It seems like the entire world is debating what lies behind Britney’s failed performance - as both an entertainer and a mother.

Some speculate she is bipolar, others question her cognitive abilities, some believe she is an exhibitionist seeking media attention for better or for worse, others blame it all on her addiction to drugs and alcohol.

I propose that Britney’s self-destructive behavior is motivated by the need to protect her fragile self-image, and urge the media to express more empathy and understanding rather than callous glee, sadistic shadenfraude and perverse pleasure in her problems.

You don’t have to be a shrink - anyone with an ounce of sympathy can see that Britney is suffering from anxiety, depression and grief caused by the death of her dreams. She has lost her marriage, her figure and her status in the media and is turning to drugs and alcohol as a way of morning her substantial losses. She feels betrayed by those she loved and trusted, including her family of origin, her ex-husband, her employees and her former fans. She, former media darling, is now the object of relentless and cruel remarks, day after day, in the blogosphere and the celebrity magazines.

Her psyche is not strong enough to protect itself from this extreme media cruelty, as she internalizes media remarks, calling herself “the fat pig”- the ultimate form of self-loathing. This self-loathing robs her of her ability to act rationally, and her defensive reaction is to turn to drugs and alcohol, and to plunge into self-destructive denial, ignoring her responsibilities - the ultimate form of self-handicapping.

A self-handicap is a claimed or acquired impediment used to protect an individual’s desired selfimage. An individual may elicit a self-handicap to protect one’s self-image when evaluation of an insecure part of the self is threatened. Research has found that self-handicapping is motivated by anticipated threats to self-esteem, particularly when there is uncertainty about one’s ability. Researchers have documented a number of behaviors that function as self-handicaps, most commonly procrastination, drug and alcohol use.

For example, many students who care so much about what others think of their ability are willing to fail– on purpose. It sounds a little hard to believe, but studies after studies found that certain students are so afraid of trying hard and then failing, they deliberately don’t try at all and then blame their failure on lack of effort rather than lack of ability. “I partied too hard the night before” is a better explanation of failure than “I don’t have what it takes to do well”. This is the psychosocial phenomenon of self-handicapping-”it’s like having an insurance policy for self-esteem but a death certificate for performance” (Ferguson & Dorman, 2002)

Britney turned to drug and alcohol because she would rather be viewed as suffering from addiction, a common Hollywood ailment, than reveal her insecurity and fear of failure. By internalizing the negative judgment of others she has lost her self-efficacy - the belief in her ability to accomplish things - thus, choosing to handicap herself rather than suffer further negative appraisals of her persona. This way the public watching her faltering performance would attribute her mediocrity to her substance addiction - rather than her apathy, anxiety, anhedonia, and most importantly, her ability as an entertainer. Her lack of necessary action to protect her custodial rights similarly reveals this handicapping strategy - this way her loss of custody could be explained through her failure to attend to judge’s orders rather than her mothering ability.

When we believe that others hate us, we start hating and punishing ourselves - thus making what others think of us a sad example of self-fullfilling prophecy. It is time for Britney to stop listening to the cruel criticism of others and to remind herself that there are those who genuine care and believe in her. I am not speaking as a fan of Britney but as a therapist, and a fellow human being. She had the talent and the perseverence to rise to rare stardom and then the courage to risk it all by following her romantic dream - and from that fact she needs to draw inner strength. She had chosen a selfish and insensitive partner who has broken her heart - a blunder that most of us can relate to, and which should elicit empaty rather than indictment. After all, we are all just fallible human beings, prone to making mistakes - which are much harder to live with when they are magnified tenfold by the monstrously mean media lens.

Dr. Victoria Zdrok

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