If you love someone with bipolar and this person has children… the children can have bipolar as well.
Here are a few tips to help you navigate this tricky situation.
1. Bipolar is GENETIC. The child either has it or doesn’t. But this doesn’t mean it is going to express itself. In order to make sure a child with bipolar in the family never gets the kind of bipolar that comes from an outside substance, please do the following.
– No SSRI or SNRI antidepressants ever. This is a solid NEVER when there is bipolar in the family.
– No steroids of any kind. Always look for alternatives. Steroids greatly increase the risk of genetic bipolar becoming active bipolar.
– NO CANNABIS. I can’t stress this enough. Today’s weed has very high THC and this THC leads to bipolar symptoms including mania and psychosis. Drinking is a better choice if a person insists on using a substance. I don’t recommend any CBD products as they are too tainted with THC in my opinion.
– No travel without a good plan in case a young person gets sick in a foreign country.
– Teach all children of people with bipolar the symptoms of bipolar. Get them involved in a family management plan starting as soon as they can talk .
This is a good place to start. My nephew David is 16. I’ve taught him all of this since age 4. I did it in a non fearful, exploratory, let’s be detectives about the brain manner.
The following article from my Psychology Today blog is an example of how I teach parents to talk to kids about suicidal thoughts. You can use a similar process for all bipolar mood swings.
