+
Health

Amanda Bynes is on a 72-hour hold: What that means and why fans are applauding her

"The fact that Amanda Bynes flagged a car down, told them she was having a psychotic episode and called 911 herself actually gives me a lot of hope for her well-being."

Amanda Bynes; mental health; psychotic episode; psychotic break; psychiatric hold

Amanda Bynes is on a 72-hour hold.

It's not a secret that celebrities are just like everyone else and sometimes struggle with mental health concerns. Amanda Bynes is no exception, and she has been quite open about her mental health struggles over the years. In 2013, Bynes was placed under conservatorship after a few mental health crises that put herself and others in danger.

Since the conservatorship was ended in 2021, Bynes has remained essentially out of public view and was scheduled to appear with her "All That" cast members at 90s Con. But recently, Bynes went in for a 72-hour psychiatric hold after experiencing a psychotic episode that led her to walking around downtown Los Angeles without any clothing. During a moment of clarity, the 36-year-old actress flagged down a car and called 911.

While walking around a busy city naked can certainly qualify as risk of harm to oneself, Bynes' actions after regaining a sense of reality are important. There are two types of psychiatric holds: voluntary and involuntary. Clearly, a voluntary hold is more desirable and shows promise for marked improvement because you're the one recognizing the need for psychiatric care. Bynes making the phone call herself shows that she knew, in that moment, her behavior was unsafe and she needed help.


So what happens during a 72-hour hold? If you've never sought out or been placed under psychiatric watch or haven't known anyone who has, what happens can feel like a mystery. When you're placed on a temporary psychiatric hold, whether it's involuntary or not, you get evaluated by a nurse or physician who will then call in for a psychiatric consult.

If the consulting psychiatrist decides that you meet the criteria to be admitted, they will find an available bed for you in a psychiatric facility if the hospital doesn't have its own psychiatric floor. Most of the time, this can happen within a few hours, but sometimes it can take much longer. In the interim, the hospital staff works to keep you safe until you can be transported.

Throughout the stay, you're constantly being evaluated in indirect ways, such as if you eat your food, if you're talkative, if you appear to be experiencing hallucinations, etc. Usually, after group and individual therapy as well as medication adjustments, they hold a meeting in which you are present to decide if you're stable enough to return home or if longer care is needed. Longer care can mean adding days to your stay there or finding a longer-term facility for extended treatment.

The entire process can be scary if you don't know what to expect, but with celebrities like Bynes having mental health crises more publicly, people may be curious about the process. It can also help people feel safe in seeking help when a public figure does so. The "All That" alum's help-seeking wasn't lost on her fans who applauded her decision and were determined to make sure people recognized her agency in the process.

"The fact that Amanda Bynes flagged a car down, told them she was having a psychotic episode and called 911 herself actually gives me a lot of hope for her well-being. That's a huge deal. When she's ready, I hope she can be proud of herself for that, Bassey Ikpi wrote on Twitter.

People are not only applauding that Bynes sought help on her own, they're also pointing out the framing of stories around the star's actions.

"Amanda recognized that she needed help. SHE was the one who made the 911 call to help herself. Please be mindful how you frame stories. Knowing that she understood she needed help and actively sought it is very important. Don't take that away from her," Alana posted to Twitter.

As someone who specializes in psychotic disorders, I can confidently say, in my experience, someone in psychosis actively seeking help is a big deal. Typically, if someone has been off of their medication for a while, they may not recognize that what they're doing is outside of their normal or part of psychosis. But those who do recognize it and seek out help can sometimes catch their psychosis in a moment of clarity and address it before it spirals further out of control.

People who have psychotic disorders are still full, autonomous people who deserve respect and dignity, even in the throes of a psychotic break. What Bynes did was not only brave, it showed that she and she alone took control of her mental health in that moment, and that's worth celebrating.

Sponsored

ACUVUE launches a new campaign to inspire Gen Z to put down their phones and follow their vision

What will you create on your social media break? Share it at #MyVisionMySight.

True

If you’ve always lived in a world with social media, it can be tough to truly understand how it affects your life. One of the best ways to grasp its impact is to take a break to see what life is like without being tethered to your phone and distracted by a constant stream of notifications.

