What happens if bipolar disorder goes untreated for a long time?

Can bipolar disorder form into a more serious mental illness? Also does anyone know why it seems that all the mental disorders involve chemical imbalances, like the dopamine hypothesis, and serotonin and all that. Psychologists always say its Genetics, though it really seems environmental factors play the biggest role. I honestly think that almost all personality, mood, and psychotic disorders are not cause by genetics, but the way people were raised and the kind of life they lead.

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/bipolar_d...

If left untreated people can cycle and their moods will escalate and then depression sets in. Genetics are involved, but I also believe enviroment plays a huge role. Good luck!!

there are a couple of extremes that an untreated bipolar disoder could lead to; the person with the disorder could make some bad decisions and wind up in prison, or he or she could grow out of it with age and maturity.

talking about chemical imbalances is what they want to talk about because it is the drug dealers and chemists who are in charge of treating the disorder. psychologists are weak and ineffective intellectuals who have thrown their hands in the air and given up hope of being useful or doing good, so when they say "it's genetic" what they are really saying is "time to give up, throw that child in the gas chamber, there's plenty more where he came from, and now I'll have a nice glass of wine please".

people are created by their environment, the life they lead, but also by genetics and personality. the way to properly treat bipolar disorder doesn't seem to be with drugs. or at least, not totally. changes in environment and attitude can make a big difference.

if my mother and aunt werent hospitalized i would agree ..
i think it is gentetic..im living proof but i can also see how you were brought up can play a large role in it

Bipolar disorder is a progressive disease of the brain. Left untreated, it gets worse. I was untreated until mid-life. It got a heck of lot worse. I now take a lot more medication because of the delay. I swing much worse and more frequently. I have had psychosis which never happened before. It does get worse and I am far from the only evidence supporting that. There have been numerous tests that show decreases in executive functioning over time. There have been studies of cadavers that show decreases in brain gray matter. Anyone who says that there is not physical change in the brain is an ignorant fool. Science is recognizing that neurotransmitters (dopamine in particular, but serotonin and norepinephrine as well) themselves probably are not directly the cause, but are involved in a cascade of events that effect calcium channels, ion channels, GABA, and other brain systems. Bipolar also very clearly runs in families. Nearly every person with the disorder has a close relative with bipolar, recurring major depression, or schizophrenia. The three are somehow inter-related, and there is much thought going into something called spectrum theory. Anyway, there obviously is a genetic component. Essentially, if you don't carry the genes odds are almost zero that you will get it. It also is believed that if you do have the genes it takes a stressful event to trigger the illness. So yes, there is a component about life events. That, however, does not mean you had a poor upbringing.

If you want to do research, try the National Institute of Mental Health's research repository. It is valid research unlike some of the unsubstantiated opinion pieces you'll find on the web.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez