Adoption and mental illness, any connection?

Question

I was diagnosed with borderline personality, obsessive compulsive, and bipolar disorders, but I'm not sure if these have any link to being adopted. I'm functional and normal in many ways, but have an undercurrent of anxiety, dysphoria, and, on occassion, a really harsh manic episode.

These diagnoses are so easy to make that anyone could get diagnosed in the right mood. I held back, and this is what came out of the doctor. I've seen a lot of posts where people talk about being bipolar and adopted, and I wanted to take an informal survey from adoptees regarding their contact with the psych-related professions. Also, has anyone here every been diagnosed with RAD or AD?

Answer 1

i have depression from time to time. it may have to do with adoption, i only say this because as soon as i started dealing with all my emotions. my depression has calmed down some. now i just need to work on my trust and fear of rejection. anyway i do think that adoption can play a part with some people regarding mental illness. let your doctor and yourself find what can help and what can be done. you may get some insentive answers on hear saying there is no connection, don't read too much into them. we all deal with our adoption differently, so we can't really say what is related or not

Answer 2

No and the really sad thing is because Adoptees DO have many similar problems to what you are describing often they would be misdiagnosed as being mental and they would be locked up.

Even today there are children out there who are misdiagnosed put on to all sorts of horrible medications that are really not necessary in MANY cases, when it all comes down to them being ripped from their mother.

Some of your issues are probably to do with being adopted and then the other issues would be genetic, and or the way your brain is wired.

I wish you the very best in finding your path to health and I do encourage you to see a counselor that specializes in adoption, you may find that it helps a lot with your other issues

((hugs))

Answer 3

Hi um I'm a birthmom and a full-time mom of 4 kids.The one that is adopted was diagnosed with ADD when he 5 or around 5.My son that is 7 recently was diagnosed with adhd/icd(impulse control disorder)insomnia,and has phonolgical disorders.I think my mom had some problems and I 'm sure I do too.I think genetics play a major role in mental illnesses.

Answer 4

Borderline Personality Disorder

Bi Polar Disorder

Anorexia Nervousa

Attachment Disorder

Anxiety Disorder

Unmedicated, coping well, functioning member of society, successful in my career, d**n good parent and person.

Mental illness is not a death sentence. It doesn't mean you can't function well as a person. It means you have to work a little harder and be more open to self understanding.

Answer 5

You may be genetically pre-disposed, but "nurture" can be the determining factor. There's no consensus in the medical community about alot of things.

MANY people are given the diagnosis "borderline personality." Doctors have to give you a diagnosis after a certain amount of time. They also have a vested financial interest in keeping you on medication and having you as a patient.

Quit reading books about what is "wrong" with you. Find a doctor that will let you tell about something that happened, how you handled it, and help you understand what you could have done differently. I use to see "shrinks" and just go on and on about my problems and relive my past. I finally found one that at the end of each session would do this with me. I relearned behavior that I wasn't taught. It's not brain surgery. You can change your behaviors and change your life.

Fake it until you make it. Don't be sucked into a bunch of diagnosis and let that define you. Over time all theories and treatments change.

I don't have time now, but if you want more information on this subject, email me. Also, I want to tell you about a new treatment, drug-free on how to overcome obsessive compulsive behavior.

Change your behaviors and you'll change the way people react to you. Change what you think, and you'll change the chemical make-up in your brain.

Did you grew up in a home where you saw a parent who  threw rages, or didn't teach you how to handle conflicts and "spoiled" you, by not properly discipling you when you got out of control? At this time you may not know what "proper" behavior is. There is hope.

I hope to hear from you.

Answer 6

No. Being adopted has nothing to do with bipolar disorder. It's genetic and is the only way you can have it.

Answer 7

I am the adoptive mother of 2 siblings from foster care. Their mother has mental health issues that were not evaluated because she refused to have them evaluated. Likely her drug and alcohol abuse is a form of "self medication".

Some mental health issues are genetic some are not.

Our little girl is 10 and I have been her mother for 5 years. We have NOT found it easy to have a correct diagnosis of our little girls issues--and the fact it has been so difficult has really meant that she has suffered.

She has had two Mental health hospitalization--14 months of Psychiatric Children's day treatment and 3 months of residential treatment as well as level 3 family preservation services from CPS (this is generally ordered only in an effort to find a way to keep children with their families rather then placing them in long term mental health hospitals)

Everyone seems to assume that our daughter suffers from either genetic mental health problems (her diagnosis list includes: Possible Bipolar, Possible sociopath) She has also been diagnosised with other things ***Related*** to abuse and neglect (PTSD. Possible Shaken Baby Syndrome, starvation, sexual abuse)

So with first the genetic possibilities: Because doctors assume that a woman who has 5 children taken and placed for adoption must have some kind of mental illness...

Then it is assumed that the trauma of child abuse and neglect causes other issues along with being moved around and finally placed for adoption...

In the end however--MRI's and PET Scans show she has brain damage which goes back to the prenatal alcohol exposure and why a woman would drink and use drugs while pregnant....

