Did You Inherit Bipolar (or Your Condition(s))

Looooooong history of MI in father's family...he was manic/depressive (Bipolar hadn't been invented yet back then) and a mean, nasty, self-medicating drunk. Physically/mentally/sexually abusive. Entire family was off kilter!
Mother depressive/submissive/alcoholic. Couldn't care for her children...but she kept having more...six in all...all with MI's.
I'm done ranting.....

I don't know if my ancestors had mental illness. There was lots of alcoholism and sexual abuse of children in the family tree. No official diagnosis, but most of them were dirt poor and going to the doctor even for childbirth didn't happen often. I suspect there was illness. I am one of 6 children and we are all mentally ill. 4 bipolar, and 2 with anxiety and panic attacks. 4 of them also have alcohol and drug abuse issues.

My grandmother, my mother, my sister, and me all have diagnoses of either depression or Bipolar. Schizophrenia is also an addition for my sister and me-I am not sure if the concentration of the genetic makeup is getting stronger, or the diagnostic process is changing.
Bluemountains

Three of my first cousins were diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder with substance abuse. Sadly, the one passed away due to drug-related causes. I believe my one uncle had Bipolar 1. He's had episodes where he has taken risks of epic proportions, but he never stuck with treatment. Impulsivity is a serious trait among my family members, and there's a lot of substance-related problems.

My mother never suffered from addiction, but her moods are very erratic and affected me a lot growing up, so who knows. My grandfather wasn't a believer in psychiatry and it was stigmatized back then, otherwise, I think earlier interventions would have made a big difference. My brother gets severe anxiety, where he gets delusional beliefs and fixations as well.

I inherited my addictive behaviors from my dads side. He’s one of 10 kids and they’re all drinkers or recovering. My aunt on that side has anxiety so bad that she won’t leave the house and her husband has to take care of her. It’s kind of sad but I get it.

I have a history of mental health disorders on both parents sides of my family. My mother has two cousins with schizophrenia who have been living in an inpatient facility since I was a little girl. They won't ever be able to live on their own. My uncle has bipolar disorder and is also an alcoholic. On my father's side, my father himself has severe mental illness but has always not only refused to seek treatment but also refuses to admit he has an illness. Whatever he has includes some malignant narcissism as well as probable psychosis and a rage disorder. His mother was addicted to heroin when she was pregnant with him. Interestingly, he has never had a drug or alcohol problem, but he definitely has mental illness. I was no doubt born with mental illness. I've felt different and behaved differently from as far back as I can remember. I've been seeing a mental health doctor in one form or another since I was 5 years old (I'm 40 now). One doctor I saw at age 5 diagnosed me with "manic depression" (the old term for bipolar disorder) and wanted to put me on lithium, and my mother chose to stop taking me to psychiatrists at such a young age, so we stuck to therapists, counselors, and psychologists. My mother decided to leave it up to me, once I became an adult, to seek out care with a psychiatrist if I wanted to. She did the best she could with the knowledge available to her in the 80s and early 90s. Growing up was a struggle. Looking back, she wishes she had taken me to a psychiatrist once I hit my teen years. There were several instances where I probably should have been hospitalized, but even that wasn't something that was done in 80s/90s Alabama. My mother was in way over her head with me and, unfortunately, she had two other daughters she had to raise, as well. Thankfully, if there is some kind of genetic component to mental illness, it didn't affect my sisters or my children.