THE OFFICIAL STORYLINE

Mischa Barton Blames Crackup On "Nightmare" Pain That Followed Teeth Pull

THE INEVITABLE PRICE OF SEEKING FAME ON TV IS THAT TRADING YOUR PERSONAL LIFE IS PART OF THE BARGAIN.

Just weeks after she was involuntarily held on a psychiatric hold at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, actress/model Misha Barton opens up to Time Out New York to promote her new TV show The Beautiful Life: TBL. Barton portrays a model trying to boost her career in the show, which premieres Sept. 16th on the CW.

The mag's full interview won't hit the stands until September 10th, but in an excerpt released yesterday, the beauty tells the mag that pain from having four wisdom teeth pulled is what provoked her hospitalization.

"Here's what happened,'' she says. "I was traveling abroad for contract stuff and I went through a terrible surgery -- a wisdom tooth surgery, all four removed. It was a nightmare. I've never had surgery before -- it all went wrong and I had to have a second surgery and it almost delayed shooting because it was a nightmare to me, because I couldn't deal with the thought of not getting there on time. So with the travel, and surgery and prep for the show -- it was hell.

So how did she end up in a psychiatric hospital? "I was down in the dumps about everything there for a while,"' Barton says. "Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom about things and have to get the most stressed-out just to feel better again. I got completely stressed-out and couldn't handle everything, and now I feel really in control.

Finally, reporter Michael Freidson asks point-blank, "Was it an official nervous breakdown? Drugs?"

"I don't know. I don't know,'' says Barton, whom the magazine describes as poised and healthy looking during the interview. "I had a friend who had a quasi-nervous breakdown, but I'm not sure it's the same thing. I'm not sure I'm capable of a full-on nervous breakdown, but it was pretty bad. It didn't last that long. It was more about the pain. I have a newfound respect for people who have chronic pain."

The mag's excerpts make Misha sound a like smart lass who suffered from the success of The O.C.M and is happy to be home in New York. We're glad she's feeling better, though sorry that because she's in the public eye, she has to explain her meltdowns.