Mental illness genetic?
It is not clear what causes any mental illness at this time. The genetics for mental illnesses have proven to be very complicated, and a lot of them may not be genetic at all. In addition, a new branch of genetics called epigenetics, has thrown a monkey wrench into what was previously thought about genetics. It turns out there are switches that turn your genes on and off. So you might have some genes for a disease, and then something happens in your life, like maybe you get exposed to a pesticide, and that pesticide exposure flips your genetic switches, and now you get the disease. BUT it turns out that if your great great great grandpa got exposed to something bad, that could still be affecting YOU because the switches can remain flipped ON for a few generations (up to 5 in fruit flies). So maybe great great great grandpa was starving in the Irish potato famine, and now YOU are more likely to get heart disease, or mental illness, as a result of that. OK, so this stuff is brand new research, and probably has a lot to do with why the human genome project stuff hasn't been very useful yet. Borderline is called a disorder just as bipolar is called a disorder. The truth is, nobody knows what causes these things. It is true that most people with a borderline diagnosis are women who were sexually abused. Many people think this reflects incredible sexism in the DSM (diagnostic manual). It's also true that a majority of people with the major mental illnesses, especially if it is severe, were abused somehow. Of those that land in mental hospitals, more than half were sexually abused. So this idea that it is all genetic, nope. There could have been severe abuse in your dad's family, also. Absolutely it is possible that you inherited this depression. Another possibility is that you inherited an introverted personality, and so you isolate yourself from social support, and therefore when bad stuff happens, you suffer alone, and are the worse for it. And I could come up with some more possiblities, because nobody knows.
What mental disorders are strictly genetic?
none that are 100% proven to be genetic, although there can be some genetic factors. Honestly, it's a mix of lots of things. Think about it: if evolution and natural selection did happen what would be the benefit in a genetic mental disorder? here are some that are thought to have some genetic factors: Depression Postpartum depression Schizophrenia Dysthymia Delusional disorder
Is mental illness genetic? If so which side does it come from?
Is mental illness genetic? If so does it come from the mothers side or the fathers? I have a 5 week old baby..,my mother in law and her brother are bipolar. Her brothers son is bipolar and i am starting to see bipolar traits in my husband. Should i be concerned for my son?
Are mental health illnesses genetic?
To put a long story short, my biological mother was put into care from a young age, abused and turned to drink and drugs. She became an alcoholic and prostitute and also did drugs. Her sisters also went down the same route. She fell pregnant with me at 28 and I was adopted at 7 months. She drank and did drugs while I was in the womb and also self harmed. She has bipolar, depression and borderline personality disorder. Her sisters had paranoid schizophrenia and OCD. I was diagnosed with OCD when I was 12 and it is quite severe. I am on fluoxetine to control this disorder. I have also suffered with mild depression. Is it possible I could develop or have some of these mental illnesses since it almost runs in the family. From what I know my mothers mother had mental illnesses and so did her mother and so on. Thank you in advance.
What mental health disorders/illnesses are hereditary?
There isn't really a straight up answer..... There is no proof that any of them are.. but there is very strong evidence that many are..... it is also common to have families where there seems to be a tendancy to develop mental disorders but they all have different ones..... Schizophrenia and Bipolar are definitely genetic.... Anxiety Disorders (Panic/OCD, etc...) seem to run in families. Addiction also seems to have a genetic component.... some people just have a genetic lack of resistance to addiction, especially alcoholism. Now it seems that there may be a genetic predisposition to developing personality disorders.. which would explain why given the same upbringing some people end up ill and others end up fine..... No mental disorder is guaranteed to develop given a certain set of genes..... even if both of your parents have Bipolar there is only a 20% chance of you getting it.... even in identical twins, if one twin has it the other only has a 50% chance of getting it..... So no absolute proof that any of them are genetic but lots of evidence that most, if not all, of them have some sort of genetic component, whether directly due to genes (like Bipolar) or just a disposition that leaves you suseptible (like addiction and personality disorders).
