Originally Posted by
Hell's Shadow
Also, both of my parents are really stressed out already and i don't know what this would do to them, even if they believe me.
How do your parents handle stress? Do they pass it on to you? A lot of things that get blamed on genetics is just people passing on their emotional baggage to their kids. Each person over-reacts to an injustice and cant face the original bully so they dump on the person they feel safe with - and thats often family - and especially the kids
Bad emotions can be like hot potatos people like to pass on. A boss can yell at a dad, dad then comes home to yell at mom, mom then yells at the kids - the kids kick the dog - or maybe self harm.
Indeed, a lot of problems that show up in kids actually have their roots in other peoples issues - who project the problems into kids. A parent who cant handle stress will often stress out their kids. If the parent was also a drinker who used drinking to ease the pain of being anxious/guilty/over-reactive then it would be no wonder their kid could become a drinker as well . Blaming genetics is often an excuse imo.
If you were bipolar I would bet you grew up with a lot of stresses. You are not your feelings and emotions - they should be an extension of you and not you an extension of them. But you can fall into them and get stuck be often compulsively over-reacting. Its like a car that fishtails. A car starts to slide in one direction and then the drive tries to go in the other direction and the car goes from one extreme to another. Of course exaggerated emotions will make for exaggerated thoughts and vice versa and you can get stuck in the limo in between. If you learn the skills of moderating your reactions you can find yourself again and Ive seen it happen.