All relationships are sometimes challenging. Diseases such as bipolar disorder, commonly known as manic depression, add extra difficulty and stress, both in the family and to other loved ones. If bipolar parents find that their child also has the disease, there may be a sense of guilt and a challenge to deal with the disease itself.

Is manic depression a hereditary?

Despite the widespread misunderstanding in the public, the question of whether bipolar disorder is hereditary has been well studied and documented. If you have a relative with a bipolar disorder, you have an 85%-90% chance of developing the disease.

Approaching people with bipolar disorder, understanding the disease and understanding the steps taken when mood swings occur can create stress and confusion and create significant pressure on the relationship. To support bipolar people, a relationship of trust and respect is a big help because of the establishment of an action plan, what to do if there is a warning sign, and how to best communicate.

People with bipolar emotions and their loved ones may take some time to adapt to the disease, accept the long-term nature of the disease and its impact on interpersonal relationships. It is important to recognize that bipolar emotional illness does not define this person, but rather has a wealth of information about the disease and knows what helps to help all parties involved.

If you have bipolar disorder or are close to a bipolar disorder, the Moodswings website provides disease resources and an online self-help program.

Or, if you are a loved one, partner or friend, experienced in dealing with bipolar disorder in loved ones, and would like to help develop guidelines that may be useful to caregivers in similar situations, see the MoodSwings Caregiver section.

Successfully responded to bipolar relations was originally published on Spring