Is this Bipolar? PTSD ? Or something else?

[BeMintFatball]

My daughter now 23 . Learning disability. Her poor mental health started April 2017. Too many big life events . To psychotic episodes in 8 months lead her to be sectioned and had a 2 month inpatient stay in adolescence unit.

transferred to adult services at 18. Also at 18 was raped by her boyfriend which lead to additional diagnosis of PTSD added. Note this was an anal rape and had never had PIV sex. Referred to CARA. Counselling was not effective

mental health settled. It was even suggested that maybe her mental health was connected to her learning disability and not actually bipolar.

Leaving formal education was the best thing ever. She got a part time job. She was stable. Off all meds for 2 years before being discharged from adult services June 2025. Section 117 lifted.

life seemed to be settled. Job , friends, sport was working towards a couple of personal goals in a good relationship with a young man who adores her. And then a month ago mental health came crashing down . I am heart broken for her. It started with anxiety and crying. Then depression and anger joined in. She’s talked angrily about the rape. She didn’t get justice she feels he got away with it. Well he did get away with it. It was 5 months before she could tell me it had happened.

Currently signed off sick from work. We are having to tell her to eat. She can’t wash or dress herself independently. The simplest instructions are beyond her. I am very worried about her memory loss. She keeps asking me what happened on random times. What have I done this year? What happened last summer etc.

I think she needs medication but now she is out the system accessing support feels impossible. I suspect PTSD is now CPTSD as was not properly addressed in 2022.
The only med she has is Phenergan to help her sleep. Self referred to CBT NHS and have a face to face with gp practice mental health nurse mid January. There is a walk in service for mental Health in a nearby town but just taking her there I think will make her spiral . Major fear of ever being sectioned again.

Any thoughts from people who know about bipolar or PTSD. Is what I’m describing consistent with either diagnosis? Can one go years without a bipolar cycle?

Anyone? I’m desperate to get my daughter back enjoying her life like she was a month ago

It doesnt sounds like bipolar based on ky experiences of it but could be pstd.

Does she feel like shes back in the moment?
Has she has had edmr ?
Has your gp given her a referral?
What about the old team?
You really need professional help given the seriousness previously.

Separately and not for now this may well never be fully behind her and may be a lifelong thing she needs to manage and stay on top of in boring ways.

(Exercise diet sleep making space for friends etc )

So sorry to read this OP. I don't think it's a surprise that this has all resurfaced and perhaps it was because she was so stable that the past suddenly reared up, these things can't/won't stay unprocessed. Did she have counselling through CARA? Could you perhaps try counselling again, which I appreciate you might have lost faith with, but it seems to me that she needs professional help to support her through this all. I would also say that medication may be really important now. I appreciate you may want a label for all this but maybe that is secondary currently as she is just in the eye of the storm. I would focus on how best to support her, and I echo what the above poster has said, look at the basics like sleep, food, do what you can to encourage her to wash, have baths, try and connect with others. Good luck OP. Trauma is not straightforward and manifests in many different ways.

She shouldn't be taking that to sleep for more than a few days. It can actually cause a host of psychiatric issues

If she's signed of from work the GP is aware so what are they doing?

You can usually call the crisis team and they will refer. The patient doesn't have to call.

It’s good she’s seeing the MH Nurse in January - she will be able to assess dd and refer to adult MH services if needs be.

I have Bipolar and was 50 when I was diagnosed. I mainly suffer with hypermania but it is very well controlled by an anti psychotic. They were very detailed with my assessment - it helped that I was in the middle of an episode. I certainly found I can go for a while between episodes.

Just keep encouraging her to engage with any help they suggest and to keep attending any appointments which come through.

I definitely suffer from memory loss when I am actively poorly.

As the section 117 is no longer in place DD cannot get back into the system fast. She has self referred to NHS CBT they have responded by email and she needs to phone them back.

CARA didn’t work. It was 5 months before DD told me it had happened. At that time the mental health support worker didn’t take action when told. A year later a new support worker took over. We went through all her history again. The new person got the ball rolling. But by the time she started seeing CARA it was over 18 months since the event. I don’t know but I suspect DD didn’t open up as by this time she had buried it deep and said she no longer thought about it.

DD does not want to go back on medication. I am afraid to call or take her to the walk in clinic as have had experience of her going into flight mode before. Had a very bad experience of paediatric A&E when she was sectioned. I would like to believe adults with mental health are treated better but I don’t have faith.

My husband has private medical insurance through his job. He will call to see if we can get to see a psychologist privately. She has never had EDMR , had to google what it is.

@hoodiemassive thank you for your reply. Can I ask you, do your cycles have triggers? Or do they come out of nowhere?

What is different about her current illness is that she is aware that she is unwell.

She is asking several times a day for reassurance. Because she can’t remember what she has done she worries that she has done something bad. Does not specify what something bad would be. Definitely not hearing voices

Have you considered autism? I was a vulnerable teen/early 20s not picking up finger signals and getting assaulted. School was traumatic. Only meds that helped were the sleep ones. I lived in a cycle of pushing myself to be well (masking) which inevitably led to breakdown every couple years. When I had an autistic child I worked it out for myself, made changes to my life that were accomadating not forcing myself to cope like everyone else- then got my diagnosis years later after steady MH for that time. I’m so fucking angry everyone just blamed MH for me and never looked further. I got a misdiagnosis of EUPD which is likely to happen to your girl with extended history of MH. I never found the diagnosis brought help just a diagnosis of expulsion and blame. Maybe it would have been a different experience had it been correct.

I just comment because I can’t read about similarities in a young woman without thinking of what I went through and wishing someone had told me to read up on autism in women.

@Burntt when DD was in year 10 of a mainstream school I knew someone was going very badly wrong. I pushed for an assessment through Provide. I remember a questionnaire that both myself and the school completed. My answers were completely different to school. The child I saw at home was different to the one the school observed. Anyhow we got the initial screening. The doctor chatted to her for a bit and declared definitely not autistic because she made eye contact and appropriate language.

I was surprised but didn’t question it.

The only silver lining from the in patient stay was the teachers were brilliant there and helped get her the EHCP she had needed for years.

DD has an older sister who although never assessed for autism most definitely is. It would make sense that they are both ND.

Today is the toughest yet of this episode. She is frightened and losing touch with reality. I fear she is heading into full psychosis.

Trying to keep her off local news as 2 separate incidents of suicide on the train lines today and another who succeeded in their attempt in an unusual manner