Not so much now, though, because if Britney Spears is going to be tied to a bed with leather straps, it's because Britney's bipolar disorder has got so out of hand that she's a danger to herself and others.

It's been confirmed that Britney Spears will spend the next two weeks in her padded room at the UCLA Medical Centre. And as well as the leather restraints, there's also a chance that Britney Spears could be force-fed medication if she's not cooperative. It's just like One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, only a version that everyone got sick of about two minutes in after seeing Jack Nicholson get out of a car with no knickers on for the tenth time.

As is the case every couple of days now, Britney Spears' life has hit a brand-new low. After a week that saw her get called mentally ill on TV, have a fight with her manager in public, get hauled off to hospital on a psychiatrist's orders and then get officially diagnosed as Gravely Disabled, the inevitable has happened.  

Paperwork has been signed to keep Britney Spears in the Stewart & Lynda Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA for another 14 days. Initially Britney was only due to spend 72 hours under medical care, but her stay has been elongated under a 5250 order because of the threat that Britney Spears apparently poses to herself and others.

And, as People reports, it's not going to be a particularly pretty stay:

"It is a terrible situation," says a source close to the Spears family. "Britney is in a padded room. Her family is so worried about her." Terry K. Wasserman, a veteran L.A. attorney specializing in mental health cases (who’s not involved in the Spears matter), explains that if a patient becomes combative, he or she "could be placed in a 'quiet room,' some of which are padded." Wasserman adds: "Another possibility is being confined to a bed by leather restraints. In extreme, life-threatening situations – when the patient is a threat to oneself or medical staff – a psychiatrist can inject a person with psychotropic medication."

It's thought that Britney Spears is attempting to get the order overturned legally, but let's just assume that Britney Spears is going to stay in hospital for a fortnight. Hopefully this time alone will mean that the storm that constantly thunders around her will die down and she'll have a proper chance for reflection. Not only that, but it'll mean that we all get a break from hearing about Britney every five or six seconds too – and that's perfect, right? 

Wrong! Because even though Britney Spears might be locked away in a padded room, her affairs continue to be as heroically screwed up as ever. For example, Britney Spears' father Jamie has been named as co-conservator of her estate, but Britney isn't happy about that because she reportedly 'feels hatred' towards him, and has sent her lawyers to court today to try and overturn the ruling.

And if that's not enough, there's also another custody hearing today to deal with. And maybe, just maybe, Britney Spears could be getting her kids back. Sure, she's medically disabled and under lock and key in a padded room at a psychiatric hospital, but let's not forget that the other alternative is for the kids to stay with Kevin Federline some more. That's Kevin Federline.

Read more: 

Britney Spears Now Under 14-Day Hold - People 

Not really. It's been reported that medics at the hospital have classified Britney Spears as 'GD' – or Gravely Disabled, which allows them to keep Britney against her will.

Seeing Britney Spears described as Gravely Disabled by expert professionals might look incredibly shocking, but don't worry – Gravely Disabled is actually two or three notches up from Wanting To Marry Kevin Federline, so at least we can presume that Britney Spears is on the up and up.

It's probably fair to admit that Britney Spears' personal life crossed over from 'entertaining' to 'genuinely distressing' about the time that we all realised that Britney hadn't shaved her head for a drunken bet. And intermittently following that episode, Britney Spears' life has burst through one new low after another, defying anyone who assumed that she'd see the light and try to get help after each one.

But even by her standards, concerns for Britney Spears' health have gone into overdrive this year. Already she's been taken to hospital after locking herself in a bathroom with her son and caught sobbing on a kerb after a fight with her manager. Don't think that's low enough? OK – Britney Spears was sectioned yesterday after her psychiatrist decided that she was a risk to herself and others.

Fortunately, the reports of an attempted suicide appear to be wide of the mark, but nevertheless Britney Spears has been put on psychiatric hold, which means she'll be kept in hospital for 72 hours, with a likelihood that doctors will extend her stay for a further 14 days.

That likelihood is because Britney Spears has been classified as GD – short for Gravely Disabled – which means she's medically not able to feed or dress herself. Being Gravely Disabled is apparently one of the criteria for involuntary commitment. According to Sky:

Sources at the UCLA Medical Center, where Brit is staying, have told TMZ that Britney has been classified as "GD" – Gravely Disabled. They also reported that she arrived at the hospital at around 2.15am (LA time) yesterday morning, but wasn't admitted until 4.15am because she was causing such a scene in the hospital. According to peeps on the scene, Britney shouted: "The only reason she's admitting me is because she wants to be alone with her boyfriend. She wants to sleep with my boyfriend."

Now, nobody knows who the 'she' is that Britney Spears was referring to, but even the thought that there's anyone on the planet who wants to sleep with creepy old Adnan Ghalib shows that Britney is in a worse state than any of us could have imagined.

Also being reported today is Britney Spears' average intake, which – depending on who you believe – consisted of handfuls of ADHD drugs, ten laxative pills and 20 Red Bulls per day. Which does seem like a confusing mixture, unless of course Britney wanted to concentrate on shitting energetically, but who'd want to do that?

Hopefully things will quieten down around Britney Spears as she settles into her hospital stay now, and she'll be able to get some time to rest and reflect. Because surely things can't get any worse for her than this.

Although we've lost count of the times we've said that in the past.

Read more:

Brit's Grave State – Sky