I have experienced severe traumas both in my childhood and as an adult, and yes, they do often (but not always) trigger episodes. This is why I also have PTSD. It has a wonderful array of its own features for me to deal with along with the BP. I also rapid cycle but I cannot say whether that is related to trauma or just part of my version of BP. The trauma and BP do seem to feed off each other at times. For example; while experiencing one of the worst traumas of my life (that went on for months) I stopped sleeping and began acting very unusual, going from wild and upbeat to suicidal. For a long time I thought it was all just the trauma but my psychiatrist believes it was a mixed and/or manic episode. There are also many times when I am just normal, like now, and I relish them.