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Other Depression & Anxiety Related Illneses => Anxiety and Panic Disorders => Topic started by: The_Rani on August 02, 2009, 09:57:15 PM

Title: Susan Boyle suffers 'emotional breakdown' and is rushed to the Priory clinic
Post by: The_Rani on August 02, 2009, 09:57:15 PM
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/ar ... kdown.html

Susan Boyle suffers 'emotional breakdown' and is rushed to the Priory clinic
By Paul Revoir
Last updated at 10:46 AM on 01st June 2009

Britain's Got Talent runner-up Susan Boyle was admitted to The Priory clinic last night suffering from exhaustion.

Police were summoned to her hotel and the singer was assessed under the Mental Health Act after she had an 'emotional breakdown' following her shock defeat in the show's final.

But despite her distress at missing out to dance troupe Diversity, coming second was the best thing that could have happened to her, judge Piers Morgan has declared.

Morgan, one of Miss Boyle's biggest supporters, said a victory would have 'just carried on the mayhem' for the unworldly Scottish spinster.

He said today: 'She is getting away from everyone. She's receiving the best care possible. She needs time to sleep and eat and do the things that she found rather difficult last week.'

But it appears that the toll of appearing on the show may have already had an impact on Susan's health.

Yesterday afternoon, show aides contacted police to say the 48-year-old was 'acting strangely' at her London hotel.

According to the Sun newspaper, paramedics were then summoned and helped the 'spaced out' star through the lobby and into an ambulance just after 6pm.

A Metropolitan Police Inspector and police doctor were called to assist and she was then escorted to the private clinic.

A police spokeswoman said: 'We were called about 6pm on Sunday to a central London hotel to doctors assessing a woman under the Mental Health Act.

'Police attended at the request of ambulance personnel and the woman was taken voluntarily to a clinic. No one was arrested and there were no allegations of crime.'

A spokeswoman at the private Priory Clinic in London would not confirm or deny the star was staying at the clinic.

Producers of the show said Susan was 'exhausted and emotionally drained'.

TV company TalkbackThames released a statement saying the Scottish spinster had been advised by a doctor to take time off.

It said: 'Following Saturday night's show, Susan is exhausted and emotionally drained. She has been seen by her private GP who supports her decision to take a few days out for rest and recovery.

'We offer her our ongoing support and wish her a speedy recovery.'

According the Daily Star, after her shock defeat Boyle, from Blackburn, West Lothian, ran down a corridor shouting: 'I hate this show. I hate it.'

She is accused of swearing and throwing a cup of water over a floor manager who tried to calm her down.

Her brother Gerry told the Star: 'They just left her on her own.

'She has got a short fuse and she just blew. Who wouldn't under that pressure?

'She told me: "I feel tired and stressed," and that's understandable.'

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has leant his support to Susan.

Speaking on GMTV this morning, he said: 'I hope Susan Boyle is OK because she is a really, really nice person and I think she will do well.

'I spoke to Simon Cowell last night and to Piers Morgan and wanted to be sure that she was OK.'
The alleged outburst follows a last-minute backlash against Boyle, who was favourite to win the competition for some weeks.

She was accused of four-letter outbursts at her hotel and speculation grew that she would not be able to cope with the pressure of fame.

But it is estimated that she could earn millions of pounds if she pursues a successful singing career.

Yesterday, Morgan was joined by show co-presenter Anthony McPartlin who said it had been a 'blessing' Miss Boyle finished runner-up after the 'rollercoaster' of pressure she had endured.

Following her rapturously received debut a few months ago, some sections of the studio audience turned on Boyle, booing her after her performance of her signature song, I Dreamed A Dream.

Viewers were also left confused by her behaviour afterwards.

Boyle pulled up her skirt to show a bare leg and also made a chopping sign after judges commented on her performance.

Her family revealed that despite her 'gracious' behaviour in saluting Diversity as worthy winners, she was 'devastated' and 'distraught'.

Up to 19.2million viewers tuned in to ITV1 on Saturday night to see Diversity crowned as winners. They received around a quarter of the 4million votes. Boyle had 20 per cent.

Morgan said of the result: 'I do think it may turn out to be the best thing that happens to her, coming second. I think she has found a lot of it quite hard to deal with and I think the pressure of actually winning and living up to all that expectation would have just carried on the mayhem for her.'

He added: 'I'm only sorry that the extraordinary tidal wave of publicity she attracted meant so many people got either bored or irritated by Boyle mania and decided not to vote for her.'

