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

Did you inherit bipolar (or your condition(s)).
are you much like your family members?

I did. I’m not like my mom, but she was diagnosed bipola (and later schizophrenic—which I didn’t agree with; shwas paranoid though). And she was textbook BPD.

Part of why I denied my diagnosis was that I’m not like her. I didn’t know much about bipolar or how people just don’t fall into clean buckets.

Yikes, I just edited because I realized I wrote something that could be a trigger. Sorry if you saw that. I don’t know how to do the trigger hide, so I deleted it.

My BP son did. I am not sure if I did. My dad has a mood disorder and anxiety but I don't think he has ever been diagnosed as BP. But I don't know.

Sorry to hear about your mother. That must've been very difficult.

But to answer the question: no, not that I know of, so I have no one to compare myself to. That's mostly why I tend to go in denial about my Dx. Then of course the denial leads to me going off my meds etc..

My brother, Aunt and cousin have all been diagnosed with BP.

I'm the O Ly one in my family diagnosed with bp and while some family members are supportive I have a sister who acts like I run away from the smallest of stress to the hospital when actually I'm in psychosis or something else serious. She doesn't understand and my days she probably isn't even willing to.

I have zero history of MI in my family. I was thinking the tooth fairy gave it to me lol

Yeah, unfortunately. My father was bipolar. Thankfully, my symptoms don't manifest the way his did--he got really mean, brutal and at times downright sadistic.

So at least there's that. But I'm still really really really ashamed that I ran a bunch of credit cards during my mania and am really trying to deal with the fallout from it.

My great grandfather was Bipolar I, 5 of his 8 kids (including my grandma were bipolar), my aunt and uncle are, I am and some of my cousins are. It's super hereditary. We also have a lot of substance use disorders, anxiety disorders, ocd, and depressive disorders. My genetics are terrible. Combine that with all my childhood trauma and I didn't have a chance.

nope.

the only link other than myself is that my aunt's boyfriend (not even in the family), hanged himself because of bipolar

but only 1 in the actual family

I read a wonderful memoir once about a man who travels to Ireland to explore the roots of inherited schizophrenia in his family.

Anyway, I suspect my dad was bipolar. My mom had BPD and extreme anxiety. My uncle had OCD really severely. Mental health issues definitely run in my family.

as for my other conditions, well, mixture of bad upbringing and horific abuse

Oh, my goodness. Classic BP2 here.

My mom was diagnosed as BP1 when I was 12. Had to be tied down and evacuated. Not that anyone I the family would tell me what was going on at the time. They just shipped me off.

Dad was undiagnosed BP2 in my opinion, but he covered it by self- medication with alcohol. He's not with us anymore.

Other traces?

Great-great grandfather did time in San Quentin for murder. Didn't like how much his neighbour's dog barked.

Maternal grandfather had to be incarcerated in state mental hospital for undiagnosed mental instability for years.

Paternal family line is subject to epilepsy, depression, and suicide.

I'm afraid there's no denying some genetic component. My parents brought together two sick, brilliant families.

They say the odds of inheriting BP when only one parent has it are 30-40%. When two parents have it, 70-80%.

My lucky sister rolled the dice and came up straight.

Not so lucky me

I am the only one diagnosed in my family.

My half brother, my sister and I have all been dx.'d bipolar or SZA. My younger sister would be Dx'd so would both my parents. My grandma told me they didn't have mental health when she was younger. giving me the hint that her or grandpa suffered. My parents are gambling addicts and have an uncle who use to be an alcoholic.

My dad is bipolar and I am very much like him. We have a lot of mental illness on his side of the family. My one son is very much like me although he is very young I worry for him. Talking to my dad the other day he told me he never experienced the types of things I have, my more extreme mania I guess or the suicidal thoughts(which I basically have most of the time whether I am too happy or too sad). That made me feel pretty bad to know that I am actually worse than him, that sounds selfish but it's just how I feel

A lot of family with depression, and one cousin with bipolar. Never having kids though, can't bear to put another soul through this.

I wish I knew..I'm adopted. It would be nice to know where it came from.

I’m the only one who has ever been treated for openly mental illness in my family. Every one else is very hush hush. However, I know my great grandmother stuck her head in the oven (my grandfather walked in on her and saved her). My grandfather is a recovered alcoholic. My uncle is a current alcoholic. I strongly suspect my mother has BP 2. She definitely had severe depression my entire childhood. And she’s a recovered alcoholic. My brother suffers from depression and anger issues, but that’s due to our neglectful childhood.

So yeah, I’m the only one who admits to my illness and isn’t shy about getting treatment. I probably have the most severe symptoms out of everyone.

From both sides. Statistically one of my siblings and I did not have a chance of all being ok. I was the one who wasn't, although my siblings have their own issues.

I would also point out that we are an extended family of high achievers, and I suspect much of it has been driven by the "beneficial" aspects of The Condition. Let's be blunt: if one is fortunate, one has a heck of a lot of energy.

Please forgive the below: I offer these only as examples of how my extended family, even though burdened by The Condition, has also succeeded.

That is, one may bear The Condition upon one's shoulders, and yet sometimes The Condition may lift one above everything on wings of its own. It has done so for me. It has treated me well.

For other examples in my afflicted family:

My mother and her sibs all have doctorates and are professors of medicine or otherwise work in highly technical fields.

My father completed his master's in nuclear engineering and his MBA within three years from MIT.

I am an international consultant in a gruesomely technical field that, frankly, you don't want me to explain.

My cousins are bank presidents, software engineers, senior executives, pastors, and inner-city teachers.

Honestly, this sounds just so arrogant and boastful, and I apologize for that. I truly believe that we have only been able to reach these achievements due to the inherent energy that The Condition can imbue one with. Perhaps it's not hypomania, but our throttle is set on high. We've been lucky.

Nonetheless, we have also had successful suicides and multiple attempts, mortal depressions, disabling vertigo, and just jacked-up weird-*** stuff happen in our familial/emotional/bipolar lives. Our brains ain't right. My wonderful kick-*** little nephew drowned himself in a pool three feet deep. Takes some energy.

So what are we to say? The Bitter Angel both blesses and curses, and we're bound to her embrace no matter what.

What a life.

I got it from my mom who, to this day, is still in denial that she has a mental illness.

A lot of mood disorders on maternal and paternal sides. Lots of heavy drinking, hypomania, anxiety, untreatable depressions. My nieces and nephews suffer the same.

I am one of two who seek help. The rest are in denial and drink heavily.


WC

My mother is undiagnosed bipolar. She has mood swings from depression to mania where she sleeps only 2-3 hours and is irritable and angry most of the time. I feel bad for her. I wish she took medication but she absolutely refuses to admit she has a problem. She does not work and is thinking at her age-80's of becoming a best-selling author although she does not write that well. She has a tendency to be on the grandiose side. I used to think it was a curse to have a mother like her but when I became ill, it all made sense to me. She chose her path. I am choosing mine now and could not be happier.

No mental health disorders officially diagnosed in the family. But a lot of anxiety between my siblings and my Mum