Lara Sophia 
Jacqueline Laurita’s daughter Ashlee Holmes reveals that she’s been diagnosed with Bipolar II.
The former Real Housewives of New Jersey staple announced the news on Monday, June 27 in a post on Instagram.
According to Ashlee, she suffered a “psychotic break” last month which ultimately led to her being diagnosed with Bipolar II.
Ashlee shared:
Over time, I’ll probably speak more on this. For now, Instagram only allows the captions to be so long lol You may not think that I have had many difficulties in my life -but I have. These last two years have been especially difficult for me. About almost a month ago, I had a psychotic break. I found myself in a position where I was afraid of myself and my own thoughts. And I chose to finally seek proper help. I took a short break from social media as well.
During this process of seeking help, I was diagnosed with bipolar II. I made the personal choice to begin medication right away, as I truly feel that I had tried everything else up to that point. I think I have been in denial for a very long time about this diagnosis. However, I was also never properly educated about all of the other aspects of having bipolar. I was so used to hearing bipolar being used as a negative adjective to describe someone. I always thought it was just something related to mood swings. It is SO much more, and a lot of things in my life started to make sense. It was actually a relief to finally have an explanation for certain things. It has been empowering for me to learn more about it, and take back control. I am not ashamed of my diagnosis. And I will not allow anyone to try to make me feel ashamed of it. I will also not allow anyone to use my diagnosis as a scapegoat to treat me poorly.
I see bipolar disorder as the gift of extraordinary emotions. It has given me a level of resiliency that I very much needed growing up. It has made me capable of withstanding whatever obstacles the Universe throws at me. I am strong. It has contributed to me being imaginative, empathetic, adaptive -and it’s definitely contributed to my great sense of humor in some way. © This is just yet another chapter of my life. I’m curious and hopeful to see where l’Il be a year from now. Life is a journey full of ebbs and flows.
Keep going. Be proud of yourself. I think it’s important for us to speak about all of our individual experiences living with bipolar (and other mental illnesses) so that we can help break down the negative stigmas surrounding mental illness entirely.
We’re glad to see Ashlee’s getting the treatment she needs. Wishing her the best moving forward.
RHONJ will return for season 13 in late 2022 or early 2023.
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