[grlnmt66]

Ive noticed the more I learn about BP and recognize it in myself...the more I see it in my mom and grandma...With my mother she was very volatile..I never knew if she was going to be in a good mood or bad...she had a horrific temper...was impulsive...and prone to long bouts of depression. With my grandmother...she was ALWAYS busy and when she wasnt busy she had long periods of meloncoly...Both are gone now and its a crying shame that they never knew what the "issue" was and that it could have been helped...

[BipolaRNurse]

My mother was probably bipolar as well.......she had some whoppers of mood swings that she often claimed not to recall later. She also drank like a fish, and was downright mercurial---I NEVER knew where I stood with the woman. Some of my major screw-ups, she was really casual about and would let it go with a "Just don't do that again"; but at other times she'd scream at me literally for hours on end when I did something like get into the cookie jar without permission. She accused me of having sex YEARS before I actually did......but then, there were the other times, when we'd go places and have a blast, going to movies and the beach and laughing our heads off at silly things we thought up. It was like she was two totally different women: one I loved and worshipped like a queen, and one I feared worse than death.

I wish we'd all known then what we know now about mental illness, how hiding from it only makes everything worse and doesn't protect the person from the slings and arrows of a fearful society. If she had gotten help, it would have spared her a lot of grief and me a lot of emotional abuse, and I'd have known much earlier in life that I'd inherited her illness.

My father was diagnosed with Bipolar 1 long after my mother and him got a divorce. He was extremely abusive, verbally, emotionally, physically. I was diagnosed with bipolar 1 at 17, my father was diagnosed a few years later. That's when it all started to make sense.

Unfortunately my father never wanted to get better or at least never made any real attempts. I reconnected with him once briefly but that failed. He commit Suicide a few years later. It's very sad because I know that he gave up, I know what he was going through too. I'm not sure if that's where I get part of my strength to never give up from. Knowing his diagnoses made forgiving him a lot easier for me. My sisters not so much as they try but don't really understand how bipolar feels. For me I van chalk a lot of it up to that fact that he was ill, I can look back and see it so clearly.

He didn't have a clue he was mentally ill. He had no insight and I think even after his diagnosis he still did not accept or try to find any insight, that part is harder to swallow, but I understand.

[Trippin2.0]

I'm the only bp'er. No evidence of past ones, hopefully its a fluke and there'll be no future ones either.

[Victoria'smom]

BipolaRNurse are we siblings?

All 3 of my siblings, aunt, and grandfather were dx. severe bipolar or schizophrenia. I suspect my grand mother , mom have bipolar 1 and my dad may have bipolar ii. I am the only one currently in treatment for it. Everyone in my family disagrees with me or anyone else getting help for mental illness and feels everyone can get diagnosed with bipolar. I do feel I will loose several family members by there own hand but only time will tell.

[BlueInanna]

Family members on my dad's side seem bipolar but were never dx'd. My grandma suicided before i was born. Now we have my sister and myself and 2 of my kids dx'd. I kind of hate to think about what their treatment would have been long ago. I am glad it is becoming more understood so people can get help.

miguelsmum - that attitude is something i come across all the time at the mo - its making me want to SCREAM

my aunt has been diagnosed bi-polar, i wonder if i mum has it too. i suspet her dad did though im not sure about that

i too grew up with the voliatile parent described above, never knowing what mood she would be in today - it was the scariest thing, something i am trying VERY hard to to be to my own kids (hence getting help i suppose)

[bowhunt72]

I'm the only known bipolar in my family, although I had a grandmother who was very "nervous" and "fragile" and I'm told attempted suicide at some point before I was born. Hoping I'm not passing anything on to my kids. I have one with ADHD, I don't want either of them to have to deal with what I do.

[catrules]

I also feel very strongly that my dad is undiagnosed. He knows that he needs help but refuses to get any. He is very driven, and very successful in his job, but he has really low lows as well. I confronted him about it at Christmas time because I do fear suicide, but he basically shut me down. It's hard to watch and feel helpless about.

[grlnmt66]

Thanks for sharing all of your stories...this is the only support I have (outside of a dear, sweet friend who isnt BP) I value this community!

[irishgirliexo]

Originally Posted by grlnmt66

Ive noticed the more I learn about BP and recognize it in myself...the more I see it in my mom and grandma...With my mother she was very volatile..I never knew if she was going to be in a good mood or bad...she had a horrific temper...was impulsive...and prone to long bouts of depression. With my grandmother...she was ALWAYS busy and when she wasnt busy she had long periods of meloncoly...Both are gone now and its a crying shame that they never knew what the "issue" was and that it could have been helped...

My parents show no signs of bipolar. My grandmother on my father's side showed signs of either schizophrenia or bipolar. She was never diagnosed and has passed away. I don't know much of the history on my father's side to see if anyone else had symptoms.

