Genealogists are aware that certain genetically heritable diseases can be handed down through the family, from one generation to the next. Learned behaviors can also be passed along. Researchers have found that eating disorders can be passed from mothers to their daughters.
Genealogists who are working on putting together a medical family tree have probably asked their relatives a whole lot of health questions. It might not be so difficult for your relatives to talk about health issues like high blood pressure, diabetes, or the type of cancer that caused the death of certain ancestors.
However, there are a lot of people who are very hesitant to discuss the mental illnesses that run in the family. Some people will feel as though acknowledging that a family member has a certain mental illness is somehow placing a stigma on the family. Other people may simply be oblivious to the signs that a relative is suffering from a form of mental illness.
It is just as important to know about the mental illnesses that run in the family as it is to know about the physical ones. The sooner that you can recognize symptoms of an illness, the sooner that treatment for it can be started.
Research shows that eating disorders run in families. A person that has a relative who has an eating disorder is ten times more likely to develop an eating disorder themselves than is a person who has no family history of the disorder.
Eating disorders fall under the category of mental illness. Eating disorders most often appear in teenagers and young adults, and more frequently in females than in males. However, people outside of that age range can develop this type of disorder. This includes children. It is a good idea for parents to learn about the signs that indicate that your child or teenager might have an eating disorder.
There are many reasons why mothers who have had difficulty with an eating disorder at some point in their lives fail to recognize when their daughters develop the same types of disorders. It could be that the illness hits “too close to home” for the mother, and that she finds it too painful to discuss with her daughter. Or, the mother might not have a clear understanding about what healthy eating looks like, and so, doesn’t see that what her daughter is doing is unusual.
It is not unheard of for parents of children who have a mental illness to be in denial of it. No one wants their child to be “crazy”. It is not easy to accept. Some parents feel as though their child’s mental illness does not exist if it is not talked about. Or, they believe that it is nothing more than a “phase” that the child or teenager will grow out of. These are dangerous thoughts.
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