'Tube Girl' Sabrina Bahsoon shares she underwent psychosis episodes linked to rare ovarian tumour
A social media sensation who garnered herself the nickname 'Tube Girl' has opened up about a terrifying health battle that saw her spend months in hospital after experiencing episodes of psychosis.
TikTok star Sabrina Bahsoon who shot to fame in 2023 for her dance and lip-sync videos filmed on the London Underground, revealed she was eventually diagnosed with a rare autoimmune condition linked to tumours on her ovaries.
In a series of videos shared on TikTok after almost seven months away from social media, the 25-year-old explained how her symptoms were initially attributed to psychosis before doctors discovered the underlying cause.
Bahsoon claimed her ordeal began on 19 March of this year - the same day she filmed content with British girl group FLO.
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After returning home, she suddenly became extremely distressed.
"I had come home to my ex and I just started hysterically crying," she explained in one video. "I was screaming, shouting, acting very psychotic. Little did I know, this was my first episode of psychosis."
The following morning, she unexpectedly ended her long-term relationship, prompting concern from her sisters, who rushed to check on her.
Bahsoon said her behaviour continued to deteriorate, with her family eventually calling an ambulance after she began attempting to hurt herself.
She spent two days in the emergency department, where she continued screaming and struggled to sleep.
"The emergency room ended up discharging me, and this is where I start to lose my memory," Bahsoon recalled.
Things became increasingly frightening after she returned home, where she described becoming violent and attempting to hurt members of her family, prompting paramedics to call the police.
"I was taken away in handcuffs because I was so violent," Bahsoon said. "They had to restrain me."
She was subsequently sectioned and transferred to a mental health hospital, where she was diagnosed with psychosis.
Bahsoon recalled being prescribed antipsychotic medication, but her condition continued to worsen. She reportedly lost around 26 pounds and entered a catatonic state, struggling to speak, eat and sleep.
"I lost control of my mind, my body. I couldn't speak, eat, sleep," she went on.
Concerned by her deterioration, Bahsoon's father sought advice from a neurologist he knew and pushed for doctors to investigate whether she could have anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, a rare condition in which the immune system attacks the brain.
After further testing, scans revealed teratomas on her ovaries.
These tumours can trigger an immune response that attacks the brain, leading to anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.
The condition can cause psychiatric symptoms, including psychosis and dramatic behavioural changes, making it difficult to distinguish from a mental health disorder in its early stages.
Bahsoon explained that doctors eventually identified the condition after around two months, and the hospital later apologised for not testing for it sooner.
Reflecting on the time she spent in hospital, she told Mamamia: "The mental hospital ended up apologising for kind of keeping me there and not running the test sooner... So from March to June, I was in this mental hospital.
"That's a huge chunk of my life that I will never get back, that I probably won't ever remember.”
On 18 June, Bahsoon underwent surgery to remove the tumours - and, despite the risks, doctors were able to preserve her ovaries.
She also received two rounds of immunotherapy, and was discharged the following month.
Since then, Bahsoon has been in recovery.
The experience has left the online star dealing with memory loss and the emotional aftermath of spending months in hospital, however.
"This obviously altered my life," she claimed. "So many things have happened and I'm just trying to wrap my head around the whole situation after losing so much, like my memory, and going through a breakup and all the trauma that comes with living in a hospital for five months.
"Now I'm out in the real world and I'm trying to figure out what my new normal is."
Having returned to Malaysia, Bahsoon is now concentrating on her recovery and hopes to return to making music and creating content when she's ready.
"I just need everyone to bear with me while I figure out how to, like, live again," she said. "I want to get back to my music. I want to get back to my social media and I wanna be this strong, confident girl that everybody knows me for.
"But of course I have to go on this healing journey first. I'm excited to be alive. I'm excited to have my mind back."
Bahsoon also hopes that sharing her experience will encourage other people experiencing similar symptoms to push for further medical investigations.
“Anyone who has these symptoms and is just diagnosed as psychosis, I encourage you to fight and get the extra scans and do the extra tests,” she urged. "I was in the mental hospital with a lot of other patients who didn't have anyone fighting for them.
"And I was super lucky to have my parents fighting for me."
Topics: Real Life, TikTok, Celebrity, Women's Health, Health
Rhianna Benson