alone in my family

Sparked by Becca's thread on her interesting discoveries in her family. I'm wondering if anyone else cannot trace their MI back in their families.

I've tracked all my living relatives, extended family, and as far back as they remember

I am the only bipolar. dx'd or (un-dx'd)

I'm the only alcoholic. of my living family. No one is admitting anything yet.

I'm the only synesthete. although i can't trace past the alive members of my family on this one.

I just feel so alone, so different, so isolated. They don't understand, don't want to understand and don't want anyone to know. It might "look bad" and that's ok - but sometimes i question my dx. as if i'm fine hahaha. If it weren't for the synesthesia i don't think i'd be able to accept all of this.
Totally miswired.

On one side of the family, I have a cousin with Asperger's and aunts and uncles with depression, anxiety, and OCD. My dad seems to have moderate OCD and is a borderline hoarder, but no dx on those behaviors. Everyone in my immediate family has been treated for depression, but on a limited basis for everyone other than me. The other side of the family seems pretty much sane.

So although I'm not alone in the family, no one else's MI seems quite as serious as mine. At least I can stop the genetic trainwreck and avoid passing on these genes.

I may be alone - I'm not so sure. So much isn't said. I have an uncle who killed himself - but he was a heroin addict. So... IDK. There was another suicide way back, apparently - I don't know who. A spot of depression on my mother's side. But that's it.

Ditto for my family - they were/are in denial. I don't tell my parents anything any more. I wish they had not lied to me about my uncle's suicide (they are still lying - I found out from another uncle). Like you Tosspot, I would have felt less alone, and less like it struck for no reason.

Thanks Beebizzy. for the first few years i kept wondering if i could possibly be bipolar, or if i was overreacting and all 5 pdocs were wrong. the hospitalization were a fluke etc. Just hard accepting sometimes - why was i struck out of everyone, my cross to bear blah blah. Self pity gets me nowhere and i try not to fall prey to that anymore, but i just wonder...

I'm the only person in my immediate family with bipolar disorder. But on my extended family, I'm not so sure. There doesn't appear to be anything like that on my mother's side, but on my dad's it seems like just about everyone has been treated for depression, alcoholism, or a combination of both. Other than that, I don't know because no one in the family will talk about "that sort of thing," as my grandma puts it.