Family Histories

A fair amount of psychiatric illnesses have a genetic component.

Being formally “diagnosed” by a doctor does not make them official.

It is hard to tell when a woman says “my mother was probably depressed and anxious” what was going on. There may be a genetic component.

But often, my patients tell me stories of such horrific and stress producing conditions that I think anyone, including me, might have become depressed and anxious if they had to raise a family in extreme poverty, or wartime, or being abused by family members.

I remember one of the earlier genetic studies, done in the state of Iowa. It seemed to have been a brilliant choice since people who live in Iowa seem not to move around much, remaining there for generations.

I remember they followed ex-convicts, most of whom fit the criteria for antisocial personality disorder (read: chronic lying). That pattern seemed to repeat in males in successive generations.

Their wives and daughters were all anxious and depressed. Who knows if that was genetic, or if any woman married to a chronic liar and jailed criminal would turn up anxious and depressed.

We do know that bipolar (also called “manic depressive”) illness can be genetic. We also know that about 70% of them have a problem with alcohol.

It is presumed that they use alcohol to self medicate, trying to cool down from their manic states.

This is complicated (of course) by the fact that something indistinguishable from manic states can come from having been on stimulant type drugs for too long.

The bottom line is that the first part of knowing yourself is knowing as much as you can about who and what you have come from. It is always a good idea to talk to your folks and especially to those who knew what your parents were like when they were younger.

I have always felt sorry for my patients who have been blocked in the knowledge of their own origins. Especially, those who have not been able to get into somehow sealed adoption records.

The more you know about what you have come from the better idea you will have about what challenges you are likely to face in life. If you are fortunate enough to be working with a truly competent therapist, You may even be able to apply the knowledge of your origin toward finding your own road toward life-satisfaction and maybe even happiness.