[bbTofu]

Hello,

I know the importance of family history especially regarding manic depression and affective disorders, so today when I talked to Mama, she was reminiscing her childhood and stuff.. I asked her what was her parents' temperament like and how was their personality. I asked her, when she thinks of me, could she see how my behavior is like someone from our family..

She said no. She says that her side generally was positive people, but all quite relaxed except her mother and herself. She says her mother was quite active and worked a lot in lots of jobs and was stressing herself out very much.
My mom used to be the same, spontaneous and work a lot and travel a lot etc.. but she was highly passionate about life as I am sometimes, she never felt so exuberant and manic-like.
Father whom I didn't get to meet because stupid reasons.. she described him as more reserved and his whole family as reserved.

So.. I'm thinking I'm adopted, lulz.
Nobody was depressed, or at least according to mom's report.
Nobody was highly exuberant.

Just asking questions about myself, seeking answers that might shed some light.

Anyone here also is the 'first' to have affective disorder in the family?

[Hashi/bipolar mom]

My mom was never diagnosed but she came from a generation that you just weren't diagnosed unless you were psychotic or needed to be in a hospital. My mom was always manic. She would all of a sudden just jump in the car and drive. She never sat down. I would say that when she wasn't manic, the other side was unreasonable anger. That was kind of her depression. BTW, she is a devout nut of a cult (one that is accepted today, but jokes are made of). She also is obsessed with not owning antiques or anything from family members that she doesn't agree with their lifestyle. Ugh. She has always felt misunderstood her whole life. So, yeah, I think I definitely got it from her. I'm also on the low side of the spectrum. Fathers side was pretty normal but from my understanding his mom was a bit unusual too (didn't interact much with her).

[LettinG0]

I have no one diagnosed in my family.....but if I had to "guess" it came from my father.

[Mountainbard]

I don't have anyone diagnosed either. I do know that having antecedents who do have bipolar make it more likely that their offspring will have it, but also that it is possible to have bipolar even if there's no family history.

[scatterbrained04]

I'm the first to be diagnosed in my family. Lucky me lol

[hopeless2015]

Yeah no one in my family diagnosed either but my dad was definitely bipolar and pretty sure my brother is to

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[wildflowerchild25]

No one in my family is diagnosed but I heard my great grandmother put her head in the oven literally one day. My grandfather came home and found her. My grandfather was a miserable man and an alcoholic. My mother suffered from severe depression for all my life and now that I'm experienced in bipolar I see definite cycling. She doesn't go as high as me but she gets on these cleaning sprees and goes out shopping at midnight and things like that.

[HALLIEBETH87]

Aside from anxiety...I'm the first! Yay! I'm a pioneer woman, pal!

[raspberrytorte]

I'm the first diagnosed in my family too. But on both sides there is depression and anxiety.

[Ocean Swimmer]

Both parents alcoholics. Both prone to both manic and depressed behavior. 1/2 brother self medicated with drugs. Other 1/2 brother a type A personality. Lives in another state. I don't see him much.
Grandparents and Mom had a fit when I considered having children. Said I had a great life, why ruin it?
I married a man who didn't want children. So I don't have kids. Neither do either of my 1/2 brothers. One married a lady with kids, but has none of his own.

[Secretum]

I'm the first to be diagnosed with bipolar, but my brother has been diagnosed with depression. My mom is probably at least cyclothymic. My grandma is insistent that no one else in our family has mental problems, and that my brother and I are being "selfish" to make people worry about us for no good reason, and that we just need to "choose to be happy". My biological maternal grandfather, whom I've never met, cheated on my grandmother and has had some very nasty, irritable behaviors that could have, maybe, stemmed from dysphoric hypo/mania. And I have a great-uncle or something who was arrested for running around outside naked. But every family has someone like that, lol.

I have a very small family-a mother, a father, a brother, one uncle, and grandparents. I have no cousins.

[Hashi/bipolar mom]

Originally Posted by Secretum

I'm the first to be diagnosed with bipolar, but my brother has been diagnosed with depression. My mom is probably at least cyclothymic. My grandma is insistent that no one else in our family has mental problems, and that my brother and I are being "selfish" to make people worry about us for no good reason, and that we just need to "choose to be happy". My biological maternal grandfather, whom I've never met, cheated on my grandmother and has had some very nasty, irritable behaviors that could have, maybe, stemmed from dysphoric hypo/mania. And I have a great-uncle or something who was arrested for running around outside naked. But every family has someone like that, lol.

I have a very small family-a mother, a father, a brother, one uncle, and grandparents. I have no cousins.

This made me laugh my *** off! I needed that!

[jacky8807]

And if you don't have a family member that runs around outside naked .....you may BE that family member!