The biggest winner on Saturday night, some might say, was ITV.

The 19.2million peak in ratings, during the second part of the coverage, means that 72 per cent of people watching television had tuned in.

The last time viewing figures were this high was in 2006 when the World Cup quarter final game between England and Portugal peaked at 19.7million on BBC1.

However, ITV was feeling a backlash last night, with pressure from fans to introduce an age limit for contestants.

Viewers spoke out on message boards after seeing 10-year-old Hollie Steel's semi-final meltdown on Friday night, and the tears from dancer Aidan Davis, 11, on Saturday night after criticism from Simon Cowell.

Many viewers are baffled that while The X Factor has an age limit - recently raised to 16 from 14 - Britain's Got Talent has no such rules.

Next stop for Susan? A lonely hotel room and a £500-a-night tour
By ALISON BOSHOFF

Her friends and neighbours say Susan Boyle has been talking recently about her desire to return to her hometown of Blackburn, West Lothian, to pick up the threads of her old life.

Apparently she would like to resume her weekly custom of drinking a half of lemonade and trying her luck at the karaoke contest at Moran's Turf Bar on a Sunday night.

But for now she is in the care of a record label Sony BMG. To all intents and purposes, she is in hiding at a safe house and being deliberately shielded from the global public interest in her rather imperfect fairy tale.

Her family said yesterday that they did not know where she was, nor did they have her new phone number. They would dearly like to console her.

But that task has instead been passed to a team from Sony BMG, who are offering legal advice, psychiatric counselling and management services.

Susan - a vulnerable woman with slight learning difficulties - would probably find the best therapy to be a quiet fish-and-chip supper in her own front room, but any such down-to-earth activity is out of the question.

Although she tried to be gracious in defeat on Saturday night, it was obvious to everyone watching that Susan was buckling under the strain.

She even flashed her thighs at the camera, and was quite unable, in two interviews, to string together more than a few words.

A spokesman for Britain's Got Talent denied the world's most famous spinster was on medication, but conceded she had been under terrific strain.

So what does the future hold? For now, she is not going to be allowed to give any media interviews, because that might take the spotlight away from the winners, Diversity.

In the next few days she will start rehearsals for the 18-date Britain's Got Talent tour, starting on June 12. All of the contestants had to sign up to the show before being allowed to progress in the competition.

Susan will be put on a bus with the other performers and paid £500 a night - minus tax and agents' fees.

Afterwards she will stay in a modest single room in a three-star hotel with the rest.

Susan is not likely to much enjoy her time offstage as sources at the show indicate that, unlike some acts, she did not make many friends.

The instant the tour is over, Susan will fly to the Czech Republic to record an album of show tunes.

Simon Cowell, with customary ruthlessness, is giving her three days in which to do the whole album - three was enough for Paul Potts, the winner of BGT series one, and he believes that Susan and the Czech National Symphony orchestra will hit it off just fine.

At that point she will find herself asked by Syco, Cowell's management company, and Sony to promote her album.

Cowell thinks she can have a No 1 in America, and industry experts predict earnings of up to £10million in her first year - perhaps more. Certainly the interest in Susan is in a different league to anything previously generated by a talent show. Paul Potts made almost £5 million.

Cowell has also agreed for Susan to do a string of high-profile personal appearances. He describes her as 'a sweet, shy lady'. She is likely to sing at charity balls and sporting events, too - perhaps even the 2012 Olympics, if she is still famous in three years' time.

Potential deals to make a movie of her life story and to write her autobiography are on the table, but have not yet been signed. You can be certain Cowell and his team will not miss a trick.

Many people, including various psychological experts, think there is a considerable danger that Susan will be crushed by this global success.

She burst into tears and threatened to quit last week, and was apparently goaded by a reporter into a foul-mouthed outburst. People who know her say it's just the way Susan is - she used to rant and swear at the boys who threw eggs at her door and mocked her frizzy hair and simple ways.

Her brother Gerry said yesterday that this was her big chance to shine and she was going to relish it.

'If she had been told from her very first audition that she would be world famous and that she would come second in the biggest talent show in the UK, she would have said: "Bring it on, this is what I want,"' he said.

Will Susan, though, be crushed by the attention?

Plenty of the locals in Blackburn say they worry for Susan, but others say that - as long as she can sing - she will be fine. Neighbour Margaret Smith says Susan is coping well and that she manages to relax by crooning Cry Me A River.

You can only hope it's not an omen.