Last week, TMZ.com reported that doctors at the UCLA rehab facility where Lindsay Lohan is currently undergoing court-ordered treatment believe Lohan isn’t suffering from any kind of mental illness, least of all the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) for which the actress had been taking Adderall.

TMZ also spoke with a handful of doctors who’ve confirmed that taking Adderall when one doesn’t actually need Adderall could lead to the kinds of behavior we’ve seen from Lohan in the past – specifically, “manic symptoms,” “smoking heavily,” insomnia,” “alcohol abuse,” and “similar effects as people who use cocaine or methamphetamine.”

E! Online quickly jumped on the story and also spoke with a doctor, Dr. John Sharp, a neuropsychiatrist on the faculty at UCLA and Harvard, who explained “that the effects of improper Adderall use could drive one off the rails.”

Of course, E! Online also spoke with Lohan’s lawyer, Shawn Chapman Holley, who pointed out:

The assessment of Lindsay’s treatment team is confidential information [...] I will say, however, that she is physically and mentally healthy.

So, “sources familiar with Lindsay’s treatment” aside, we won’t really know anything definite unless Lohan decides to publicly address it.

Which leads me to wonder…

…what if she did?

Just for a minute, let’s pretend the “sources” are correct and Lindsay actually was taking medication for a condition she doesn’t have, and let’s imagine that medication caused her to behave the way she’s behaved in the past.

Then, let’s try to picture what would happen if Lindsay turned the media crap storm that has been her life over the past few years into something positive…say, an example of:

• Why an accurate mental health diagnosis is so important,
• Why regularly communicating with your doctor is so important, and,
• Why educating yourself about mental health and emotional well being is so important.

How do you think that would go over?

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Kristy Labardee MFTI (August 23, 2010)

Lindsay Fashion (August 23, 2010)

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    Last reviewed: 23 Aug 2010