Pretty eyes, I am so sorry to hear of what you have been through. As for your question I agree with the above posts; bipolar is genetic but can be triggered by high stress events. I was sexually abused for years growing up and started having mental health issues at the age of 9 (I self harmed and was suicidal). It is hard finding where the PTSD ends and the Bipolar begins. I'm fairly confident the bipolar started in my teens and PTSD before that. If I hadn't gone through the trauma would I have bipolar? It is impossible to know.