Steel speaks from experience. Her son NICK was diagnosed at the age of 16 with bipolar disorder and committed suicide more than a decade ago at the age of 19.
"Usually bipolars present extremely well and they can bounce into court ... look very together and be a complete mess three hours later on the streets somewhere," she told Reuters at an event for the 10th anniversary of the creation of the Nick Traina Foundation. "There's nothing you can do."
In echoing the recent and widespread speculation regarding Britney, Steel suggests that her problems, "illustrate the drama and dilemma of the family of mentally ill people in this country -- it's a very, very tough thing."
But she says there is hope for the troubled pop star and her family. "If it is the case (that she has bipolar), she can get on track with the right treatment and medication," she says. "In the case of Britney Spears' parents what you have to be is extremely loving, extremely resourceful and extremely persistent and every time you're defeated, just go at the problem again."
