Amanda Bynes' Bizarre Tweets and Odd Transformations: What's Wrong With Her?

Troubled actress has been acting erratically, but her problems, if she has any, are still a mystery

By Leslie Gornstein Mar 26, 2013 11:56 PMTags
Amanda Bynes, Twit PicTwitter

Has anyone figured out what exactly is wrong with Amanda Bynes?
—Short T., via Twitter

Shorter answer: No. At least, not publicly, and certainly not via the "retired" actress herself.

Here's what we do know, though: When presented with a dossier of how she has been acting lately, psychiatrists tell me that Bynes's behavior could indicate a range of problems.

For months, Bynes' life appears to be one long parade of oops and uh-oh. She's been charged with a DUI and a couple of hit-and-runs. (Those charges were later dismissed.) Last year, neighbors complained that her Southern California home was "dilapidated" and that she'd begun to isolate herself from the community.

She's disguised herself a Rita Ora (perhaps not on purpose); posted raunchy sexual fantasies about Drake on Twitter; debuted a painful-looking set of double piercings; appeared "zoned out" during a solo trip to a club; and scared her family enough that they really wish that she would move back home from New York, already.

So what does that all add up to? For the record; the answer could very well be "nothing." Stars are known for eccentric behavior.

But we also can't rule out illnesses, or even just a good old lack of sleep, psychiatrists say.

"What happens with a lot of these celebrities is that, first of all they are exhausted," clinical psychiatrist Mark Goulston tells me. "Their lives are exhausting. When you are sleep deprived, you get a little crazy."

A celebrity may also, sometimes, "self medicate," though it should be noted that Bynes has publicly denied that she drinks.

"She's been having this strange behavior on and off for approximately a year now," psychiatrist Dr. Carole Lieberman notes to me. "If she sat down on my couch, I would have to sort out the diagnosis from a number of possibilities."

I tried to reach Bynes in a number of ways today, but her team, including her most recent agent of record, hasn't worked with her in a while. Until Bynes speaks for herself in depth, all her fans can do is hope she's all right...and that she isn't behind the wheel of a car.