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Mental Disorders
Note: Our adoption application lumped all mental disorders together and only mentioned schizophrenia. I will discuss bipolar as well since that is also a common mental illness
Source of Information:
What Is It?
Bipolar: A serious mental illness with extreme changes in mood from mania to depression. (Formerly called manic-depression)
Schizophrenia: A serious mental illness, caused by a severe brain disease, that can cause hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia.
What Causes It?
Bipolar: Exact cause is unknown, but there is a significant genetic component.
Schizophrenia: Nobody knows. There appears to be a genetic link, although it might also be caused by malnutrition or exposure to a virus during pregnancy.
What Are the Symptoms/Risks?
Bipolar:
People with bipolar disorder alternately experience manic and depression symptoms, which is why the disorder has been labeled “bipolar.”
Manic symptoms:
- Energetic
- Reckless
- Restless
- Talkative
Depression symptoms:
- Crying
- Loss of energy
- Loss of pleasure
- Sadness
- Sense of worthlessness
- Sleep problems
Schizophrenia:
- Delusions
- Hallucinations
- Paranoia
- Significant lack of motivation
Is it Hereditary?
Bipolar: Yes.
Schizophrenia: It might be, although most people with schizophrenic relatives will not develop the disorder.
Diagnosable at Birth or Latent?
Bipolar: Latent.
Schizophrenia: Latent.
What Else Do I Need to Know?
Bipolar: If a family member is bipolar, other family members are at risk. However, stress is usually needed to trigger the disease. Most people never know why they develop it.
Schizophrenia: There is no cure, but the symptoms can be managed through medication and professional counseling.
What’s the Bottom Line?
There is no way to know whether either mental disorder will be passed along from birthmother to child. It appears that there is a stronger genetic link for bipolar families than for schizophrenic families.
I have friends who have parents with both disorders (two different families: one with bipolar and one with schizophrenia). None of the children (5 in all) inherited either disorder.
For more on parenting a child with mental illness, see Parenting a Child with Mental Illness (Schizophrenia)
