Is mental illness contagious?

I have bipolar disorder with psychotic features. I wash my hands regularly and I maintain a fitness regime, eat well, get plenty of sleep and take my meds religiously.
My concern involves my 10 year old son.
Should I be taking more precautions to protect him from the scourge of "mental illness"?
Is handwashing enough?

Mental Illness is NOT contagious. If your children have Bipolar Disorder, they will have it from day one based on what genetic coding your genes provided.

The best way you can protect him is to keep up YOUR medical regimen to be emotionally and mentally healthy AND to continue to monitor him for any signs or symptoms that HE is having problems. If he seems to be having any difficulties that may be related to Bipolar Disorder, have him assessed.

But don't obsess about it.

I have depressive disorders, I am a Mental Health Nurse for a facility for the Mentally Delayed AND I have two sons who are Autistic with OCD and ADHD.

Even with all these issues, my sons are happy, healthy, well-adjusted boys of 9 and 11 years old. A fammily CAN be stable... if you make it stable.

Mental Illness is not physically contagious, however, behaviors are learned. Be careful what you teach your child. It doesn't sound like you are off to a good start as you are leading him to believe, by making him wash his hands, there is something wrong.

No mental illness is certainly not contagious. Nobody will "catch" it from touching you or eating after you. It is not spread by germs.

However, your son may pick up on some of the ways you act and handle certain situations. If he sees you getting overwhelmed in certain situations, he may also find those situations overwhelming. For example, children of depressed parents may also feel depressed.

Children learn to reproduce the coping techniques and behaviors of their parents. If you're concerned about this, talk to your doctor or a counsellor.

I could see your question should have been 'Heridatory?' instead of ' contagious".Genetics plays an important part in the discease.OCD is not a mental disorder.Every human being has some Obsessions and some compulsions.One can see the worry and love of a father for his son.But donot allow this to become an obsession.

In my own experience, its really best that you consult specialist for it.