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23 yr. old sd is bipolar alcoholic, wreaking havoc regardless of boundaries we've placed.

The Good Mom's picture

Dh's ex has bipolar and is an alcoholic, step daughter is also diagnosed bipolar/alcoholic, on many meds. Problems have been fewer in the past year since we bought our house and no longer have "visitation" or "support" issues, nor do we live as close to ex and sd, ss is in college but suffers from depression and anxiety. Problem is, sd is a master manipulator, she hates me, her sm, and wants her dad to get rid of me, period. Fortunately, I have not allowed her to come to our house and do all of the terrible things she used to do when her dad and I were first married. This young woman has lied, she has participated with her mother in "character assasination" of me to my husbands sibs, his friends, and his mother. She has stolen, and behaved terribly towards my grown children to the extent that my children wish to have nothing to do with her. She embarrases my husband frequently, but the lies and the hysterical fits are most disturbing. She tries her best to hurt my husband's feeling and is often successful. I removed myself from sd's life when I was nearly arrested because of a cat that sd stole from her roommate and dumped at our house, when investigators appeard to pick up the cat...ss had let the cat outside even though I reminded him to make sure the cat was in the house when he left for work. This happened while my husband & I were moving into our new home last May.
My problem is this, my husband feels torn between his grown daughter and me, she constantly tells her father that she can't believe he chose me over her (frightening, I know). This young woman is so mentally unstable and violently angry, I simply cannot be around her. I need help helping my husband, he is very upset by the constant turmoil his daughter creates.
Thanks, The Good Mom

The Good Mom's picture

Holy Cow! You're telling me the very things I've been telling my husband! I really needed to hear someone else say he/we need to get a good counselor and support group, I've been telling him this for the past 4 years, which is when she had her first frightening episode and was subsequently diagnosed and started medication. The list of offenses against us by this young woman is remarkably long and very disturbing, but she's his daughter and he wants so much for her to be happy for him.
Thanksgiving was my last contact with sd when sd & ss were 3 hours late for dinner, without even letting us know they were going to be late, my husband was embarrassed and very upset. I was very angy, I sent them both and email letting them know they had 24 hours to apologize to their dad or I was turning their phones off, cancelling their car insurance and we would longer pay for their college. His son called him the next day and apologized, the next time I saw ss after that he apologized to me too. Sd copied the email and put it in a file with our names on it and periodically pulls it out as if it were proof of a crime I committed. GRRRR!

The Good Mom's picture

I know! The thing is, he trys to have lunch with her every other week, and it usually goes well. Recently, sd's complaint has been that she feels like she doesn't have a dad that's available to her anytime, which isn't true, she calls him on our vacation, she calls him when we're out to dinner, she calls, emails or text him all hours of the day and night and he always answers or responds within minutes. Her real issue is as she told my husband, "I'm not welcome at your house", and that is true, I can't allow her her poison near me or my family, and truly my husband hasn't complained because she is just so awful and toxic to be around even for a very short period of time. Though last weekend I offered to stay with my sister if he wanted to invite her to spend the night; they coulld cook dinner, go for a bike ride, just hang out or even go listen to live music. I want him to be able to have a better relationship with her, but she said so, she wasn't feeling it. For all of her complaining, today he worked from home and asked her to lunch, she said no, she's not ready to see him, she's still working through some issues she has with him. WTHeck? I wish he could see that she's punishing him for being happy with me, and complaining that she doesn't have a dad...well, she does, she just wants him under her conditions. Drives me mad!

The Good Mom's picture

The most recent turmoil sd created was during a recent lunch date where she presented her dad with the file of what she considers my offense. One thing in the file was an email I sent her (2 years ago) relating to boundaries that we placed for everyone's comfort, 1. she was not allowed to come to our house when we were not home 2. she was not allowed alcohol at our house & 3. she was not allowed to be rude to either of us in our home. It was a kind email, but very much to the point, and she told her dad that I have no right to talk to her that way. He can't stand up to her. It's been one of the problems we've had, he will not tell his daughter that meantal illness does not give her the right to treat us badly.
During that luncheon as he relayed to me what he'd said to sd, "he told her that he loved us both, and he just wished that the two most important women in his life could get along". The problem with that statement is that he's putting the responsibility of "getting along" on me! I have had more than enough of the craziness from sd & ex. I told hubs that he needs to take up for me and our marriage. He's afraid of telling her this because he's afraid it will send her into a bp depression, or worse, she'll refuse to see him, like she has.

misSTEP's picture

Maybe he needs to see a counselor to figure out how to deal with this unstable person, if he chooses to keep her in his life.

