Hi there. I'm glad you found us, but I'm sorry you had to. You would get more responses if you posted on Parent Emeritus because that's the forum for parents of children who are eighteen and older. Most of these posters have children who are still minors, but I have three who are older than eighteen. Here are a few suggestions that I have. Take what you like and leave the rest.
First of all, if she has no money and is unable to work, try to give her Disability. She will then have some money of her own and health care coverage. I had a diagnosis. of bipolar and got approved for disability the very first time so people will tell you it takes forever. That's not always true. I know somebody who works for Disability and she told me that, at least in Wisconsin, people with bipolar have a very hard time working and usually get disability pretty easily. At least get her settled with her money and you will probably need to go to court to become her payee because, if she is manic, perhaps she has trouble hanging onto her money.
If she is compliant, seeing her psychiatrist, going for therapy and taking her medication is the best defense against bipolar as well as not drinking or taking drugs, which can screw up the medication. Every county has a mental health center that works on a sliding scale. I go to one and it's awesome...better than many I've gone to that are private.
You may want to join NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) to connect with other parents who have the same issues. That way you can get face time with others and give-and-take conversation.
Bipolar is treatable. It can take time to get the treatment right. Once she is stable, things will change for her. They do have training centers for adults. I recommend going to The Dept. of Workforce Development, which helps people who have higher needs find at least part time work. It's for adults. There are also advocates for adults with mental illness...again, see NAMI.
Now there is a big difference between a personality disorder, which is almsot impossible to live with, and bipolar, but some people have both and it requires a tremendous effort on the patient's part to get better, but you can. I have the same combination of diagnosis. and you wouldn't even know it anymore, but I worked very, very hard to learn about my problems and to eliminate the symptoms in every way I know how. If you have not looked into Dialectal Behavioral Therapy, I would look it up online. It is the BEST. Regular talk therapy will not help somebody with a personality disorder.
I hope this helped a little. If you want more responses, I highly recommend trying parent Emeritus. If she has substance abuse issues, you may want to post on Substance Abuse too. There is help, but SHE has to be a big part of the solution. She has to cooperate and work really hard...it is so worth it in the end. I never dreamed I'd end up with such a good life, but I did and she can too. As long as she will allow herself to be helped and do some self-help on the side.
Gentle hugs and hoping for a good outcome.
