Human beings are social animals. Our very survival depends largely on our socialization skills. In part, this is because we are at the mercy of each other for our existence. While our ties to other humans are important, our family ties are even more so, and even stronger. Within the family structure, when a person goes through some serious mental illness it can put a heavy strain on the rest of the family. This can become even more troublesome if the person is going through the peaks and trenches of bipolar disorder. The nature and severity of bipolar disorder and how it is managed doesn’t just have a negative effect on the person who’s been diagnosed. It also affects the entire family in many ways.