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 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.
- Psychotic disorders are my specialty. Here’s what I wish people understood before commenting online. ›
- Our obsession with celebrity mental health needs to be matched with equal parts compassion ›
- Amanda Bynes and her very public conservatorship fight shows the need to rethink mental health ›
- How professor with schizophrenia thrives despite hospitalizations - Upworthy ›
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
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Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."