Kidder's mental health was declining during this period; she had received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder in 1988, which she rejected at the time, and refused the recommended lithium treatment. In April 1996, she experienced a widely publicized manic episode in Los Angeles. At the time, Kidder had been working on an autobiography when her laptop computer became infected with a virus, which caused it to crash and her to lose three years' worth of drafts. Kidder flew to California to have the computer examined by a data retrieval company, who ultimately was unable to retrieve the files. She entered a manic state and disappeared for four days. She was later found by a homeowner in the backyard of a Glendale residence, and was taken by the Los Angeles Police Department to Olive View–UCLA Medical Center in a distressed state, the caps on her teeth having been knocked out during a rape attempt. She was subsequently placed in psychiatric care. While convalescing from the incident in Vancouver, Kidder said she finally "was able to accept the diagnosis." She would later speak openly about her treatment of the disorder via orthomolecular medicine.