Does Britney have a mental illness, and is her condition grave?

Now the talk is that Britney Spears has multiple personality disorder. Or that she's ready to die.

But much of that talk comes from wanna-be pop psychologists (as well as Dr. Phil, who fits that category - the only difference being that he has a degree).

Many people of this ilk are in the media, each of whom have come up with their own diagnosis for a fallen pop star who has been shadowed and harassed by a band of mosquito-like paparazzi - their media colleagues - for two years now.

TMZ and US Weekly are always ready to jump on the Britney-assault bandwagon, swooping overhead like a vulture who's ready to pounce on the dead carcass. Here is the latest news from both publicity mags/websites that appears to over-hype what is a common practice engaged by all respectable news organizations:

"Britney Spears hasn't died, but the Associated Press has an obituary already written, should something happen to the "at-risk" former pop star.

TMZ spoke to AP Entertainment Editor Jesse Washington who confirmed the news. Washington told Us Weekly, 'We would never wish any type of misfortune on anybody and hope that we would never have to use it until 50 years from now, but if something were to happen, we would have to be prepared.'

It is not uncommon for news organizations like AP to have obituaries prepared for high-profile people - the unusual thing is that they're usually prepped for the very sick or aged."

And here is the latest from People magazine, which markets itself as a respectable publication but finds itself merely repeating everything that was already published in the National Enquirer:
"Britney Spears's new habit of speaking with a British accent has some questioning her mental health.

In the past several weeks, Spears, 26, has been videotaped numerous times trading her Louisiana twang for UK inflections. On a shopping trip to Macy's in LA the other day, the singer screamed at the paparazzi, 'Get out of my [expletive] face!' - in a British accent.

Psychologist Renee Cohen isn't treating Spears, but wonders if someone should be. 'When Britney uses the British accent, or appears to take on another identity, does she know she's Britney Spears?' Cohen said."

And then we have talking heads who engage in straight-out mockery - such as what you'll see on this video (viewer discretion advised):

Football star says he has multiple personality disorder

From the Associated Press:

Georgia football great Herschel Walker has multiple personalities - a revelation in an upcoming book that surprises the man who coached the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner.

"That's all news to me," former Georgia coach Vince Dooley said in Friday editions of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "All I know is whatever personality he had when he had the football was the one I liked."

"Breaking Free" will chronicle Walker's life with multiple personality disorder, according to Shida Carr, a publicist at Simon & Schuster.

Carr said the book will be published in August, but gave no other details and declined to provide excerpts.

In three seasons at Georgia, Walker led the Bulldogs to a 33-3-1 record, three straight Southeastern Conference championships and the 1980 national title. He won the Heisman as a junior, then left school a year early to sign with the now-defunct U.S. Football League.

Walker played for the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He has lived in Dallas since his playing career ended.

A former Georgia teammate also was caught off guard by Walker's revelation.

"I'm probably one of his closest friends and that's news to me," said Frank Ros, who was captain of Georgia's 1980 national championship team. "I knew he was working on a book but I just thought it was about football. He does 100 things at once and always has projects going on, but that blows me away."

The newspaper said Walker could not be reached for comment.

Multiple personality disorder, also known as dissociative identity disorder, is a rare mental condition in which one person has two or more distinct personalities, according to the Merck Manual of Medical Information.