CNN mental health expert Dr. Charles Raison has written an interesting and perhaps provocative answer to a reader's question, Can a person "discourage" bipolar disorder? Dr. Raison's comments regarding heredity and environment are consistent with what is known as the "Diathesis-Stress Model" as discussed in What Causes Bipolar Disorder? Most mental illnesses begin with physical factors, often inherited, that put a person at risk for developing a given disorder. Sometimes that seems to be all it takes for the illness to appear, but often stress makes the difference.
Dr. Raison's advice to shield a child who is at risk from bipolar disorder from "environmental adversity" by avoiding chronic and destructive stress, and to provide healthy physical and psychological environments, is good advice for any child. Sadly, an at-risk child often has a parent with a mental illness, so stressors may be built into the family environment. Still, whatever can be done to reduce stress in the life of a child is worth doing whether the child is at risk, not at risk, or already has bipolar disorder or another mental illness.
Dr. Raison closes by saying, "Nonetheless, if it were my child and I saw clear warning signs of bipolar disorder, I would bring the child into psychiatric treatment immediately and not hesitate to use medications if my doctor thought they were indicated." If family history indicates your child is at-risk for developing bipolar disorder, make sure you know the warning signs of childhood bipolar disorder.
http://bipolar.about.com/b/2010/06/14/can-bipolar-disorder-be-prevented.htm
