If Britney Spears is feeling down, she doesn't seem too worried about letting the world know.

On a shopping trip in Los Angeles, her props were so blatant they were either a very public cry for help or an exercise in self-parody.

In one hand she clutched a copy of the book Listening to Prozac, an analysis of how anti-depressants affect your personality.

Suspended from the other was a handbag in the shape of a coffin.

The book covers the history of antidepressants and how they affect the human psyche. Its author, Dr Peter D Kramer, is a clinical professor of

psychiatry and human behaviour at the prestigious Brown University in America.

The 22-year-old singer has been swamped with adverse publicity recently, with reports of heavy drinking sessions, her bizarre 55-hour marriage to a childhood sweetheart and suggestions that her career is in the doldrums.

Last week she was pictured in tears while attending a service at the Central Bible Church in Inglewood, California, with her father Jamie.

After a brief dalliance with the cult religion Kabbalah, she is said to have turned back to Christianity at the urging of her parents, who were concerned about her wild behaviour.

The singer, who is said still to be suffering from the breakdown of her relationship with Justin Timberlake nearly two years ago, recently admitted she had been seeing a therapist.

'People will bring up break-ups in interviews and you really don't want to talk about it, because you're doing that in therapy,' she told a teen magazine.

'I don't condone my behaviour over the past year. The things that I did weren't very cool.'

She was once pop's ultimate virgin who had eyes only for her childhood sweetheart. Two years down the line, it is a very different story for Britney Spears.

Since her split from former boy band star Justin Timberlake, she has dated a rock star, got hitched, snogged Madonna and is now reported to have broken up a marriage.

Her former dancer Columbus Short, 21, claimed his relationship with the star led to a split with his wife.

Speaking to Star magazine, Short said he became close to Britney during her European tour last year, when his wife Brandi was expecting their first child.

He added: 'It's true I slept with Britney but we never had sex because another person was in the room at the time.

'We shared a bed and were really close, kissing and hugging. The chemistry was magical - our feelings were so strong.

'But we both knew a relationship wasn't going to happen. Britney's mum stepped in to prevent that as soon as our feelings started to develop.'

Last August, Britney threw a lavish birthday party for him in New York but in November Short went back to his wife. He said: 'It would be fair to say Britney caused major problems in our marriage. Sadly, we're now getting divorced.'

Spears, 22, denied they were romantically involved.

Short was also allegedly told by Spears' management team he would not be required for her 2004 tour.

Britney hit the headlines in January when she married her childhood friend Jason Alexander, 22, in Los Vegas. The marriage was annulled after 55 hours.