product of textbook bipolar (manic/depressive) mother, divorced father...brother committed suicide, i'm nearly the last and afraid for my children -- I guess I'm afraid one of them will be bipolar. As a child of a bipolar mother, i've seen some very crazy things. i don't want my children to go thru that. how do i know they are safe? my mother's on the true hope program and hasn't had an episode in 3 years, but how do i know that will be around if my children carry the bipolar gene? i'm scared. and i'm tired of listening to my mother. i don't particularly like her very much, but put up wiht her cuz she's my mother. i'd have left her for dead when i was 12 and she was running naked down a busy city street. anywone relate?

I can totally relate. However it is my father that is bi-polar. My mother divorced him when I was 8. He had been doing really well the past 7 years or so, but recently started doing drugs AGAIN, his new wife is divorcing him, he lost his job and now comes to my house everyday asking for money. I love him very much, but I'm like you I don't want my kids to experience the same things I did growing up. I too worry that they might carry the gene. I guess only time will tell. My father is the only one diagnosed with bi polar disorder in my family for several generations. Hopefully it will skip several SEVERAL more!