Wondering About Family

Sometimes family members can seem more bipolar than me... Anyone ever think that... most days? I have a brother who acts a bit manic a lot of the time and a mom who gets little bouts of depression and what I percieve as hypomania. Maybe it's just me. They'd think it was preposterous who knows, really, though?

Anyone else see undiagnosed friends and family under that lense?

Yes, my middle sister, I swear if she saw a pdoc she would be dx with bipolar 1 in no time.

My estranged father was dx with bipolar 1 a few years after I was, he had no knowledge of my dx or life for that matter, so I do think the family connection can certainly be there.

In my friends not so much, I don't really have many tho, so not much to go on there.

My mother just HAD to have been bipolar, because the woman had wild mood swings that make mine look tame by comparison. She was also an alcoholic who never acknowledged that fact and used doctor-prescribed amphetamines for years to stay slim, so that didn't help her moods one bit. She was inconsistent with discipline---sometimes when I committed major infractions of her many rules, she'd go "OK, well, I expect you not to do that again", while some of the minor ones drew three-hour screaming sessions and a week's confinement in my bedroom. (Which wasn't all that awful......my radio, TV, games, and books were in there.)

Now I have a 24-year-old son who will undoubtedly wind up being diagnosed, but otherwise I'm the only "certifiable" bipolar in the family. Gotta love being an original.

Ooh, yes, it can be inherited and often is. I think mine was, too.

Genetic

Interesting topic, thanks Thoughtbubble!

My mom has never been moody, but boy, when she gets on a roll about something/telling a story, she literally looks like someone in the manic phase---talks super fast, loud, doesn't take a breath, changes subject/distracted easily, and interrupts me when I try to get a word in. Otherwise she doesn't display any mood disorders, but that one I've definitely wondered (to myself, no one in the family would even consider it; they barely accept I'm Bipolar, among other things). Interestingly, I've observed with her friends she isn't as keyed up; I believe there's some kind of underlying/unconscious family dynamic where she thinks she needs to "rush" everything she says. I dunno.

Anyone else in my family that is mentally ill is obviously so, and been diagnosed. But I'm the only one in my immediate family aside from my alcoholic father (who has been diagnosed with multiple things--in rehab--but refuses to tell me), and I'm 99% sure he's Bipolar, not sure if 1 or 2 though.

hmm,

yeah... i've had suspitions that some people i know are

people on my facebook mostly- who show signs of it all the time

My wife has mood swings. she says it's from living with me for so long :|

Interestingly--though not the same dynamic--my mother has grown moody as she's gotten older (close to menopause). Her whole life she's been very bubbly, upbeat, rarely cried, etc. Now...well, she sort of acts like how I've been my whole life (which I was always given **** for), though on a smaller scale.

It is inherirted, I believe. My dad was recently diagnosed with depression, but I bet if they saw him more often he could get a bipolar diagnosis. I can think of times when he appeared dysphoric many, many, many times in my life.

My mom, I know she had anxiety issues. I can think back and remember all of her nervous ticks pretty well.

I think, once you've lived with something and then learn to recognize what it is, you start seeing it in others.

One of my sisters (estranged) would very likely be dx'd. I am really concerned about my daughter. Right now they are dx-ing ADHD and normal hormonal "stuff" for a 12 year old. She has shown a pattern of mood swings for years, and I see signs that are an awful lot like me at her age... it seems to be a wait and see. It is true that girls her age can be uber hormonal... all I can do is be aware and keep an eye on her.

I didn't realize that families don't act like ours until college. Myself and older sister are dx'd. My little sister would be if she didn't refuse treatment. My dad would be dx'd bp2 and mom has a bunch of things going on but probably far on the spectrum like me. So sleep did not happen in our house. We even had all of our windows replaced with shatter proof glass because we kept braking them, and no doors except the bathroom. My family doesn't believe in meds and says "Anyone that walks into pdoc and says anything will get bp dx" My grandma, aunt, brother, and uncle are dx.'d with MI. Everyone in my extended family had/has an addiction issue. So MI is very prevalent in my family.

I do think my mom is bipolar. Only I live up most of my episodes (or lot of things in genral) internally... she is out-and-out with her states of mind. And since lately I am one of the few peeps around her, guess who takes it she on? Combine it with the fact she is the type of person who believes there ONLY RIGHT WAY of doing things, including how to peep an orange...

(last argument went from "what is that" "a hair conditioner" "why you use hair conditioner? Your hair sucks. Previous generations didn't know hair conditioners and yours gotten fooled by TV commercials into thinking you need it..." Followed by long rant about gays, total moral degradation and about how she bought a house, wanted to start a business and it all fell appart).

What does MI stand for?

MI = Mental Illness.