My history with Britney Spears has been fraught. (I can't believe a reasonably intelligent person wrote that sentence.) I hated her and her stupid music for years, and was offended by her marketing of herself as a barely legal sex kitten. On her reality show, she demonstrated how vapid she was; it wasn't pretty.

At the same time, I felt sorry for her. She'd grown up under a glaring spotlight, and like so many child stars, seemed to be devoid of an identity that didn't revolve around celebrity. I wondered if that's why she seemed so empty on her show. Maybe she wasn't dumb, but didn't have an opportunity to cultivate any depth or intellect. She was potential, unfulfilled. Maybe.

I do remember quite clearly an episode of female jealously and hostility, many years ago, when a boyfriend drooled over a bikinied Brit in a magazine. "I guarantee you," I said petulently, "she won't age well. Those thighs are destined for serious cellulite." I was embarrassed that I even said that. But I was angry that my thin thighs weren't being sufficiently praised--and I was even older than she was!

Now, as everyone knows, Britney is in serious meltdown mode, and she's in rehab after a strange shaving mishap. But while the media wonders about her alcohol and drug use, I'm thinking it's her mental health that's really the issue. This is a woman who had two children in two years, which compromised her career and destroyed the only image of herself she's ever had. Her husband was a partying lout who tried to get away from her at every opportunity. Her ex-boyfriend wrote a mean song about her. She tried to turn things around only to get slammed in the press for partying too much. (She's in her 20s! Her babies aren't awake at 2 a.m.) She was on the cover of Newsweek as the epitome of trash and wildness. Her new boyfriend dumped her and then sold details of their sex life with the British press.

She went from megastar to mega laughing stock. Who wouldn't be depressed after all that?

Perhaps she is abusing alcohol and drugs, but I'm going to suggest that a rehab facility without mental health treatment is a big mistake for her right now. Not all rehabs know how to handle psychological problems; I know this from personal experience. I hope they know what they're doing over there.

Anyway, that's all about Britney. I just had to get that off my chest. She needs mental healthcare, media people. And there's no shame in saying so, handlers and assistants. I wish her the best of luck.

[This photo of her was taken when she was the epitome of celebrity success. Sad.]