The Good Mom's picture

He definitely needs to see a counselor, I've suggested it quite a bit. He says he doesn't see the benefits, based on how infrequent he sees his daughter and that I no longer deal with her at all.
And another crazy offshoot of this whole sd relationship fiasco; I mentiond earlier that his ex and daughter have the same conditions, and both have engaged heavily in assasinating my character to his friends and family. It has hurt me deeply that dh has not corrected their lies, at least with his family, dh responds to this with "people are going to believe whatever they want", it makes me so sad that he refused to correct their frequent lies to these people. We've had that discussion so many times, I've stopped going to any of his family members homes, I no longer go to parties at his friends homes, I refuse to be treated like I'm the "other woman", he doesn't mind that I've quit doing things that involve his friends and family.

oldone's picture

The thing is a violently mentally ill (untreated - don't want to disparage b/p's that actual comply with their meds) person should be removed from your life.

Would someone choose to have a sex life with a man who was a serial rapist? Duh. No.

Your DH will NEVER have a normal relationship with his abnormal daughter. That would be like expecting a double amputee to go jogging with you (with no prosthetics).

A dear friend has a daughter like this but this daughter is now in her late 30s. I've posted about her before. She's been sent to multiple rehabs across the country - more than 20 and hundreds of thousands of dollars have beens spent on her. She is now in prison.

Your DH needs to accept the reality of what she is and what she is not. This is in NO way his fault. Bi-polar is a disease that is usually hereditary. She cannot help having it anymore than my mother could help getting breast cancer. But she is choosing not to be treated. She's an adult.

He needs some major boundaries with her. Of course he should choose you over her. For a zillion reasons - and not just because you are the wife. She is violently mentally ill and his presence in her life can do nothing but ruin his life.

lucy51's picture

My husband never dealt with his kids' mental illness and now I have paid the ultimate price: They have turned everyone they possibly can against me. The most painful are the lies they told to my step grandkids. My husband died and I lost so much more than him! I think that both of his kids are without souls. Their anger and lashing out at me is evidence of that. They are both gone from my life and I do not mind leaving them behind. They are ruthless destructive people. I wish you luck. My husband would not even talk about his kids' behavior, so you're ahead of me.

Amber Miller's picture

My SD is bipolar with psychotic tendencies. She has caused so much trouble in my marriage and has verbally attacked her dad and I numerous times. One time I stood up to her in defense of my DH and he ran to her side to defend her. It is disgusting how she has the whole family kissing her ass as they are all afraid of what she might do if they get her mad by standing up to her. She is insensitive, mean, and causes a lot of trouble between DH and I. I just wish shed go away. He gets mad at me for what she does. I am getting fed up. I feel for you as I am living in the same hell you are. I'm his wife and I've done nothing wrong yet I'm the recipient of his anger towards his daughter. I need help too. I wish I could help you but I don't have any answers. If I did, then I wouldn't be going through this.

The Good Mom's picture

I don't believe there are any answers, I think we have to deal with each situation as it comes; and never knowing when we're going to get hit with another issue sd has caused. I'm so depressed, my husband is in a terrible state of denial. I've told him sd needs to be hospitalized, he thinks I'm crazy for mentioning it.

Amber Miller's picture

My DH says his little precious is "mentally ill" and that's his answer to everything that she does. I'm sorry, I have a schizophrenic family member who has never caused any drama or problems. You see, unlike princess, he knows right from wrong. Princess knows right from wrong too but her parents make excuses for her so she has learned that the rules don't apply to her; plain and simple. I swear she could murder someone in my front yard and my DH would say "good job honey" or " it's ok, she's mentally ill; she can't help it". Absolutely disgusting. We just sit around waiting for the next round of drama that she is going to throw our way. I'm sorry she's sick but this has gone too far. DH is so frustrated with her bad behavior that he takes it out on me. I just think at 30 ( did I mention she has a baby?) she should be responsible for her actions? If she got pulled over for speeding does that mean she shouldn't get a ticket because she's " mentally ill?". I'm starting to go crazy because of this nonsense. She wasn't too mentally ill to pull the scam that she was going to school so she could milk daddy for thousands of dollars. She's not so mentally ill that when the bank accidentally credited her with $1000 that she couldnt go on a shopping spree. These are not results of mental illness, these are results of being spoiled rotten.

lucy51's picture

Sounds like step-daughter may have some kind of personality disorder on top of the other problems.