Posted by Dinah on July 2, 2007, at 8:44:38
In reply to Looking at the PAST PAST, posted by MidnightBlue on July 1, 2007, at 0:24:32
I think OzLand is right in that there were a lot of conditions in those days that could mimic mental illness.
And I also suspect that most people can find evidence of mental illness in the family if they look. Ancestors multiply pretty quickly as you go back, and siblings of ancestors in those pre-birth control days even more so.
I don't need to look that far. My mother's family has a history of either bipolar or schizophrenia, it's hard to extract which and in fact I think the people involved have been differently diagnosed. My father's family has an enormously strong history of addictive behavior and depression.
It isn't a predictor of the future though. In my mother's family there are siblings where the kids may be a bit prone to things like IBS or migraines but otherwise seem fine, siblings where the kids appear to be enormously well adjusted, and siblings where one or more kids clearly have problems. My father's family appears to be the same, but the sample size is too small to come to any conclusions.
It's the luck of the genetic draw (with more than a bit of environmental influences tossed in). Do your kids show any signs of trouble?
poster:Dinah
thread:766975
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20070628/msgs/767143.html