Did Lindsay Lohan actually take a hint and realize she needs to avoid the menagerie of enablers, leeches, hangers-on and overall low lives that surround her?

If so, she owes her ankle bracelet a big thank you.

The troubled star finally realized she needs to avoid "those people," i.e. the ones creating huge temptation, according to confidants. Not a moment too soon.

Lindsay is spending the long weekend with a close friend by the beach in Venice, Calif. Why? "She needs to get away from that scene ... and she knows it."

Yeah, we've heard that before - but here's hoping.

Is Lindsay seriously on the mend? [Photo: PacificCoastNewsOnline.com]

For Lohan, it's her own friends as much as the clubs that create the danger of relapse - and thanks to a hard-ass judge, that relapse would mean jail now.

"The people who hang around her are such moochers, and bad energy," says one friend. "She needs to cut them out and I think she's starting to realize."

As for what Lindsay Lohan is doing? Sleeping, shopping, watching TV and movies. Interestingly, more than one person says she desperately needs sleep.

Riding the rails for months at a time will do that.

People close to her say it's definitely too early to tell, but Lindsay has at least temporarily turned a corner and is healthier than she's been "in a long time."

We're pulling for her! Lindsay Lohan belongs in ...