[jacky8807]

I have a lot of everything mixed in oon both sides. Bipolar ADHD aspergers psychotic disorders depression anxiety addiction

I'm pretty sure my parents should have looked at their combined genes and used a condom lol!

[jacky8807]

Actually when my dad got with mty stepmom she had a little glimse of wanting a child
My dad was like. I'm not spreading these genes around anymore!
I think I should have felt insulted lol

[wiretwister]

no dx but my mother was a total loon .....

[alincdytyourmeds]

I don't have a close family. A bunch of Alcoholics. But an uncle of mine did seem to have the traits and unfortunately killed himself. So I'd say yes it was there, but no one would talk about it. I just got dx'd last year at 44. Both my older kids have suffered a little depression and I think my son my just have some hypo, but nothing uncontrollable. My youngest is really too young to tell.

[BipolaRNurse]

I'm the only diagnosed bipolar in my family, but my mother was almost certainly BP and there's a long history of depression and alcoholism going back at least two or three generations. We were supposed to be the perfect family per my social-climber parents so there was no mental illness and no substance abusers . Yeah, right!

[bbTofu]

My family won't ever mention anything related to feelings and emotions let alone speak about mental illness, if mentioned it is regarded as weakness and lack of power of will/laziness..
Seeing a therapist? stop talkin' about it and just do something with your life.. Instead of playing the piano, go and find a girl to marry already you're ******* 26 y/o...
I'm happy that at least my mother is more understanding ..

Back to topic, I'm quite surprised - I thought that you're more likely to find BP traits that run in family than not.

[SingDanceRunLife]

I can't say for sure since I'm adopted...but my birth mother says she's got nothing wrong with her, she didn't say my birth father had any history, and she herself was adopted, so I'm sure she can't go back any farther than herself...so I may be the first.

[cashart10]

I'm certain none of my parents or siblings have it. My sister also has anxiety that she struggles with often. A first cousin on my mom's side has my same diagnosis but no one else that I'm aware of. However, my mom is confident that her dad was not only an alcoholic but also bipolar.

[Unrigged64072835]

My dad's mother was diagnosed bipolar and put in a nursing home so she wouldn't kill herself. My dad had definite bipolar traits but was never diagnosed. Mom was an alcoholic and her family was pretty quiet. They were more concerned about cancer than mental illness. Although I wasn't diagnosed with bipolar until 2013, I had a depression diagnosis for over twenty years.

[Takeshi]

Family stuff, I shoulda asked when I had the chance. One uncle killed himself, that's what I've heard. I grew up in a family where no one talks about their feelings, like no one EVER does that. I always thought that was normal, but if I think about it now and if that were biologically(?) unhealthy situation to be in, for a soul like mine, and there were no spiritual life there at all, I believe that may have contributed to what I think I may have right now. No one in my family looked happy.

ETA: I believe that where I'm from has a lot shorter history of study/research into mental illnesses, and we eat fish, less bipolar! All bull crap, man. Sry, my head keeps hurting me and this is a great thread, I'm learning stuff.

[Woolly Bugger]

Met my biological father when I was 21. He was bipolar and an alcoholic. His mother (my grandmother) and brother (uncle) were both mentally ill, but he did not specify BP. My bio uncle suffered all of his life and eventually killed himself. Thirty years later, I discovered that this bio dad of mine, with whom I had severed all relations, had fathered another son out of wedlock -- my half-brother. I met this half-brother two or three times, and learned that two of his four children (my bio niece and nephew) were bipolar, one to the point of hospitalization. As for myself, one of my three adult daughters is diagnosed BP, but does not take any treatment for it. I guess you could say that it runs in the family.

Originally Posted by bbTofu

... Anyone here also is the 'first' to have affective disorder in the family?

First to have? Ummm, woops, I mean, no. First to be dx'd? Who knows? They'd never talk about it if they were. My family operated as if such things did not exist. Nothing to see here!

Except, of course, that there was. Plenty. For starters, it's clear to anyone who has ever lived with my mother that she is very unbalanced. Yet even many years later, as an adult, my sister started to ask a question (not to her --to grandparent, we lived with them growing up) merely at the sidelines of the issue, and the subject was immediately changed. THAT door was not to be opened.

So it comes down to pondering various traits and incidents. The evidence is there. On both sides. Even setting that aside, my mother alone would be a slam dunk alphabet soup if she'd ever admitted anything or sought help.

Originally Posted by Hashi/bipolar mom

My mom was never diagnosed but she came from a generation that you just weren't diagnosed unless you were psychotic or needed to be in a hospital...

Exactly. And even then there's a good chance it wouldn't be discussed beyond those directly involved, not even other relatives.