Family & Friends of Bipolar Support Group
This community is dedicated to parents, siblings, grandparents, other relatives and friends of someone who is Bipolar. The purpose of this community is to help families and friends develop greater patience and understanding, as well as maintain a positive, caring relationships with those diagnosed as Bipolar.
So I've never really done anything like this before but I have a bipolar roommate who I am very concerned about and I thought this website might offer me some help or some insight.
So just a little bit of explanation, I am currently a junior at my university and I am rooming with three other people in apartment housing that is about five minutes from the campus itself (the housing is funded by the school but it is basically the same as living in a regular apartment).
Two of my roommates (who I'll refer to as D and M) are in relatively good mental health and are getting along very well, myself included. Now the third roomate, who I'll call 'R', is the one who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder about two or so years ago and who has been having a lot of trouble lately. I lived with R and M last year on campus and some of the same issues were present but not to the same degree of severity that they are at now.
About halfway through the school year last year, R was prescribed mood stabilizers and was taking them for a majority of the year until the summer began. The difference was like night and day, R really began to act like herself and told us numerous times show much better she felt and we could see it too and, for the most part, the year ended without incident and we had a lot of great times and I have many fond memories of the three of us together.
Fastforward to the beginning of this year. R told us that she stopped taking her medication because the school year ended and she didn't have a psychiatrist in her home town. This is an issue we bring up with her because she has insurance, but for some reason she never makes the step to finding one close to her home to continue to take the medication (this kind of apathetic/lazy behavior one of the issues and it is incredibly frustrating to say the least).
Her issues really started to effect us and her about two weeks into the semester. One of these issues is that she needs constant validation and attention, she asked me about 4-5 times a day if I love her and if I am mad at her when I have not done anthing that would warrant her asking me that (i.e. if we got into an argument or disagreement). It feels like she is constantly tip-toeing around all of us when asking for something and it is incredibly hard to talk to her without getting frustrated due to the tone and manner that she speaks (this is hard to explain but it's almost childlike, and sort of like she wants us to feel sorry for her).
She never cleans up after herself and leaves messes around the apartment for us to clean up constantly, myself, M, and D usually take turns doing the dishes but she has never once cleaned them.
The most concerning thing she does is incredibly self destructive behaviors. She often drinks until she blacks out on the weekends, reacts very strongly to somewhat minor issues and recently (a weekend I was at home) she threatened suicide and M almost calle dthe police. One weekend recently I noticed she had emptied all of her birth control pills into a pile which I thought was incredibly strange and made me very concerned, I don't know what her intentions were but I am keeping a very close eye on her.
The most concerning behavior, though, is her unrpotected sex. She recently found a boyfriend but had been sleeping with him prior to them maing it official. She told us she took her placebo pills early in order to trigger her period so she could have sex the weekend he came to visit, she then stopped taking them altogether. She tells us that he finishes in her almost every single time they have sex and it is a mircale she's gotten her period last month.
About two days ago we came back to school on tuesday due to the Columbus day holiday and she told us he had finished in her twice in the past weekend. Myself, M, and her boyfriend who I'll call 'T' were incredibly concerned and were telling her that she should probably take the plan B pill that prevents pregnancies up to 72 hours after someone has unprotected sex. It took about 30 minutes of convincing her and she tol dus that if she got pregnant she wouldn't have an abortion but refused to go get the pill. She also told us she didn't have the $50 for it and we offered to pay for it and rive her to CVS to get it. She seemed very apathetic and almost uninterested in the whole thing and was even laughing about it. We eventually had to tell her that we were going to buy it for her and that she needed to take it when we got back because she wouldn't be able to afford an abortion and we weren't about to let her ruin her life. She reluctantly agreed so we went to CVS, without her, to buy her Plan B and she thankfully took it when we got back.
She also told us, in a somewhat joking way, that she probably isn't coming back to school next semester because her parents couldn't afford it. She kept telling us she didn't want to leave and we told her that there are so many ways that she could figure this out (talk to the dean, take out a loan, etc.) and she agreed to try and figure it out but based on her previous behaviors that most likely will not happen. She then told us during the whole pregnancy scare situation that she didn't want to come back but myself, D, and M strongly beleive that if she weren't to come back next semester she would just sit around doing nothing and end up hurting herself or doing something that she will regret for the rest of her life.
My roommates talk about this almost everyday and we are really scared for her and what might happen. We love her and want the best for her because she is an incredibly smart, talented, and caring person and we would never want anything bad to happen because of her illness.
I signed up for the counseling center at my school but they are currently undertaffed so I don't really have a professional tot alk to about this as of right now. Thankfully, she has an appointment with a counselor and a psychiatrist this Friday but all too often she misses the meetings and says something like "no it's okay I don't need it" or "I'll just make another appointment".
Myself and M agreed that if this happens come Friday we're going to contact her mom and let her know the severity of the situation.
I just really need some advice or some help with this because i'm so worried about her and just want her to be happy and to succeed, so anything helps.
Thanks
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Hey All...I hope that you have a lovely, peaceful beginning of your weekI have a bunch of chores that need doing but may put them off til tomorrow and just hang out with my landlord/roomie todayWhat about you?...Anything special going on?Have a great day and take good care of you!!..Xo
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Once again I've had a fever today. I'm not going to the hospital because that's a huge waste of time but I did schedule a dr appointment for Wednesday afternoon.

That said, it's doubtful that R will listen to reason. Certainly bringing an adult authority figure in could help stabilize things. If nothing else, R can be put into a mental health facility if needed.
Best of luck with your roommate. It's natural to want a calm, relaxing environment when you return home after a long day of classes. I hope you're able to achieve it soon.
One of her from-home friends convinced her to call me and let me know she needed help, ASAP. I will forever love what that young man did for my daughter!
Reading through your post, I keep thinking it would be a good idea to contact her parents. It sounds like she needs professional help.
I also think you and your other roommates have been wonderful friends! And it's lovely you want to help her. It could be taking a toll on your own peace of mind, and so taking care of yourselves too, is equally important.
Most colleges require students to have health coverage, I think? If you have coverage, maybe seeing a counselor yourself will help? With insurance, you're not limited to the college resources......you could reach out to a local doctor. You might need a referral from your primary depending on your insurance.
I may be overstepping bounds here,, and if so I apologise. I just think your own well being may need a little attention too.
Hope this helps
I agree that I would let her family know what's going on...… It seems she's struggling with alcohol abuse and perhaps addictive ? behaviour on top of bipolar disorder
She's not plugged into her treatment and you and your friends can't do it for her.... Hopefully she'll soon accept that she has this disorder and do what she needs to in order to be stable
You and the other roommates shouldn't have this stress sweetie.... You becoming co dependent won't help her find stability any quicker.... This is too hard on you
If she threatens suicide at any time I would automatically call 911 and let professionals deal with it
Big hug..... You have a very kind heart.....There is really good help for BP disorder and although not curable it's very treatable...… xo