[shezbut]

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WARNING ~ may be triggering ~

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I was just thinking the other day about my sister, Jan. She has antisocial personality disorder. I have BPD. My brother is an abuser and very violent.

It just makes me wonder...It kind of makes sense that each of us is F'd up. We had a dysfunctional family. Each of us in a different way though. And these traits began very early in our lives. I'm the youngest in the family (by 4 years) and grew up with that.

All sibling relationships in Western civilization can be tough ~ physical. But not to the extent that we experienced. My sister was hell on wheels (to put it mildly). My parents didn't pay attention at all to my brother and I. They just assumed that we were better than Jan. So, Mark abused me. Sexually, physically, and emotionally.

Does this sound familiar to those of you with siblings?

[tattoogirl33]

I'm dx BPD and BP1 while my sister (not dx) shows sings of Aspergr's. My oldest son (age 12) has been dx Asperger's (High Functioning Autisum) since age 4. I think my other two children are fairly "normal" while my father is like my sister and oldest son... Wow.. what a nice family tree... lol

[disguise123]

im dx bipolar, siblings bipolar and autism, my child aspergers.
I think there are links in every family, anxiety offen strikes across generations.
For ur family it may be nature or nuture
Who can ever tell and really seperate the two?
This is why support for siblings of children with a dx is so important.
Im sorry for what u have gone through.
Xxx

[Can't Stop Crying]

I went through a period a couple years ago where I had the need to find out where it all started and so I found out as much information as I could about my family, past and present. Here is what I found...

1st generation (my grandparents) - OCD, drug abuse, alcoholism, abusive behavior

2nd generation (my parents/aunts/uncles) OCD, depression, anxiety disorders, drug abuse, alcoholism, suicidal ideation/attempts, abusive behaviors...one aunt committed suicide

3rd generation (me, siblings, cousins) depression, OCD, drug abuse, alcoholism, anxiety disorders, suicidal ideation/attempts, abusive behaviors...one cousin committed suicide

4th generation (my kids and their cousins) depression, anxiety disorders, suicidal ideation/attempts

Nature or nurture? I think it's both. I think some of us are predisposed biologically to mental illness; I also think environment plays a huge role in whether the illness manifests itself, but sometimes parents can do all the "right things" and the biology is stronger.

I also believe that when we are exposed to negative parenting styles, that behavior tends to pass down through the generations, maybe not in the same form, but it is a cycle and will continue until it is consciously stopped

Just my thoughts....