @ 9:25 am

    @Corey_Feldman Hey, what do you think happened to Amanda Bynes? My blog readers seem curious. http://t.co/qetjcYnZvD

  13. Josh_Painter
    August 15th, 2013 @ 9:28 am

    RT @smitty_one_each: TOM Special Snowflake Syndrome http://t.co/mXwcyY88DW #TCOT

  14. Virginia SoCon
    August 15th, 2013 @ 9:30 am

    postaldog, I won’t contest that or what RSM wrote. She’s made bad decisions as an adult, and it may certainly be a “If I don’t need to work, what do I do with the remaining 60 years of my life?” However, PTSD and a childhood acting career may be related. See Feldman, Corey and Haim, Corey.

  15. joethefatman1
    August 15th, 2013 @ 9:31 am

    Special Snowflake Syndrome http://t.co/DatO4lOHWZ

  16. ImaLindatoo
    August 15th, 2013 @ 9:33 am

    RT @smitty_one_each: TOM Special Snowflake Syndrome http://t.co/mXwcyY88DW #TCOT

  17. ImaLindatoo
    August 15th, 2013 @ 9:34 am

    @smitty_one_each @Josh_Painter DISGUSTING-And a JUDGE allowed PTSD=judicial liberal activism. Pathetic

  18. joethefatman
    August 15th, 2013 @ 9:39 am

    Well I’ve finally figured out who the hell Amanda Bynes is, not that it matters, since I’ve never watched anything she’s been in. As for the PTSD, Bull Sh!t. She’s just gone wacko. It happens. You get on a downward spiral and lose all perspective and sense of proportion and the spiral steepens, Having grown up a “special snowflake”, she’s probably never been told no in her life and that kind of thing will destroy a kids future. These are my opinions, not facts, obviously.

  19. Virginia SoCon
    August 15th, 2013 @ 9:40 am

    You’re right, RSM, and I shouldn’t have insinuated about her parents that way, and I have no idea who her agent is/was. I don’t care about Hollywood stars, but having 4 daughters and a fifth on the way (yes, being subversive by raising a brood of women who will expect men to be gentlemen) and a good friend who suffered abuse by a high-school teacher, I am sensitive to lost innocence, wherever that happens.

    Of course, batsh*t crazy happens, too.

  20. joethefatman
    August 15th, 2013 @ 9:42 am

    “Of course, batsh*t crazy happens, too.”

    As they used to say: +1

  21. Unix-Jedi
    August 15th, 2013 @ 9:58 am

    “What does “conflict issues with her parents” mean? I don’t know, but the
    fact that she got so far off the rails … there weren’t any grown-ups around Amanda Bynes who were doing
    anything to help her solve her problems.”

    Or who were allowed to. Once you’re making 100x of times more than your folks, why listen to them?
    The issues with her parents might just be they kept saying “Don’t do that.”

  22. Mm
    August 15th, 2013 @ 10:06 am

    Miley Cyrus. http://www.randomtandem.com/2011/02/15/billy-ray-cyrus-is-mad-at-hannah-montana/

    I think it’s more than “listening to your folks.” At a certain point, and I do think you’re right about it having to do with money, the schedule of these celebrities becomes insane and they are given a coterie of handlers. Why the parents allow this is a mystery, until I think about the money. The handlers take over the lives of the star, isolate them from the parents (again, allowed by the parents), and never say “no.” Remember when Miley Cyrus was turning 18 and her dad was finally speaking out about this? He then rather mysteriously shut up and toed the line.

  23. jakee308
    August 15th, 2013 @ 10:24 am

    I had painful agonizing gout for years.

    Thankfully I’m over that now with medication but I find I have an overwhelming aversion to getting up off my ass doing some exercise and taking care of neglected chores around the homestead.

    I must be suffering from PTSD.

    (ps. can I get SSID now? Just askin’)

  24. jakee308
    August 15th, 2013 @ 10:26 am

    As a prime tween and teen star, wouldn’t she have been under strict rules and observation? The studio would have had good reason go keep her away from any boys except on screen.

  25. robcrawford2
    August 15th, 2013 @ 10:31 am

    PTSD isn’t just about combat. I’d bet she was raped as a kid by the people who made her a star. Lots of rumors and stories about that, sadly no one seems to want to name names.

  26. postaldog
    August 15th, 2013 @ 10:44 am

    Feldman and Haim were notorious drug abusers and party hounds in their youth. And there have been plenty of childhood actors who didn’t go off the rails when they hit a lull in their careers. I would mention Melissa Joan Hart here. After her Nicklelodeon days wore down, she managed not to turn into a nutbag, but got married, had a child and seems happy and well adjusted. Perhaps because of a proper upbringing.
    I just think that we rush too quickly to find a name-able excuse for bad behaviour to absolve the person involved of any personal responsibility, and that is only exacerbating the problem.

  27. DaveO
    August 15th, 2013 @ 10:48 am

    Up front: I was diagnosed with PTS by the VA in 2005 after a tour in A-stan.
    Children who’ve been raped/sexually abused can develop PTS. Not too long ago, Corey Feldman and some other former child stars were talking about the prevalence of pedophiles in the entertainment business.
    Another point, PTS seems to be associated with betrayal of some sort. Bynes talked about the crappy relationship she has with her parents. There are enough correlations to say “yeah, Bynes could have PTS.” There’s also enough information to say “NO ONE PARENTED THIS WOMAN.”
    Correlation may not be causation, but it’s a damned funny thing so few child stars make it out alive and mentally and emotionally healthy enough to have lasting thriving relationships.

