How Britney Spears battled back from 2007 breakdown to become stronger than ever
Pop superstar Britney Spears survived the worst year of her life to make a spectacular pop comeback
Britney Spears hit headlines for all the wrong reasons back in 2007 when she suffered a highly-public breakdown in the full glare of the world's spotlight.
The image of Britney, 37, emerging from a salon with a freshly-shaven head and attacking a paparazzo's car with an umbrella has become one of the most famous snaps of that decade.
However, the head-shaving was just the start of the year from hell for the pop princess, who endured a painful divorce, rehab and a terrifying hospitalisation
She spent years battling mental health troubles, and after her split from husband Kevin Federline, the father of her two sons, she headed to rehab in Antigua.
After checking into Eric Clapton's famous Crossroads Centre in February, 2007, Britney bailed just 24 hours later and flew back to Los Angeles.
Britney then walked into Esther's Hair Salon in Tarzana, an upmarket neighbourhood of LA, and asked the owner to shave her head because her hair extensions were too tight.
However, he refused the unusual request and begged Britney not to do it.
But the singer wasn't backing down and grabbed the clippers so she could shave off her long locks herself.
It was then that she was pictured coming out of the salon in front of a gaggle of photographers, armed with an umbrella which she used to belt a waiting SUV.
Images of a bald Britney dominated the news that week, and sparked fears the singer was in serious trouble as she struggled with her personal issues.
A week after the head-shaving, Britney was shipped off to rehab again - to the star-studded Promises centre in Malibu - but again she lasted less than a day.
Britney was eventually persuaded to return to the clinic and she stayed for a whole month.
In the meantime her divorce from Federline was going through, and she had lost custody of her sons Sean and Jayden, only being granted visitation rights.
Her record label began gearing up for the singer's first album in four years, Blackout, and booked her in for a performance at the MTV VMAs in September that year - just seven months after the head-shaving incident.
The performance was a huge disaster as Britney - with a blonde wig glued to her head - appeared to sleepwalk through the dance moves and mime half-heartedly along to the song.
Just four months after the VMAs disaster, the pop star hit rock bottom as she suffered a terrifying meltdown in January 2008.
She was seen being carted out of her house strapped to a gurney after reportedly popping prescription amphetamines and locking herself in the bathroom with youngest son Jayden as she refused to hand him back to Federline.
Emergency workers managed to get Britney out, and she was taken to Los Angeles' UCLA Medical Center, where she was placed on a 72-hour psychiatric hold.
The order - also known as a 5150 - is used to hold patients who are deemed a danger to themselves or others.
After her release, Britney suffered another incident weeks later as paramedics were once again called to her home and she was placed on another 5150 hold.
A day later, her dad Jamie was appointed co-conservator of her estate as the star was deemed unfit to look after her own affairs.
The conservatorship was later made permanent forcing the star to seek permission in almost every area of her life.
Even though she resisted the court-ordered reorganisation of her life, the change meant she was free to focus on her recovery and get herself back on track.
She was able to rebuild her relationship with her sons after regaining some of her custody rights, and get healthy again, before eventually starting to focus on her music comeback.
By the end of 2008, Britney really was back.
She dropped made a return to the MTV VMAs that September, but didn't sing - she just appeared in a pre-recorded sketch with Jonah Hill.
Britney went on to win a clutch of awards including Best Female, Best Pop Video and Video of The Year for Piece of Me.
She continued her success with a hit documentary, Britney: For The Record: documenting her comeback, a number one album, Circus, and a massive world tour which earned her millions.
Britney has since continued making huge strides forward, winning back custody of her children, landing a lucrative residency in Las Vegas and having a number of healthy relationships.
However, her world fell apart in January when she revealed her dad Jamie, who'd been her rock throughout all the bad times, was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.
She immediately quit all work to go on an "indefinite hiatus", even putting her Las Vegas residency on hold so she can stay at home and care for Jamie as he battled colon cancer.
He's believed to have taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks, and yesterday Britney reportedly checked into rehab again.
A source told People magazine: "Her dad being sick has taken a toll on her. He nearly died and actually had another surgery a few weeks ago. He's not doing well.
"They're so close and it has been a lot. There is nothing dramatic going on with her - she just realised she needs to make sure to take time to care for herself."
After surviving the horror of 2007 and 2008, we're hoping Britney can once again come back fighting.
