What Causes Bipolar Disorder?

(February 18, 2011)

Bipolar Disorder Causes

There is really no definite answer to the question “What causes Bipolar disorder?”. Many theories have been put forward as to what causes bipolar disorder. Studies have shown that mental illnesses are caused by a number of factors that work together. Bipolar disorder causes can be divided into physical and biological causes. This can be further broken down into genetic, biochemical and environmental factors. Before we outline the various reasons for what causes bipolar disorder, it is important to understand the disease as well.


Bipolar disorder or Manic depressive illness as it is also called is a severe, persistent and mental illness. It is a psychiatric condition where a person has recurrent episodes where there are disturbances in mood. Such episodes could range from depression to severe mania. Among the many bipolar disorder facts, one of the main ones is that such people experience hypomania along with depressive episodes. Such episodes will then pass and alternate again with normal moods. 

So what are the possible causes of bipolar disorder? Here are some of the reasons that have been put forth after extensive research on this disorder.

Genetic factors: When dealing with biological causes, the first question that comes to mind is whether bipolar disorder can be inherited. Studies have shown that in families where the disorder exists, parents, children and siblings are more likely to have this mood disorder. Identical twins are more likely to suffer from the disorder than fraternal twins. Women who suffer from this disease and are on medication during pregnancy are at a greater risk .Some recommended medication for the disease could also harm the fetus.

Stress related issues: Stressful life events fall into the category of emotional, mental and environmental causes of bipolar disorder. What exactly falls into a stress related issue cannot be clearly defined as people have different levels of handling stress. For some it could be the birth of a child, for others, death in the family or even a new job.

Neurotransmitters: It is also believed that this condition can be caused by imbalanced in certain chemicals in the brain. These are known as neurotransmitters and they are another cause of bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder can be treated with several medications. Among the list of bipolar disorder medication, Lithium carbonate was among the first to be found effective in the treatment of the disease. Keep in mind that bipolar medication is most effective when combined with a healthy lifestyle along with therapy.