Are mental health problems genetic?
They can either be Genetic but not always, some mental health problems can be environmental. Some examples of environmental mental health problems can be from a physical or emotional abuse, typically at a young age, poor parenting, not learning proper or healthly social skills or from lack of social interactions. Some people are more pre-disposed and I also think thats why they ask if you family histroy of mental health problems.Mental health is tricky because it involves the personal talking about their issues to know exactly what their experiencing and the right things to mention or say, the bad part about this is if you dont know anything about your symptom and how best to describe an experience you dont understand results in a lot of misdiagnoses and later frustion. Its a lot of insight and knowdgle about one own self and what the experience signified.Some but not all mental health problems that are caused by enviormental reasons can be resolved with just therapy and counseling. Others is a “Chemical imbalance” (I personally hate this term because theres no correct way to see if you really do have a chemcial imbalance with the receptors in your brain ect) that does require medication to live a comfortable life.My question to your question is when did Humans start developing mental health issues and how did they handle them pre-medication? This cant be the results of our genetic make-up drastically altering in the 40–50–60.
Genetic mental illness and having children?
It sounds to me like you have a very responsible approach to parenting. So many people bring children into the world these days without even giving it thought and they dont have the skills and/or finances to raise their child properly. I strongly believe that nurture plays a greater role than nature. My mother has mental health problems, and so do I (I have a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and depression). However I dont believe my issues were simply "passed down" in my genes. I think the fact that my mother was abusive was where my mental health problems stem from, and that's a totally seperate issue to her genuine illness which she cannot help. I can understand your worries if you know there's a 50/50 chance any children you have may have Tourettes. No one wants to knowingly allow their child to have any health problems. Children are very accepting though and all sorts of people have children for example, people who are in wheelchairs, and so they should! You can explain your tics etc to your child/ren in a way that they understand. If you are able to be a good parent, I dont think your issues on their own will make you a bad parent. Some positive things can come of it too, like your child/ren will learn to be accepting of people who have problems. As you say yourself, you manage okay. Im 23 but I think I would like children in the future when I am ready with the right housing etc etc. I have done a job where I care for others for 6 years, and in my current job I work with children. I know that I am competant in looking after others and for someone to write me off without taking into account everything would be pure ignorance and predujice. My current partner has Asperger's, and he functions well like I do with my problems. If we stay together and have a child obviously I would be devasted if they inherited any of our problems. Having said that though, if a child is going to have a mental illness surely it is better they our born to parents who know about it and are understanding. I've had to work with the effects of parents not wanting or being able to cope with children with disabilities etc. I would never give away my child just because he or she had health problems. Good luck with whatver you decide.
How much of a role does genetics play in mental illness?
In my opinion, genetics has a large but not usually determinative role. If one identical twin has bipolar illness or schizophrenia, usually the other twin also does. Usually, but not always. At one time it was common for identical twins to be separated and adopted to different families. That seemed to increase the likelihood of only one having a mental illness, but only by a small amount. When one of a pair of identical twins who had a family history of schitzophrenia were adopted by a family with a schizophrenic, they were even more likely to develop the disease than the twin adopted by a family without a schizophrenic member.I personally am not sure whether those who have the genetics for the disease but are not diagnosed actually have no symptoms, or whether they perhaps were simply taught more effective coping strategies. Someone who is bipolar often will overspend to a rediculous degree. If their early training included a clear understanding of how much it is ok to spend, they may limit their spending better than an individual who really has been taught no specific guidelines. It seems fairly clear that the first episode of most mental illnesses is usually precipitated by some kind of trauma. Sometimes the trauma is severe, and sometimes it is the sort of thing that happens to nearly everyone.For some, their 'genetic loading' is high enough that they are virtually certain to show symptoms, and some may never have problems unless they suffer a severe trauma.Nearly everyone will begin to have symptoms that perfectly mimic mental illness if they become really seriously sleep deprived. Most will recover from sleep deprivation, but some will continue to have problems, and eventually be diagnosed with a mental illness.