Back in 2019, Britney Spears was admitted into a mental health facility. In the years since, the singer has asserted in court documents that the stay, which took place amidst her 13-year conservatorship, was against her will and the determinant of her health. Now, as she approaches the one-year anniversary of the conservatorship termination, the singer has detailed the lasting nerve damage she says she sustained during her stay at the facility – which doubles as an unexpected explanation for her bubbly Instagram dance videos.
“I’m dancing in time now Victoria … yes … nerve damage on the right side of my body … there’s no cure except God I guess … nerve damage is caused sometimes when you don’t get enough oxygen to your brain … your brain literally shuts down,” Spears wrote on Instagram, captioning a video of herself dancing to Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks.”
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While Spears doesn’t outright call out the medical facility, she says the nerve damage happened at “that place,” which is a phrase she has commonly used to refer to the hospital in the past.
She added: “In that place I didn’t breathe when I was there … nerve damage causes parts of your body to go numb. I wake up like 3 times a week in bed and my hands are completely numb … Nerves are tiny and it feels like pins and needles from the right side of my body it shoots up to my neck and the part that hurts the worst is my temple on my head … it stings and it’s scary … the last 3 years since I got out of that place I’ve been in a mild unconscious state … I couldn’t face it. It was like it was too scary to be here.”
Spears went on to explain that while her Instagram dance videos might seem odd to others, “it gave me existence and got me here.”
“It’s funny though when I dance I don’t feel the pain,” she said. “It’s like my mind literally goes to a place of my inner child. And although I don’t move like I use to … I truly believe my faith in it gave me strength.”
While Spears didn’t get too far into specifics about her condition, nerve damage is largely irreversible. Spears revealed that she is now on medication to manage the lasting effects. “By grace of God I finally found a medication where I actually feel oxygen going to my brain and through my neck,” she explained. “My eyes are more open now and I can hold my head up correctly … I’ve done a good job trying to pull it off. Either way I’m getting a lot better, I can breathe … I feel smarter because well, Jesus I can breathe now … either way, I’m breathing now and I can dance in time, Victoria … I send all my love to every single one of you … this is me this morning … I’m gonna vacuum now !!!”
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