[SmokeyPoole2012]

Bipolar disorder runs in my family as well. My mother was never diagnosed but I'm sure she suffered from it. My father died when I was very young and his family disowned him for marrying a woman with a black heritage so I never knew him or his side of the family personally. I have siblings who have troubles I believe their issues are due to mental instabilities but they don't seek treatment or even attempt to make changes. I have 8 children and two have bipolar disorder another has a learning disabilities ADHD.

I personally don't require any more proof to convince me that bipolar and other mental health issue is or can be hereditary. I just hope that society is making an attempt to except this fact and are taking steps to confront this issue so we can offer our children a fighting chance. Treatments are out there and if caught at an early childhood our children will have a fighting chance. They may not be cured of bipolar but at least they won’t have to waste half their lives causing personal ruin before facing their disease.

[BipolaRNurse]

That's the thing I fear......I have one son who I KNOW is bipolar, plus one I suspect might be. The guilt of having passed this nasty illness on to two of the people I love best in all the world is awful, even though I realize on an intellectual level that it's not really my fault. I see them doing things that are going to have a horrific impact on their lives, and they don't heed my warnings....they just do whatever they feel like and have the nerve to act surprised when the rest of the world says "oh HELL no!!"

[SunAngel]

My dad was an undiagosed bp, and his mom was also. My great uncle was 100% schizophrenic.

Mental illness runs all through our family. I look back on what my dad was like, and I forgive him because I know now he couldn't help it. I choose only to remember the good times we had and not the bad times.

My nana and dad had OCD really badly, and so do I.

[Melancolic]

My grandfather was manic depressive before term bipolar was used. My uncle is most likely bipolar always had the habit of taking off at times without a word, suffers depressions, makes the worst financial descions and is a genius who refuses to accept promotions at work he says because of stress involved with predicting uncontrollable variables or management of countless idiots. Also have several cousins i am aware of with previous depressive episodes whether they have turned out to be more i am un aware of.

[Secretum]

I'm the only one with a bp dx, though I suspect that my mom might be cyclothymic. My brother is depressed and suffers from OCD and ADHD. I'm scared that he'll end up bipolar, as he claims to have times where he feels "on top of the world" in addition to his depression. Bipolar is one of the most heritable of mental illnesses, so it's interesting that I don't see more of it in my family.

[nacht]

I'm the only one with BP in my immediate family though I rather think my father may be cyclothymic. Several people on his side of the family are bipolar, my great-aunt and five of my cousins to be precise, oddly they're all female. I didn't find out about this until about six months ago.

[Irreplaceable]

Well, I've said/typed if before on here....My dad has PTSD, battles severe depression, and I believe he is also bipolar. I say believe because me and him never had a talk about what his mentall illnesses are but he exhibits every single symptom. His brother, I don't know what was wrong with him. He was that one uncle in the family that was a little, "weird" (i hate to say it like that), withdrawn, quiet, to himself, wouldn't go outside. In fact, up until he died, my dad and my step mom did everything for him because he didn't want to or couldn't leave the house. It was never discussed specifically what was wrong with him, but the older I got, the more I realized something wasn't right. It was always kinda swept under the rug. Although people acknowledged that he had a mental illness, it was never put out there like that...I'm not really familiar with the rest of my dad's side of the family. But I know for a fact, bipolar and mental illnesses run in my family, more specifically my dad's side. I remember awhile back my dad said something that really shocked me. When I was young, his mother told him that I was bipolar. I believe there was also something going on with her mentally, but again, it was never really discussed.

As Anika said, my dad has always been very abusive. He will literally go in a trance and just go off on everything and everything around. He was very violent. Very abusive towards my mother and my siblings. It was scary. I would literally pee on myself when he went off because I was terrified. I feel bad for him because I know what he's going through because I go through the same thing. But at the same time, I feel resentment for so much that has happened.

Reading people's comments about growing up with parents who are bipolar really hurts me as a parent because I hope my daughter doesn't say the same when she grows up. My sister and mother live in another state. My sister has kids about my daughter's age and she is pretty well off financially and a good mother. If it weren't for my daughter's father, I would probably send her off to live with my sister because I'm so scared of damaging her mentally and emotionally. Her father won't let me. Sometimes I feel trapped. I want to do what's in her best interest but he won't hear it. ***sighs*** My life...

I just finished reading Dr. Kay Jamison Redfield's book entitled "Touched With Fire"
again, and she notes that about .7% of all bipolar folks in the U.S. ever get treatment for the illness.

So I guess that makes us special. I wonder what the population number is for bipolar folks in this country? Maybe she mentioned it, but I can't find it.

Genetic

[insideout]

I think my father may have had a mental illness, but we werent close and he died of a heart attack years ago.
I dont think I would want to ask him anyway.

I think I have it just cuz of environmental factors.

My family is pretty messed up but I dont dare ask them what their problem is.

[hamster-bamster]

My mom, too, was manic depressive before the term Bipolar was used. I believe that her mom was an undiagnosed bipolar with predominant high-energy hypomanias.