Under Construction - MHWA Retreat

Hi Char! Good topic this week!

Research has discovered that there are five mental health disorders that share genetic roots: ADHD, Autism, bipolar disorder, depression, and schizophrenia.

That being said, I don't believe that everyone who is genetically pre-disposed will necessarily experience manifestation of the ailment. That's where the 'nurture' aspect come in, I think. Throughout our lives we have different experiences that could 'wake up' the disorder. Likewise, people with no genetic link to mental illness can still develop any variety of mental health issues; likely brought on by life events such as trauma, illness, hormonal changes, etc.

In my case, there's mental illness on both sides of the family. My mother had severe depression and my father along with depression was a narcissist.; both were also functional alcoholics. My eldest brother seems to be the only one that has remained unscathed. My younger brother has episodes of depression that are triggered by events, such as Mother's/Father's Day and Christmas.