The only conclusive things that anyone can agree on for her issues are the she has brain damage (ARND--Alcoholc Related Neurodevelopmental Disorders) and Reactive Attachment Disorder....

But, Attachment disorders are also common for people with brain damage and some mental health issues -- even for people who have PTSD....

So...in a nutshell this is kind of the Chicken and Egg issue...Was our daughter and her four other siblings hurt by someone who was completely fine and used drugs and abused them? Or is our daughter suffereing from underlying genetic mental health issues that led her mother to self-medicate?

All we know is that we love a little girl with a list of diagnosis that is longer then she is tall...many point to genetics...many to life expereince and exposure and others to actual damage done to her own body--mind--and heart....

It's hard to know and when it all comes to helping her it doesn't matter that much why she is the way she it--it just matters that we help her live the way she can....

Answer 8

I'm a labor and delivery nurse and used to work in a mental health hospital. A lot of times kids are taking aware at birth mostly after when the mom is unable ot take care of their kids due to their illness. Borderline is usually caused by some trauma in your life i.e. child, sexual abuse, rape, etc and you process this event a little different than others. Bipolar is a genetic disorders and someone I'm sure has it if not multiple people in your bio family. OCD can be genetic also. So therefore yes there is probably a high incident of being adopted  and bipolar. As a lot of bipolars go through their maniac phase get very sexual and there you go. Good luck hope you find good counseling a meds.

Answer 9

There a lot of doctors out there who will diagnos you with what you want them to. When I was a teen all my friends were on depression medications and I felt left out. I filled out a 20 question survey with the answers that would make me look borderline depressed, but not serious enough to a point where I would need counceling.

I can lie to a doctor and tell him of my obsessive personality, how I feel sad all day and wish to die, and how I have crazy highs and lows. Guess what? I can get a whole array of medications I don't need. This has nothing to do with who gave birth to me. This has to do with my ability to act.

EVERYONE has anxiety. The happiest person in the world does. On occasion everyone has problems. Unless it is affecting your daily life, to the point where you can't even function, then it isn't an actual problem that needs a doctor's help.

People who were not taught as children how to deal with their emotions may come off as bipolar because they don't have the proper coping skills. Again, this has no correlation to who gave birth to you vs who raised you. If anything the mistaken bipolar diagnosis should go mostly to non-adopted kids because there are so many idiots out there who get pregnant then neglect their kids for 18 years.

Answer 10

Bipolar is usually a genetic disorder based down by having one or more birth parents with bipolar disorder or a severe depression disorder.  Anxiety disorders and the borderline personality disorder as well as Obessive disorders are all genetically passed down.  The average person doesn't have markers for any of those that you listed.  It is possible that you recieved the disorders from your birth parents.

Answer 11

Bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder are thought to be more genetic than learned, meaning "nature".

Borderline personality disorder however, (which is fairly rare in a male) is believed to be more related to the "nurture" aspect.  Based upon your previous question about being abused by your adoptive parent, I would venture to guess that your borderline traits come from that.  Many borderlines have a history of abuse/neglect as children.  

As to what role adoption plays in that, I'm not sure.  If bipolar disorder and OCD are genetically inherited, it's likely you'd have these problems whether or not you'd been adopted and whether or not your adoptive parents were healthy or abusive.  Adoption could be a factor in the personality disorder piece, but again, I'd attribute that more to the abuse and trauma you've suffered.

I've worked with many, many (many) borderlines in my career and I can say I've never met a borderline with a normal, healthy childhood.

Just my two cents.

Answer 12

I am sure unresolved adoption issues could possibly lead to the borderline personality disorder, and possibly the anxiety disorder as well (although I personally feel it is less likely to lead to bipolar disorder, I think bipolar is just misdiagnosed much of the time these days).

It could also be from genetics, and if you don't know much about your health history, then it is difficult to say which is which.  

I don't know if adopted people are more likely to have mental illnesses then their biological counterparts, but I have a feeling it might be slightly higher (slightly, not a lot).  Afterall, abuse and emotional trauma can lead to and trigger mental illness and that can happen in adoptive and non-adoptive families.

In the end, they are all things you can overcome, and if they are from your adoption, they are EASIER to overcome.  Once you can identify what has triggered your mental illness, it is easier to resolve the issues that cause your everyday problems.  It is much more difficult for people who cannot identify or admit to what causes their problems enviromentally.

Answer 13

There is plenty of evidence that adoptees suffer mental health related problems at a higher rate than the population in general.  

I, myself, have suffered from major depressive disorder since I was a young child.  There is no history of this in either side of my bio families.

Their are many with a pro-adoption agenda who will vehemently deny this, but the statistics don't lie.  Adoptees are disproportionately represented with mental health problems.

Answer 14

Bipolar disorder is genetic- it has nothing to do with you being adopted.  It has been proven that it is hereditary.  If there are many bipolar adoptees it is not from their adoptive family, but from their birth family.