my dad has been hospitalized numerous times for depression. his mom was also hospitalized for depression and received ECT (said it worked like a charm!). no one has been diagnosed with bipolar, though i could see them both having bp 2.

my dad for example has had periods of bizarre drug use (like methadone, recreationally) and heavy drinking - to the point he gets into fights and thrown out of places. he has also had periods of extremely obsessive day-trading - eg gambling (made and lost a million dollars...which sounds crazy but it's true!), and excessive spending (on things ranging from gold to electronics), often related to conspiracy theories or grandiose "master plans". In general he is very intense and very very irritable. He gets away with it all partly, I think, because he's an artist.