NeuroTalk Support Groups - Causes of Bipolar Disorder

What Causes Bipolar Disorder?
http://bipolar.about.com/cs/bpbasics..._causes_bp.htm

Quote:

...According to Durand and Barlow, most scientists believe that "psychological disorders are always the products of multiple interacting causal factors." As it relates to bipolar disorder, these causal factors are usually divided into biological and psychological explanations.

In plain English, psychopathology is the study of significant causes and processes in the development of mental illness, which means there are physical and mental / environmental / emotional causes for mental illnesses.....

Genetic Factors
Overwhelming evidence suggests that such disorders are familial and almost certainly reflect an underlying genetic vulnerability...

Neurotransmitters
The neurotransmitter system has received a great deal of attention as a possible cause of bipolar disorder.......
In short, researchers are quite certain that the neurotransmitter system is at least part of the cause of bipolar disorder, but further research is still needed to define its exact role......

Stress Triggers
The primary psychological culprit implicated in the manifestation of bipolar disorder is stressful life events.....

...So the bottom line, according to today's thinking, is that if you are manic depressive, you were born with the possibility of developing this disorder, and something in your life set it off. But scientists could refine that theory tomorrow.