  28. DaveO
    August 15th, 2013 @ 10:50 am

    http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/corey-feldman-pedophilia-problem-child-actors-contributed-demise/story?id=14256781

  29. DaveO
    August 15th, 2013 @ 10:52 am

    No, I think your bringing up the parents was spot on. I wrote my two cents before reading your comments. No one parented Bynes, and she’s on the fast track to be the female Corey Haim.

  30. Immorality and the Fall of America | Dead Republican Party (DeRP)
    August 15th, 2013 @ 11:04 am

    […] Special Snowflake Syndrome […]

  31. OwainPenllyn
    August 15th, 2013 @ 11:11 am

    Special Snowflake Syndrome http://t.co/cd3tiiAay6 via @rsmccain #AmandaBynes #ptsd #tcot #tgdn #sgp

  32. Professor_Why
    August 15th, 2013 @ 11:50 am

    Special Snowflake Syndrome http://t.co/9tj1Pku8xV

  33. Matthew W
    August 15th, 2013 @ 12:00 pm

    Who is Amanda Bynes?

  34. Thomas L. Knapp
    August 15th, 2013 @ 12:11 pm

    Good take, except for the condescending “anything more difficult than saying her lines and hitting her marks” thing.

    I suspect you’d take umbrage if anyone suggested that as a journalist you never had to learn “anything more difficult than typing his words and meeting his deadlines.” And my favorite mechanic would probably tell me to shove it up my ass if I suggested that his job didn’t involve “anything more difficult than reading the Chilton Manual and turning a wrench.”

    Acting is work, and a skill like any other. If she is good at it (I haven’t seen enough of her stuff to know whether she is or not), and especially if she was good at it at such a young age, that’s not something that needs to be disrespected.

  35. Thomas L. Knapp
    August 15th, 2013 @ 12:14 pm

    Actually, one of her former boyfriends is making the “cash in on formerly dating her” interview rounds.

  36. William miller
    August 15th, 2013 @ 1:28 pm

    I do not know anything about her personal life, nor what her ‘professional’ life was like, but I do know you are kicking someone when they are down. I have been kicked (hard) when i was down. I have no respect for people who do that. She is mentally ill and you seem to be gleefully attacking that. She is sick. Leave her alone.

  37. sarah wells
    August 15th, 2013 @ 1:51 pm

    PTS might feature but she has frank mental illness.
    It’s disease, not spoiling or privilege, behind her antics, except to the extent that she can bankroll and or be noticed for her odd behaviors. The mentally ill tend to be big jerks, and they are blamed for not interacting normally with others in society and poorer mentally ill persons tend to end up rejected and alone and avoided and in jail.
    This one will have a longer way to fall.

  38. Uh-Oh, The President Didn’t Kill Bin Laden, After All | Regular Right Guy
    August 15th, 2013 @ 2:26 pm

    […] Special Snowflake Syndrome […]

  39. Just Me
    August 15th, 2013 @ 3:38 pm

    Where do you get your information on mentally ill people from? As someone who is bipolar, I’d like to know.

  40. richard mcenroe
    August 15th, 2013 @ 3:46 pm

    The supervisors were likely the problem.

  41. trangbang68
    August 15th, 2013 @ 3:50 pm

    Actually she has PCSSS, post Christian stupid skank syndrome. These flea bag celebrities are B-O-R-I-N-G
    At least Kate Hunt comes from a good family of trailer trash dirtbags

  42. trangbang68
    August 15th, 2013 @ 3:52 pm

    look out just me, people are talking about you…

  43. William miller
    August 15th, 2013 @ 5:23 pm

    I would like to know as well

  44. Funeral guy
    August 15th, 2013 @ 5:50 pm

    She is at the age when schizophrenia starts rearing its ugly head. I’m inclined to give her some slack. It sounds like the girl has some serious mental problems. I’m all for personal responsibility, but sick is sick.

  45. thatMrGguy
    August 15th, 2013 @ 6:26 pm

    Special Snowflake Syndrome http://t.co/Vzz0j37Da4

  46. unicornmajik
    August 15th, 2013 @ 7:59 pm

    Special Snowflake Syndrome http://t.co/vI8P6z2R4H and the diagnosis is . . . Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? wth???

  47. Patriot
    August 16th, 2013 @ 12:38 am

    What Virginia Socon said.

    Stacy, love you much, but PTSD is serious, and it is one of the main symptoms of sexual abuse. I suggest you do some research.

    The severity of PTSD is defined by how early the sexual abuse started, how often it was repeated, and how the victim’s “community” responded to it.

    If the community ignored it, blamed it on the victim, or allowed it to continue, then it multiplies the effects.

    My initial thoughts were that she was abused, and those thoughts have been confirmed more recently by her behavior.

  48. Patriot
    August 16th, 2013 @ 12:48 am

    Both Feldman and Haim were abused at young ages by gay men in Hollywood.

    You folks who don’t understand the effects of childhood sexual abuse need to STFU.

    No disrespect meant, but there are hundreds if not thousands of research articles out there about the effects and you guys are just making guesses.

    Quit guessing and educate yourself.

    PTSD, drug/alcohol abuse, self-harm/suicide, promiscuity, are all symptoms of childhood sexual abuse.

  49. Patriot
    August 16th, 2013 @ 12:55 am

    My wife, who suffers from PTSD due to repeatedly being sexually abused as a child begged me to write the following, aimed especially towards those who are doubting the potential for Bynes to have PTSD: “I pray to god your wife or child is never raped or sexually abused.”

  50. Crimson Mask
    August 16th, 2013 @ 11:22 am

    I don’t know what may have happened to her as part of that “career” but the LA media culture has long been notorious for it’s abuses.

    If this young woman’s experience was really bad enough to cause a psychotic breakdown, I don’t believe it’s fair to blow it off. We don’t know what she may have been through, and we probably should not know, beyond recognizing that Hollywood is full of people who should not be trusted with children.