What a breath of fresh air reading “Family experience can reverse genes” from the UPI wire. It basically sums up research that incorporated family variables into a genetic study on depression. It found that if people with a gene predisposing someone to depression had a supportive family, then it significantly reduced the liklihood that the person would develop the disorder.
“The scientists say their findings suggest a person’s likelihood of developing depressive symptoms was not predicted by only the combination of alleles but; rather, it was the combination of the person’s environment and genetic variant that determined whether the person experienced symptoms of depression, said Taylor.”
So often we see media reports on “gene X causes disorder Y” that completely disregards any information related to family or cognitive factors. When people see enough of this type of message the cultural beliefs about mental illness switch from one including environmental factors to one that completely discounts them. Like the researchers, my view is that there is a complex interaction of genetics and environment that create the lifestyles and mental states that we all experience in the present. Keeping this in mind is important in determining how people chose to acknowledge, think about, and seek help for psychological problems.
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bipolars helping bipolars heal · Nurture vs. Nature… Nurture just scored. (12/27/2006)
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“Family & Depression Development”
The realization and acceptance of the fact that multiple variables are involved. Environmental influences such as interactions with family members and/or friends, lack of interaction, closely held beliefs and values, foods, beverages, intoxicants, pharmaceuticals, exercise, air quality, sunlight, lack of sunlight, on and on. It should be humbling to those who attempt to predict and influence psychological states such as depression.
Not to say we should give up - just that we should have a humbling awareness of the myriad of variables involved, and not over-emphasize “Drug X” or “Therapy model Y” without attempting to explore all of the other influences in people’s lives.
Example: The client sits at home in the dark eating 20 donuts and 3 2-liter’s of caffeine loaded sugar syrup soda each day, and the client and therapist wonder why the treatment model du jour is not effective.
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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 11 Oct 2006
