Does Sharon’s behavior on The Young and the Restless hint at something more than bipolar disorder? Explained

The Young and the Restless characters have been facing some uproar this week from September 16 to September 20, as Sharon burst out at multiple people. The character was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in the past, which might have been causing this change. Seeing her behavior, Nick and Mariah decided to find out whether Sharon still had access to her medicines for the disorder.

However, the plot had an unexpected twist when Mariah discovered that Sharon was regularly taking her meds. This led fans to wonder why Sharon was behaving strangely. Though the episodes do not reveal anything as of yet, many fans have their own theories about the character's changes. While some suggest that she might be off her medication, others indicate that she has been taking the wrong medication or that they have been tampered with.

Though the character seems to be in a difficult situation at the moment, it has been thirty years since Sharon first appeared on the soap. The official social media handles of The Young and the Restless also wished the character a happy anniversary, with many more to come.

Disclaimer: This article is based on fan theories and is speculative in nature.

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What are the theories about Sharon's out-of-character behavior in The Young and the Restless?

This week on The Young and the Restless, the plot focused on Sharon's outbursts and tried to trace their reasons.

Mariah and Nick checked to see if Sharon had been taking her meds. As Sharon's daughter, Mariah remembered when the pills were prescribed and counted down the number remaining in the bottle. The final count corroborated with the prescription date, meaning that Sharon had been taking regular doses. Knowing Sharon's history of reluctance with her prescriptions, it seemed surprising that she was taking the pills regularly.

A user on Reddit theorized:

"She mentioned something to Nick about being on different bipolar medication. I wonder if this is the beginning of a new storyline where she goes off her meds or something."

This now raises the question of whether the show indicates that something else is at work. While no spoilers have been given yet, fans have their own theories about why Sharon has been behaving unusually if the absence of medication is not the reason.

It is possible that Sharon, on the latest episodes of The Young and the Restless might just be disposing of her pills and not actually consuming them often. With her reluctant attitude towards her doctors' advice on many occasions, this does not seem like a far stretch. A fan of the soap said via Reddit:

"The storyline is implying that she's on new medication that's affecting her speech but it's also been mentioned by one of her girls that she's not actually taking her meds. Seems like this is a very slow burning mental health story, the writer does seem to really like those ones."

However, if Mariah's theory about Sharon having a new prescription is true, it might simply mean that the new medication is just taking a while to kick in. Or perhaps the character was given the wrong medicine by accident, or on purpose. With Sharon spinning further out of control, no one can say for sure at this point in time.

However, there is another factor to consider, which Nick and Mariah have not paid heed to. The audience has seen that Sharon is more tired, emotional and vulnerable in the current storyline. She has also been hallucinating, especially about her now-dead daughter Cassie. It is possible that someone might either be messing with her medication, or Sharon might be dealing with something that isn't bipolar disorder at all.

However, the soap had maintained the suspense around the matter up till now.

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Audiences can keep track of Sharon's story on The Young and the Restless, which is streaming online via Paramount+ and CBS. New episodes of the soap are released on all weekdays.