early adulthood. My grandma has extremely bad bi-polar and narcissism she also had slight schizophrenia that was getting bad until she was put in the psy ward of the hospital and forced to take meds. Bi-polar is pretty bad in my family. My grandma and her sister both have it, my aunt has it, my cousin was schizophrenic and had to go to a mental home. I am 21 right now and am in college am I old enough that if I was bi-polar or schizophrenic I would know by now?
I'm not sure the exact cause is known. These things run in families, so it may have a genetic link. It's probably a combination of both genetics and environment (which means life experience and the impact from them).
There is not an expiration date on when these things can emerge in someone. The best things you can do is to take good physical care of yourself–diet, exercise, sleep, stress management (stress is a big trigger for a lot of mental health issues, and I believe that it can be one of the "environmental" links that can bring on symptoms, if the genetic link is also there). Another thing you can do is to get an annual physical exam. Your physician is your best friend in all this. Your physican can help you monitor your physical and mental health, and if you have a bad patch along the line that causes you worry, the doctor can get you more help, if needed, or just reassure you.
My father was bi-polar, and he committed suicide when I was 19. I do all the things I've told you to do, and at 56 I'm loping along pretty good. Do your best, and have a back up plan–that's what I always say. 
I hope that helps.
December 4th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
drug use can trigger it
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December 4th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
I'm not sure the exact cause is known. These things run in families, so it may have a genetic link. It's probably a combination of both genetics and environment (which means life experience and the impact from them).
There is not an expiration date on when these things can emerge in someone. The best things you can do is to take good physical care of yourself–diet, exercise, sleep, stress management (stress is a big trigger for a lot of mental health issues, and I believe that it can be one of the "environmental" links that can bring on symptoms, if the genetic link is also there). Another thing you can do is to get an annual physical exam. Your physician is your best friend in all this. Your physican can help you monitor your physical and mental health, and if you have a bad patch along the line that causes you worry, the doctor can get you more help, if needed, or just reassure you.
My father was bi-polar, and he committed suicide when I was 19. I do all the things I've told you to do, and at 56 I'm loping along pretty good. Do your best, and have a back up plan–that's what I always say.
I hope that helps.
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December 4th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
we are all prone to mental breakdown that can then lead to mental health issues i can see you are worried. talk to your g.p if you stress too much you will make yourself ill.
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December 4th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
well, this is what most people don't understand.
it develops anytime it wants to.
i developed it when i was 15 [i'm 17 now] and i know of someone who has an 11 year old daughter with bipolar disorder.
and i mean, it can also develop later than 21…
you may never know. but you do have the recessive gene.
maybe dominant if it happens to you.
does your siblings have it? if so, there's a 50% chance of having it…25% chance of having it if your parents have it.
but you're overthinking it i guess….
mental disorders run in my moms side of the family….
and ADD/ADHD on my dads side. i have ADHD[my dad has it, but doesn't need meds] one of my sisters has ADD[not a base case to a point where it needs to be treated]…i have bipolar disorder type I, my mom has depression and anxiety, some great uncles and great aunts have schizophrenia and bipolar disorder…
i honestly do not know about narcissism being genetic or not, i'd haveta look that one up [i guess because i have BP and ADHD, psychology is so interesting to me] but i've searched everywhere to see what causes it….but it's just a mutation in the genes.
and another way of developing a mental disorder is by alcohol and drugs. so stay away from that crap.
but if you're physically and mentally healthy, continue with your life and be thankful you're a lucky one!
oh….
about the environmental thing.
bipolar disorder and schizophrenia wouldn't be enviromental…i mean if that lady was talking about drugs and alcohol, then yes. but if you wanna say some disorders are caused by your surroundings that's true. like social anxiety, for instance, my ex has a bad case of social anxiety[was a lucky one and was the only one she was/is comfortable with] and her mom, my ex, and i think it's because of her parents divorce and how her dad was such an ass and never let her see her mom [thank god she doesn't live with him, only every other weekend] but it could also be genetic too because she has depression also, anddd her mom has anxiety and depression also.
so who knows really..
but like i said, BP and schizophrenia…i doubt it can be developed by anything except drugsand alcoholic and mutated genes.
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December 4th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
You probably would have had an idea you had something by now. Any type of medications you've taken could have set you off. Any major incidents in your life could have brought it out too.
Genetics plays the biggest part of it. It is a gooddetermining factor along with the behaviors. Now, meds are easily tolerated with little side effects. I understand what you are going through. It is a tough illness and it is horrible watching someone go through the depression and mania. They usually resist getting help.
Excellent post by Comebackkidxx! He said it all!!!
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December 4th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Well first of all schizophrenia and bipolar disorder isn't the same.
I can only give you advise on schizophrenia here. Schizophrenia usually starts in the midtwens by men and in the thrities by women, schizophrenia in teens is usually cause by drugabuse, schizophrenia by kids is very rare. Both, men and women can get it equally and suddenly or in a upbuilding process.
What the cause of schizophrenia is, remains unclear to the science. There are various theories though, the most popular one is a positive genetic picture paired with troubling lifevents or excessive stress. The theory believes it needs BOTH to make the illness coming through. Another theory, more neurologistic, is that schizophrenia is caused by an overproduction of dopamin in the brain. Dopamin also develops in unnatural highs when you would use LSD or similar drugs. generally speaking, to get schizophrenia it doesn't take much, but to make it obvious and break out is another thing.
If you have the genetic background to get schizophrenia (i really can't speak for bipolar disorder) it would take a big lifechanging event or excessive stress to MAYBE make it seen. But maybe you arn't a hypersensitive person. Scientist believe that only people who are emotionally instabile will suffer from schizophrenia, what would explain that the "genious scientist" is so stuck in peoples head, people with excessive cognetive abilities are often blessed with a high awareness of emotional disbalances by others.
So I wouldn't worry too much, you might have a genetically higher risk but that doesn't mean you will get it by any costs.
Hope that helped a bit : )
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Suffered from schizophrenia myself.
December 4th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
I'm bipolar, so I'll address the bipolar side of this with as much as I know. I wasn't truly diagnosed until January 10th of this year, but I've been studying quite a bit since and discussing it a lot with my therapist. It is genetic. I've traced it through my family tree on my mother's side, possibly including a major historical figure, but I need to do more research on that. Recently, my therapist told me most bipolars don't get diagnosed until 40 so I'm very lucky that it was caught so early in my case. I was experiencing symptoms in high school and possibly younger than that (I have memories of self-medicating in second grade with over the counter motion sickness pills given to me by my parents for the bus ride). I'm not a psychiatrist or a psychologist, but based on my personal experience, I have a feeling that you would know something was wrong if you had either disorder. I suppose it's possible that you may be late in developing the disorders, so watch for any symptoms, but I wouldn't stress about it because of your family history. If you aren't having signs of depression and are functioning normally, enjoy college, get your degree and get the most out of life. Sitting around waiting for a disorder to come that may never come can waste what you have to offer the world. Don't let that happen.
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Decades of therapy. Research into bipolar. Personal experience.
December 4th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Well, from what I understand it is pretty much genetic. Apparently it can be triggered by drug use. One of my friends in college had been diagnosed as bi-polar when she was 19 years old. I would think you'd be seeing the signs by now. The 2 people I know who have it were diagnosed at 17 and 19.
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December 4th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
If you go to the National Institute of Health website, at http://www.nimh.nih.gov they have some booklets you can look at or download – they have a lot of information not only on bipolar and schizophrenia, but other disorders as well. Also, doing a Google search there is a lot of other information to look at as well.
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