My paternal grandmother had bipolar disorder, and her mother committed suicide. I think that tells me I come by my bipolar disorder (and current fairly severe depression) honestly. Not that it makes it any easier, but it does offer an explanation for cause. No one else in my extended family of my parents' generation or mine has mental illness. So basically I'm the black sheep. I also have a history of alcoholism/drug abuse, and my dad and his dad both had drinking issues, so I'm not the black sheep with respect to that.