Britney Breaks Out: Star Leaves Hospital

Jan. 5, 2008— -- Britney Spears was out of the hospital today, apparently cutting short what police said would be a 72-hour lockdown so her mental condition could be evaluated following a bizarre confrontation with officers at her Beverly Hills home on Thursday.

According to several celebrity Web sites, the pop star left the hospital early today and returned home. A reporter for PageSix.com wrote that Spears was "driving aimlessly" around her neighborhood in her white Mercedes shortly after her release.

Hospital representatives refused to comment on the reports, but Dr. Phil McGraw told ETonline.com that he met with the troubled pop star this morning in her room at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, where he found her packing her things after being released.

"My meeting with Britney and some of her family members this morning ... leaves me convinced more than ever that she is in dire need of both medical and psychological intervention," he said. "We visited for about an hour before I walked with her to her car. I am very concerned for her."

While she was in the hospital on Friday, a California Court Commission on Friday gave her ex-husband Kevin Federline sole physical and legal custody of their children, 2-year-old Sean Preston and 1-year-old Jayden James.

The suspension of Spears' visitation rights came after a three-hour standoff with police officers and bodyguards over the custody of her two sons on Thursday. The incident ended with Britney being rushed in an ambulance to Cedars Sinai, where she was put under the 72-hour lockdown.

"When police arrived at her house she was locked in a room with her son Jayden and they got through the door and put her on a gurney and took her out," People magazine senior editor Julie Dam said.

People magazine reported that she was taken against her will.

"According to California law if someone is seen as a danger to herself or to others they are put under this 72-hour lockdown and they are evaluated to see what their mental health is," Dam said.

Police were first called to Spears home when she refused to return her children to Federline after a court-monitored visit.

"It took two to three hours to resolve the conflict," Los Angeles police Officer Ana Aguirre told The Associated Press. "Police resolved the conflict... Both children were turned over to her ex-husband Kevin Federline for custody, and she was in fact taken to a local hospital for medical treatment."

Police haven't said what happened inside that room, but some doctors believe this could finally be rock bottom for Britney. Given her rocky relationship with rehab and her bizarre behavior -- from shaving her head to her lackluster MTV Video Awards performance -- Spears appears to be in dire need of help.

Her mother Lynn Spears and sister Jamie Lynn Spears reportedly attempted an intervention on Valentine's Day in 2007 that led to a second failed rehab stint for Britney.

Experts say it is very difficult to pull anyone back from the edge, and even with all the good intentions of family or friends involved, an intervention doesn't guarantee success.

"It's not about putting a person down or airing all your gripes. It's about this is what I see, this is what I feel about what I see, please get help," psychologist Dr. Harris Stratyner said.

Britney has been in contact with her mother since the incident Thursday, and her family isn't giving up hope, according to People magazine.

"A source close to Britney's family says that they are just terrified, that they have been worried, that this is the call for help. She is incredibly alone and this is just another downward spiral for her," Dam said.

The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story.