Britney Spears on Sunday said she’s been suffering from painful permanent nerve damage, according to Rolling Stone. The singer, who claimed in court documents that she was held at a mental health facility against her will in 2019, blamed “that place” in her Instagram post.
“Nerve damage on the right side of my body,” Spears captioned the post. “Nerve damage is caused sometimes when you don’t get enough oxygen to your brain … your brain literally shuts down […] in that place I didn’t breathe when I was there.”
Spears has said that her stay at the mental health facility, which she did not name, occurred during her controversial conservatorship, which a California judge dissolved in November 2021 after more than 13 years of that legal arrangement regulating her career, personal and financial choices.
“I wake up like 3 times a week in bed and my hands are completely numb,” Spears wrote on Instagram. “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.”
Chris Pizzello via Associated Press
Spears called her conservatorship “pure abuse” in a since-deleted audio clip posted in August. She spent the past year posting candid, emotional statements on Instagram that left many of her fans concerned.
“The last 3 years since I got out of that place I’ve been in a mild unconscious state,” Spears wrote in her Instagram caption Sunday. “I couldn’t face it. It was like it was too scary to be here.”
Spears assured fans she is taking medication to manage her nerve damage and can finally “feel oxygen going to my brain.” She also explained that the various videos she’s posted lately of herself dancing ― which some followers have found strange and troubling ― are a way she’s been able to stave off her pain.
“It gave me existence and got me here … it’s funny though when I dance I don’t feel the pain,” Spears wrote. “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.”