Bipolar in the family Support Group

I was curious to find out why people are here. Who do you know that has bipolar disorder? Please don't feel offended by my question because it's not my intention to anyone.

In my family there are SEVERAL who have bipolar disorder.

On my dad's side: My grandpa was bipolar (he died in 2003), I have a 3rd cousin who has bipolar

On my mom's side: Myself, my sister, my uncle, my 1st cousin

My son & mother-in-law also have bipolar disorder. I suspect my mom has bipolar and that the doctor's are wrong that she's just got anxiety. She fits all the classic signs of bipolar. Anxiety, Rapid Mood Swings, Deep Depression, Insomnia, Spending Money She Doesn't Have, etc. The same goes for my dad. I'm sure there are MANY more people in my family with bipolar disorder. That is why I think we should all start a movement to raise awareness of Bipolar Disorder as a medical condition that needs research in hopes of more answers and a cure. I get so upset when the media plays bipolar as a crazy person disease. It angers me to no end but I keep quiet about it because then I'm playing into their hands. There has to be a way to raise money like they do for other things like breast cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, etc.

I come from a long line of "clinically depressed" people on my fathers side. Two aunts and a grandmother who had "nervous breakdowns" Seasonal affective disorder on my fathers side, himself included. I know both my mother and aunt(she left her four children for quite a number of years) are BP but no diagnosis. My two first cousins are schizophrenic. I have BP, ADHD, and sever Panic disorder.

I am with you on the Mental illness image the media portrays! We have NAMI and DBSA but I have been diagnosed for over 17yrs and never heard or was never told about them until I discovered MDJ and searched the internet.

Funding is a must! So many homeless people are just mentally ill people who couldn't handle life no matter the med and at one time had shelter at least in a mental institution. Now there is no where to go. In my town three of our institutions have been shut down. Tragic really!!

Well the reason I actually came to the group is because my current bouyfriend is bipolar. However I have a lot of people in my family and that have been around me my whole life that are bipolar. My father is, as well as my great grandmother was on his side. I truely suspect my grandmother is too, but she would never go to be diagnosed as she has misconceptions about going to psychiatrists. Various friends I had growing up were bipolar, including my ex best friend (Its a long story). I have dated several men before with bipolar. As I have said on other post, I often joke I am a bipolar magnet.

my aunt, son, brother have depression.

i have bipolar disorder.

my uncle is schizophrenic.

not sure whats wrong with my dad, he has been married 5 times and moves from state to state. lol

I had no experience with bp in my family or otherwise until I had a college boyfriend who was undoubtedly bipolar (undiagnosed at the time). I had no idea how to deal with the manipulation and controlling behavior. Unfortunately I think it set a pattern. I still think my ex has OCD, but he's not diagnosed. My husband has bp1; one of our sons, and probably one of our daughters has depression and anxiety. It certainly has been eye-opening to live with this. I, too, think we need more funding and support for mental illness. And I so resent those who claim to be mentally ill to justify their bad behavior, which just makes it harder for those who diligently try to keep theirs under control.

That's awful about the homeless situation in your town. On average 33% of all homeless are Vietnam war veterans. So many of them came back with PTSD which the military didn't acknowledge at the time as a real illness and then people treated them like dirt when they came back. Many of them received the help they needed so they started to drink & do drugs to self medicate. Some are on the streets because they feel they are protecting their families from violent flash backs too.

I spent 6 mos with a friend trying to help the homeless in our city. We couldn't continue to do our mission because the money wasn't there & we couldn't afford it anymore.

Maybe your dad likes variety or easily gets board. My mom has been married 4 times. It's been a struggle to keep her married to my current step dad. He's a good guy & loves her unconditionally. She gets into a deep depression & tells him she should divorce him. I swear she's bipolar but she says the doctors (not a psychologist) tell her she has anxiety & depression. I think "hello, two of your daughters & younger bother are bipolar"

moparvixen , The reason i knew that my bf had bipolar because he was honest with me up front when we met . Otherwise i would have discovered it later when he had an episode 3 months in and went off meds and that would have told me as his mood and everything changed.

My aunt,my mother in law who was undiagnosed, my ex husband and my daughter.

My little sister has biopolar and my husband. He was diagnosed 2.5 yrs ago and my sister for 15 yrs. She is 31 and my husband is 36