Hi,

You may be too young to remember this, but… A long time ago, there was this song that had lyrics in the chorus that went something like this:

And she’s got (walk) personality

(talk) personality

(charm) personality

(style) personality

…and it goes on from there, listing all kinds of assets of having a good personality. But what is a personality, really? And what does it have to do with bipolar disorder?

Well, some people say that you’re born with the personality that you have. But some researchers say that your personality is formed by the environment you grow up in, and that it is formed early. So that would mean that if you grow up in a warm, nurturing home environment, you would have a friendly, outgoing personality, because you would probably have good self-esteem.

And, likewise… If you grow up in a bad home environment, where the parents are absent most of the time or, if they are there, and they don’t pay attention to you or (at the worst) are abusive to you, you have a withdrawn, or negative personality, and you probably have poor self-esteem.

See, it is true that bipolar disorder is a chemical imbalance in the person’s brain; however, some researcher’s also believe that there is an environmental element to it. In other words, like I was saying, how you were raised could have something to do with it.

Here’s the way I see it, how your loved one’s personality could affect their bipolar disorder.

If they were raised in a good home environment, they probably learned to look at problems head-on, as something that can be solved. That’s what good self-esteem does for you – It tells you that you can handle anything.

So, in the case of your loved one, if they have good self-esteem to begin with, when they start to

go into a bipolar depressive episode, for example, they would be more prone to stay the “normal”

side of it, and not go “too” deep into it, needing to be hospitalized. If this is your loved one, and they are prone to bipolar depressive episodes, they will be more likely to accept when you notice this and tell them that they need help, that they should call their psychiatrist (because they probably need a medication adjustment to avoid a full-fledged episode). That’s because someone with good self-esteem respects themselves, so they can, in turn, respect someone else.

This they learn early in life. They should learn it from their parents.

However, if they had a bad home life, they probably didn’t. They wouldn’t have had good coping skills modeled before them. So when faced with problems, like a bipolar depressive episode, they would be more prone to fall into them and be overwhelmed by them. If this is your loved one, then you might have your hands full. If it is, then you will know it. They will often be depressed. They might even complain a lot. They might find fault with things you do (or don’t do). They might get agitated easily. They may be irritable a lot of the time. You may feel as if there’s nothing you can do to please them. If so, remember that it is the bipolar disorder

talking, and NOT your loved one. And remember our cardinal rule: Don’t take it personally!

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave