Hi Nightside. I came on here not knowing what to expect or how I even got here. My best friend is manic again and it is very difficult to watch. Tonight I was at a loss. She is so sick and making very unsafe decisions. I have done everything I can think of to help her. Like in the past, she is extremely upset with me because I am the one that "reports" her unsafe behaviors to her family members etc etc. Right now, people close to her are avoiding and refusing to be in contact. Her parents have honored her request and traveled on plane home because they were nervous of the result if not. So I guess the purpose of responding to you is this. It is hard. The hardest part is not being able to control or predict the next thing. It is this way because, no matter, we care about you. If we didn't, then we wouldn't have taken it so personally. Reading your experience was very impacting for me. This time, this current mania has honestly hit hard and after the sequence of events that occurred tonight, I was at a loss.
I know you wrote here looking for advice. But, now I am hoping that you can give me advice. What do I do? How can I help? What is the best thing to do in a crisis? What do I do if her parents and family members are out of state and no longer as involved in fear that she will do something significantly drastic?
I just want to know what I can do. I am never going to condone this behavior nor am I ever going to tell her what I feel about it. Do I just continue and let it happen?

I am sorry that your friend is no longer there for you. The only thing I can say is this. Your friend does not have bipolar. She has no idea what it feels like. If she's out of the picture, and it is more then just "backing off," then it is what it is. I can't imagine completely deserting my friend because of her behavior when manic. Yes, it is hard. Very hard. Clearly, I am still sitting here so late at night talking about it. It is easy to give up. It is hard to keep up. Some people can take it, some people can't. You need someone that can and that is not going to give up when things get hard, or take things personally/to heart. Its like finding the person you love.
So my advice to you would be this. She's willing to leave when things get hard..so how can you rely on her? if she wants to be a part of your life, great. But you know in your heart it will never be the same.

Good luck.