Somewhere on a previous post it was questioned whether mental illness could be a genetic feature.
Within my family.......apparently my aunt had a 12 month "nervous breakdown" in her late 30s and took some sort of medication for the rest of her life for that ailment She lived well into her 80s Heart Failure. Her elder brother who had been a "sensitive soul" came back from WWII (New Guinea) with "shell shock". He also died in his 80s Melanoma. Neither of them married.
I was in my late 30s when my depression/anxiety was diagnosed. It was my aunt who "saw" the ailment in me and took me by the hand to the doctor and eventual hospitalization.
One of my sisters was a sensitive soul too, she went from highs to lows abruptly. She took risks. She didn't seem to care about repercussions of her actions. She died in a motorbike accident at the age of 17.
Another sister, who has extreme inner strength, was in high school when treated for anxiety. She has learnt to mask it well and is able to perform her tasks to the highest degree. I am proud, but jealous, of her ability in her trained field of expertise in which she is highly regarded by her peers.
Another 3 siblings are very high up in their chosen field too. I don't know about any mental issues they may have in their lives.
Except that 17yo, we have all divorced from a spouse. 4 have remarried and appear so very happy. For 25 years or so, I have chosen not to burden anyone on a full time basis with my idiosyncrasies.
My daughter, was diagnosed in her 30's with bipolar. However, on looking back, she showed spasmodically, signs of extreme highs and lows from about the age of 5.
No absolute scientific testing here, just my observations of our family. No discussions have taken place within the family of mental issues other than my daughter's bipolar which we openly shared with them recently.
One thing too, each of us is/was a "perfectionist". If we can't see ourselves perfecting an idea or goal, we won't even try. And more worryingly, we expected perfection from others which has been to the detriment of relationships.
We were raised in a caring and christian manner without actually attending a church. We were NEVER smacked or hit; just a raised eyebrow or "NO" There was compassion and trust towards our fellow human beings instilled in us by our mother. But out in that big wide world, there were people who hurt us due to or because of those qualities and innocence. Perhaps, if dad (a Japanese POW) had spoken of his war experiences of other types of human beings' actions, we wouldn't have been so naive.
HOWEVER, there is in all of us as a family, a profound and shared sense of humour which some other people don't see or understand, with lots of theatrics involved. Acquired through association or genetics? Not sure because our children have acquired it as well.
DEB
