Mischa Barton is out of the hospital and planning a return to work almost two weeks after Los Angeles police placed her under a 5150 hold for psychiatric treatment.

The news comes as friends of the troubled 23-year-old actress reveal that they have been concerned about Mischa’s out of control behavior since her early teens.

Stacey Kives – a former stylist on The O.C. – said: “She was on the path to self-destruction – it was just a question of when she was going to be ready to do something about it.”

According to her friend, Mischa is batting addiction and low self esteem and has previously resisted all attempts to help her seek treatment and would cut pals out of her life if they suggested she had a problem.

“Mischa has been drinking since she was about 14, and she doesn’t drink to have fun any more – she drinks not to feel anything. But I think this last episode has scared her straight. She finally sounds like she’s seeing reality,” Stacey added in a chat with Britain’s Heat Magazine.

“Mischa’s finally willing to get some help. She was partying so hard before. Whenever a close friend would say, ‘Mischa, I’m worried about you,’ she would distance herself. It was just a matter of time before she hit rock bottom. Now she wants her friends and family around her. It’s a good sign.”