Hollywood Whispers: Britney Spears

Washington, DC (TLS). It goes without saying that most have heard by now that Britney Spears is out of rehab. Normally such news would be a good thing, but not in the case of a star who is obviously held firmly in the grip of one of the most destructive and deadly diseases in the world.

For the tough cases, one month is simply not enough. 90 days to a year in rehab is the prescription for those who have shown resistance to recovery in shorter periods of hospitalization.

No sooner had Spears been released from rehab than rumors were flying about her love-life and her night-time habits. She has been linked to a new beau who himself has had his own uncontrollable problems with drugs and alcohol--a BIG no-no for someone who is just getting clean.

Rumors have also circulated that Spears is back on the clubbing circuit, but this has not been confirmed.

However, the things one hears around Hollywood and New York night life indicate that Spears may not be out of the woods when it comes to her program of recovery. We can only hope for her sake, and for her family's sake, that this is not true.

One of the more interesting interviews telecast in recent days was a cable news program featuring one of the original child stars of 'The Brady Bunch.' This young lady went through her own hell on earth with addiction in her teens and twenties. Yet now she is a recovering, mature, and beautiful young lady who has her life back together.

This she owes to God, her recovery program, and her total change in way of life, including a new set of friends and acquaintances. The latter, she says, is the real key to success in recovery from addiction.

If Britney is to succeed in her erstwhile failed attempts at recovery, she is going to have to revamp her entire life from top to bottom. The old friends that she 'uses' with must go, unfortunately...not that she is better than they or that they are not worthy of her, but that an addict simply is not capable of resisting the urges and cravings when they are around friends who use.

She will need friends and a support system that have nothing to do with alcohol or drugs.

My words here are not the rantings of a teetotaler. People who are not addicts can drink alcohol responsibly. Addicts cannot. Thus, an addict, particularly one who has had such a difficult time staying clean, MUST clear their lives of all stimuli that produce the cravings, and that includes one's friends.

In short, Spears has a tendency to hang out with all the wrong people for someone with her problem. This has got to change.

And the urgency of my words are not meant to denigrate her in any way whatsoever, but they come from one who believes in her amazing talent and in the clean-cut girl from Louisiana who still lurks in there somewhere beneath all of the Hollywood garbage.