When I was 23 this was me. My parents were resigned that I would always need constant financial/emotional/mental/physical support after I quit college and moved home. I would either be manic or sleep 17-20 hours a day totally catatonic (you can't help it, those meds are like anvils). I'd have a retail or pet walking job here and there and then stop going, get fired. My parents were doing their best but it's impossible to know what to do, other than love and protect your child.

Then things changed. Everything changed. New psychiatrist, new point of view, a little less sedation. I still am bipolar and manage with meds, but I stopped sleeping 20 hours a day, held down a retail cashier job and got promoted, got a boyfriend, lost weight (I had become obese from excessive drinking, meds, sleeping my life away for 5 years, etc.). It all changed little by little.

I'm 26 now. Graduating this weekend with a job lined up. A pretty good one with good health benefits. I'm engaged to the nice boyfriend from before. He understands and accepts my issues. I'm pretty broke and live a simple life, but I quit drinking, lost 30 lbs, and broke free from my parents. I have limited debts.

No one really wants to be stuck at home and completely dependent, and bipolar disorder is the most wicked perpetrator for self-destruction and self-doubt.

Sorry for this life story, your daughter's situation really hit home. Shit's rough in your twenties, bipolar or not. Give her time, encouragement, and support. My mom would say 1000x over that she never thought I would turn out okay and was preparing for my brothers to be caretakers. A physician wanted me institutionalized when I was 21 but my parents fought back. I'm so glad they let me come home, even if i was awful.