Iâm sure by now, youâve heard about the conservatorship that has overseen nearly every single aspect of Britney Spearsâ life for the past 14 years. It was put into place in 2008 following Britneyâs public breakdown in 2007. Amid all of this, Jamie Spears, Britneyâs dad took the opportunity to take control of not only all of Britneyâs assets but of her, as well, with a âtemporary conservatorshipâ in February 2008.
By October 2008, Judge Reva Goetz made the conservatorship permanent.
According to media at the time, Goetz said at the hearing, âThe conservatorship is necessary and appropriate for the complexity of financial and business entities and [Britney] being susceptible to undue influence.â
It wasnât until a recent documentary Framing Britney Spears spotlighted how being under severe media scrutiny led to Britneyâs downfall from pop star grace to substance abuse and mental health issues. But once Jamie was in control, he had that taste of power and money, and had no intention of giving any of it back to Britney herself. This included forcibly putting an IUD in place.
Truthfully, her story terrifies me.
As someone who grew up with a controlling father (not put an IUD in me against my will controlling, but pretty controlling) and being a woman with a bipolar 1 diagnosis, I can tell you being admitted to a mental health ward and being seen as just a diagnosis has always been one of, if not my exact biggest fear. Her father is the realization of that fear and exactly why so many people are afraid to get treatment for mental health problems.Â
For little girls, dads are supposed to be their heroes and kings.
They can do no wrong, until they do and then they can do no right. Not only did Britneyâs dad take away the autonomy of a grown woman, he controlled every aspect of what she could and couldnât do to the point of controlling her fertility. Women face enough challenges keeping government out of our uteruses, when her own father inflicts this kind of control over her, how can she ever feel safe in the world? The same person in the world who is responsible for Britneyâs safety is the perpetrator of unsafety.
Aside from everything else that was spinning out of control in her life, at the time the conservatorship was put into place, Britney was suffering from mental health issues.
Conservatorships are usually put into place to protect people with dementia or severe mental disabilities who canât make sound decisions for themselves, but Britneyâs situation was not a permanent one. While the conservatorship was initially put into place to protect her from herself until she was well again, it has remained in effect for 14 years. At one of the most vulnerable moments of her life, an opportunistic situation presented itself, and her father took advantage of it.
Unfortunately, Britneyâs tale is a cautionary one.
One that anyone who has ever received a mental illness diagnosis lives in constant fear of happening: The moment you are accused of being unfit to make your own decisions which leads to someone else having the control to have you admitted, found unfit to care for yourself and, finally, take control your life decisions.
This is the reason that so many people are reluctant to get help when they are suffering from mental health issues. Nobody wants to run the risk of not only being stigmatized and judged for their diagnosis, but actually being locked up or having their rights taken away.
Having a mental illness is not a crime.
People with mental illness diagnoses need to have support from family, friends, and society to feel brave enough to get the help they need to get well. If not, if people suffering with mental illness canât get help without the threat of having all of their dignity and human rights taken away, then why would anyone choose to get help?