Men's Group

47, and recently diagnosed as bipolar/PTSD. Biological children would be perfectly possible, but my family on my father 's side has a history of serious mental health issues. I could never in good conscience pass these genetic predispositions on to another generation, it needs to "stop here".

Because of this, I'm sure that adoption would be out of the question. I guess that wouldn't preclude some alternative, if I were in some form of long-term committed relationship, such as using a sperm donor, or just meeting a woman with children. Even then, I would not be comfortable because I will/would always have to question if being around me would be in the best interest of a child. Not that I feel like a raving lunatic or anything, things are going really well for me right now, but I have to be realistic, it is certainly possible that I could have some future breakdown, with all of the attendant issues, such as loss of ability to work and earn an income.

So I don't see it as an option at all. It's funny, having gotten to middle age and never been remotely close to having the kind of committed long term it would take to have kids, you would think this should be no big deal. But, the possibility was always there, even if a very remote possibility. Now, that is gone, and it just feels like one more thing I have lost in this fiasco that has been my life of late.