Does childhood affect bipolar?

[lagatta]

I grew up in a very dysfunctional family.  Do you think emotional and physical abuse can exaggerate the problem?

[freebird227]

I believe that you can take two bi polar children raised in totally different enviorments and both the children will be bp as adults. My bp child raised in a violent enviorment didn't cause my bp...It only gave me deeper wounds to heal than perhaps the next person.But I can't concive one peron's pain being greater than the next. We all have our deamons to slay Takig bp out of the equation it only stands that when you are raised in a loving supportive enviornment  where there are healthy boundries and parents that are present to your needs ..you wil be better equipped to meet the challenges of adulthood.  God bless those parents that show up for their children.

[lagatta]

Interesting points!  I've always thought I was a product of my childhood but I can also see that my condition made my childhood experiences even worse.  I sometimes wonder what I would have been like had I grown up in a supportive environment.  The difficult part about accepting my bipolar diagnosis is that I have always shown so much promise.  I guess that's part of the highs and lows though.

[hell1971]

Everything I have read indicates that it is biological and given a predisposition to mental illness the right triggers will trigger the illness regardless of your childhood but I have to beleive that giving my children a stable ( as stable as possible ) loving supportive home will reduced the impact the illness will have on them if it does/has triggerred, I have to be focussed on teaching them coping skills. I had an unstable childhood with some traumers and a suicide attempt but I have sufferred and coped through my life and I beleive my coping stratagies I had learnt actually helped me, obviously now my coping stratagies are not cutting the mustard or the development of the illness became too strong I dont know, I have to try and be hopeful that the medications will work so that I can help my kids.  

[ILADVOCATE]

It can hasten its onset and any emotional stress, turmoil, abuse or trauma can worsen bipolar but it is genetic in origin. I think you mean exascerbate and yes that can happen when growing up in those circumstances but genetically it was going to happen anyway so its complex. They learn more each year. It would be well worth speaking to your therapist about the abuse you encountered though as that is part of recovery in addition to medication.