Is there anything I can do to avoid developing bipolar disorder?

Is there anything I can do to avoid developing bipolar disorder?

Christopher Reist (Academic Psychiatrist, Co-Author of “Psychiatry”) gives expert video advice on: What's the difference between "major depression" and "bipolar disorder"?; Is there anything I can do to avoid developing bipolar disorder? and more...

There aren't any known ways to prevent bipolar disorder from developing. We understand it to be a significantly inheritable illness. However, there is some evidence that controlling the illness early on can have benefits later in life. The natural course of bipolar disorder is that as a person ages, the episodes become more severe and they become more frequent. There is some evidence to suggest that this progression can be modified if the disease is treated aggressively early on.