Knowing when to disconnect is becoming increasingly important as younger people are becoming aware of the adverse effects screen time can have on their eyes. According to Eyesafe Nielsen, adults are now spending 13-plus hours a day on their digital devices, a 35% increase from 2019.1. Many of us now spend more time staring at screens on a given day than we do sleeping which can impact our eye health.

Normally, you blink around 15 times per minute, however, focusing your eyes on computer screens or other digital displays have been shown to reduce your blink rate by up to 60%.2 Reduced blinking can destabilize your eyes’ tear film, causing dry, tired eyes and blurred vision.3

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

18-year-old took her college savings and bought the restaurant where she was a dishwasher

Samantha Frye, the newest owner of Rosalie's restaurant, is proving there's more than one way to invest in your future.

Canva

There are many way to invest in your future

Eighteen year old Samantha Frye has traded college life for entrepreneurship, and she has no regrets.

Frye began working at Rosalie's Restaurant in Strasburg, Ohio at 16 as a dishwasher, working up the ranks as a kitchen prep, server, then line cook. All while working a second job, sometimes third job.

After graduating high school, Frye started college at Ohio State with plans of studying business or environmental engineering. But when she came back to work a shift at Rosalie’s for winter break, an opportunity arose—the owners had planned to sell the restaurant.
Keep ReadingShow less

She is simply the best.

The explosive, soulful, magnetic Tina Turner has died at 83. Though the cause of her death was not disclosed, a statement on her Instagram announced that the prolific singer and legendary live performer has passed away at her home in Küsnacht, Switzerland, near Zurich.

News of the devastating loss has prompted an outpouring of tributes on social media, including celebrities sharing how much Turner’s work has influenced them.

Angela Bassett, who portrayed the music icon in the 1993 biopic “What's Love Got to Do with It,” said in a statement that she was "honored to have known Tina Turner."

"Through her courage in telling her story, her commitment to stay the course in her life, no matter the sacrifice, and her determination to carve out a space in rock and roll for herself and for others who look like her," Bassett wrote on Instagram, "Tina Turner showed others who lived in fear what a beautiful future filled with love, compassion, and freedom should look like."

Keep ReadingShow less
via Pexels

A woman sitting cross-legged on a yoga mat

Everyone wants to know how long they will live and there are many indicators that can show whether someone is thriving or on the decline. But people have yet to develop a magic formula to determine exactly how long someone should expect to live.

However, a doctor recently featured on the "Today" show says a straightforward test can reveal the likelihood that someone aged 51 to 80 will die in the near future.

NBC News medical contributor Dr. Natalie Azar was on the "Today" show on March 8 and demonstrated how to perform the simple “sit to stand test” (aka sit-rising test or SRT) that can help determine the longevity of someone between 51 to 80.

Keep ReadingShow less
via Twitter

Everyone's childhood is different. But there are common objects, sights, sounds, smells, and memories from elementary school that most Gen Xers and Millenials share.

Personally, when i think back to being in elementary school in the '80s, I remember the taste of the chocolate ship cookie we got on Fridays (with the pizza). The humiliation of getting nailed in the back during nation ball. And the grumbling, grinding sound that happened when you slipped a disk into the drive on an Apple IIe computer.

Keep ReadingShow less
Health

Women are shocking their boyfriends by showing them how  tampons actually work

The viral videos are a great way to educate men on a sensitive topic.

via TikTok

Menstrual taboos are as old as time and found across cultures. They've been used to separate women from men physically — menstrual huts are still a thing — and socially, by creating the perception that a natural bodily function is a sign of weakness.

Even in today's world women are deemed unfit for positions of power because some men actually believe they won't be able to handle stressful situations while mensurating.

"Menstruation is an opening for attack: a mark of shame, a sign of weakness, an argument to keep women out of positions of power,' Colin Schultz writes in Popular Science.

Keep ReadingShow less

Editor's Note: Upworthy earns a fee for products featured in this article. All products featured meet Upworthy's standards for ethics and quality.


Superfoods have been stealing the spotlight in the health and wellness scene for quite some time now. But did you know their magic isn't just confined to your smoothie bowls or salads? They're making a grand entrance into the beauty industry, with their nutrient-dense powers promising radiant, glowing skin from the outside in.

Keep ReadingShow less