Lindsay Lohan's Cycle: Bad Behavior, Apology, Repeat
9/02/2010 02:34:00 AM
kenmouse
, Posted in
Lindsay Lohan is on a path of righteousness. Again. Or so she says. In the latest issue of Vanity Fair, the troubled pop princess repents with mea culpas, denials and cries of "It's not my fault, it's Dad's" about her erratic behavior, DUI arrests, reported alcohol and drug addictions and rehab/jail stints. And she whines a lot."I want my career back," LiLo tells VF. "I want the respect that I had when I was doing great movies. And if that takes not going out to a club at night, then so be it. It's not fun anyway."
Hmm. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? That's because we've heard it all before, usually just ahead of another of the starlet's perpetual falls from grace. That was the case in 2008 when she told VF, "I'm a different person now." We all know what happened after that whopper.
What Lohan says is true -- she is a "damn good actress," especially when it comes to the cycle of downward spiral followed by redemption followed by downward spiral.
Bad behavior, apology, then repeat.
Let's travel back in time to the summer of 2007. Fresh out of rehab, Lohan was arrested again that July on DUI and cocaine possession charges after a bizarre car chase. A month later, Lohan issued a long and seemingly heartfelt apology to TMZ after pleading guilty to seven misdemeanors.
"It is clear to me that my life has become completely unmanageable because I am addicted to alcohol and drugs," the star wrote. "Recently, I relapsed and did things for which I am ashamed. I broke the law, and today I took responsibility by pleading guilty to the charges in my case. No matter what I said when I was under the influence on the day I was arrested, I am not blaming anyone else for my conduct other than myself."
LiLo goes on to vow her intentions to get "healthy" and "gain control of my life and career" and says she sought medical help to get her back on track.
That fall, the actress spent 84 minutes in jail before her release. But that wasn't the end of it.
Within months, she'd had her probation extended because she repeatedly failed to show up for her required substance abuse classes. And her cycle of going to clubs, getting drunk and driving under the influence continued.
In the September VF, which is out this Thursday, Lohan admits she's been a bit of a train wreck at times. But she denies abusing prescription drugs, denies being an alcoholic, blames her struggles on her father Michael and brushes off her entire collection of crazy antics as ordinary old growing pains.
"I know that in my past I was young and irresponsible -- but that's what growing up is," she says. 'You learn from your mistakes."
Do you, Lindsay? Really?
University of Pennsylvania psychiatrist Christos Ballas tells PopEater that in fact, Lohan doesn't learn from her mistakes at all. Instead, she keeps making the same ones over and over again in a classic narcissist behavior pattern called repetition compulsion.
"You'll repeat certain behaviors even if they'll hurt you -- drinking or drugs or going out with the same type of person," Ballas explains. "Even if these things get you into trouble ... you're trying to make it right. You actually think it's going to work eventually. Your psyche is trying to work through its issue using the only pattern it knows."
Lohan is kidding herself into thinking that what she perceives as little successes -- like getting out of jail or rehab -- mean she's making progress, he says.
"You get mini-thrills rather than one big thrill," says Ballas. "You think, hey, I'm doing okay. ... You're so trapped in your own narcissism that you see getting out of jail as a success. Your perception is very skewed."
But he thinks LiLo deserves a little break, since she's a celebrity with an even bigger narcissist for a father.
"She is under such scrutiny that even if she makes a left turn the wrong way, people are going to say she's drunk," says Ballas. "She's been typecast as the drunken Hollywood starlet. The prejudice is such that now she'll never be able to shake it."
0 Response to "Lindsay Lohan's Cycle: Bad Behavior, Apology, Repeat"
Post a Comment
Leave Your Thoughts & We Will Discuss Together