fracas

What an interesting post Frac.
I must say that the whole situ sounds too bizarre for words!
What was this bloke thinking about to allow his ex girlfriend to remain there for so long? Did he have no idea she was ill? Obviously not.
He must have problems too to not see that this situation is not a normal place to be ……… I think we forget in this ‘cleansed’ world that there are so many people in our society, as we know it, need help, so many go unnoticed and uncared for

I understand agoraphobia all too well, and I feel for this poor woman, but . . . why the toilet? Seriously? I’m blaming the guy–I think there was some kind of weird abuse going on, because according to that video, they had a normal relationship, except that everything went on in the bathroom. On the toilet! No, it’s not funny, but it’s suspicious. I can understand someone wanting to stay away from people, in a room–even a bathroom. But sitting on a toilet? I don’t get it.

70s - Isn’t it bizarre? You are right, I read that he had some “issues” himself and that may be the reason he didn’t think to get help.

JD - I think in one written report somewhere, they said she went into the room and because she felt safe there, didn’t want to come out. Like she said, maybe tomorrow and that kept turning into the next day and the next day.

He supposedly has some mental health issues himself.

A family member of mine was ill enough at one point to be agorophobic and some of the things they do while in the midst of it really make no sense at all so maybe there was some abuse or not. I hope it all comes out.

What bothers me is how many blogs are just making this a haha story instead of seeing the other side. That is sad.

A lot of blogs make “ha ha” stories about tragedy. If any one of us said that we are suffering mental illness, bipolar disorder and are being drugged by a caretaker, it would be horrifying. But when it’s Britney Spears, it’s okay to laugh and take pictures.

I read somewhere that 2/3 of the population has an IQ in the bottom 1/3 of the IQ pool. Add the ability to post anonymous comments and that’s what we get - people laughing at tragedy because it makes them feel superior. It’s one of the saddest things about human nature.

As for the boyfriend - I think it’s possible that her issues slowly permeated his life. I can say from experience that when you live with someone that is sinking into a not-good place mentally, that which is abnormal to everyone else slowly becomes “normal” one day at a time just from living it. You often need something to shake you back into reality and see how *not* normal it is. I suspect that discovering she was stuck is what shook him back to reality.

Just my thoughts, of course. :)

I’m glad you didn’t make this a “ha-ha” story. Any time the word “toilet” is involved, it’s almost impossible for people to take anything else seriously. I hope this woman gets help and gets away from that guy. I just feel like he’s bad news. I also hope she can recover and get back to her life in private, without everyone hounding her.

I do feel sorry for this poor woman….but still, it IS the weirdest story I have heard in a longgggg time.

Linda, you’re right and I agree. When it became clear Spears had real problems that were more than the typical celebrity-thinks-they-live-by-different-rules problems, I posted about how people should just let her recover in peace. There have been numerous new crrotch shot situations in the last two weeks and I have not written about them. She is sick. I do believe that. people should let her find her way to get well. It’s also why I took such a stand about the Patrick Swayze title.

JD - I read later, that police are considering charging him, but they also said it appears he is mentally challenged.

Olga - I agree with that too. I guess she had sores, which is how the seat ended up fusing with her skin. It’s just awful, really. I hope someday, she is able to lead a normal life. Meds can do wonders for some of these things, despite what nutcake Tom Cruise thinks.

JD- I don’t know if you’ll end up reading this or not. I had some speculation on why she chose the toilet. It seems for her, that she wanted to stay in one place…literally not get up at all. If she chose the tub, for instance, she would have to urinate and defecate on herself on a daily basis. By picking the toilet, she wouldn’t have to sit in her own waste and could just flush it down. Just a thought.

PrincessNugget - That makes tons of sense. Agoraphobia is about remaining somewhere the person feels safe and while it usually means the person (when the world outside the home presents fears) sticks to the home, I can see how it might lead to a tighter isolation within the home as well. They say the fear of the world outside has to do with the fear and anxiety of having an anxiety attack (which is physically quite similar to what a heart attack feels like) where there is no one to help… so the individual stays home where they feel safer. It makes sense to me that she would choose the bathroom for exactly the reason you present.

First she became afraid to leave the trailer, then she became afraid to leave the bedroom, then she became afraid to leave the bathroom, finally she became afraid to leave the “safety” of sitting on the toilet. She became afraid to even stand up that last month or so. This is the power of the fear of fear and how it can control a life. I understand how it can happen. Even when the emergency crew came she didn’t want to leave. They probably had to sedate her to get her out of there. Her boyfriend was unequipped to deal with this much mental illness. Should he have called sooner? Yes. Did she plead with him not to and make promises every single day that she would come out. Yes.

“This is the power of the fear of fear and how it can control a life.”

Absolutely Pam. That’s why I wanted to be at least one place online that didn’t just make fun of the story. People just don’t understand how bad it is unless they or someone they care about has suffered it.

The other comments imply you have a more personal knowledge of the situation… is that the case, or are you getting that from a news story I’ve missed? I’d be pleased if you’d leave a link if that’s the case. If you’re close to the source personally, then I think you’re great for taking time to post comments in their defense online. ;-)

Absolutely bizzare story and difficult to imagine. I had agoraphobia for about a year but nothing that extreme. I was afraid to leave my self-imposed ’safe zone’ which at the time was my home.

Very Sad.