How Genetic is Mental Illness Actually? Heritability Estimates for Mental Health and The Role Genes Play

Therapy in a Nutshell

Therapy in a Nutshell -Emma McAdam

Mental Health, Education, Health & Fitness:mental Health, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness

4.8 • 658 Ratings

🗓️ 15 December 2022

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If one of your family members has a mental illness, does that mean you’re more likely to have it too? Can you inherit a mental illness from a parent? If your mom has, let’s say, social anxiety disorder, and you do too, does that mean that she passed it down genetically or that because she didn’t take you out much, and you watched her being nervous around other people- that you learned to be anxious around other people? In this podcast we’re going to talk about heritability estimates- what the research has to tell us about how much genes contribute to mental health. You’ll learn which disorders have the highest rates of heritability and how understanding this can help you make better choices. Looking for affordable online counseling? My sponsor, BetterHelp, connects you to a licensed professional from the comfort of your own home. Try it now for 10% off your first month: https://betterhelp.com/therapyinanutshell Learn more in one of my in-depth mental health courses: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/?utm_medium=YTDescription&utm_source=Podcast Support my mission on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/therapyinanutshell Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.therapyinanutshell.com?utm_medium=YTDescription&utm_source=Podcast Check out my favorite self-help books: https://kit.co/TherapyinaNutshell/best-self-help-books Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health. In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction. And deeper than all of that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ orients my personal worldview and sense of security, peace, hope, and love https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe If you are in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or your local emergency services. Copyright Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Emma, a licensed marriage and family therapist, and you're listening to the Therapy in a nutshell podcast.
0:05.8	It's my mission to create easy to understand educational content about therapeutic skills and topics that anyone can use in their daily life.
0:13.6	These podcast episodes are repurposed from my YouTube channel, which if you're interested, you can search for online under the same name.
0:20.2	I hope these episodes bring you more insight into how your mind works,
0:23.6	and what actions you can take in addressing your own mental health struggles.
0:27.6	And what actions you can take to improve your mental health?
0:31.6	Each podcast episode comes from a corresponding video you can find on the Therapy in a Nutshell YouTube channel.
0:37.8	If one of your family members has a mental illness, does that mean you're more likely to have it too?
0:42.3	Can you inherit a mental illness from a parent?
0:45.3	If your mom has, let's say, social anxiety disorder, and you do too, does that mean that she passed it down genetically?
0:53.3	Or that because she didn't take you out
0:55.6	much and you watched her being nervous around other people that you learned to
1:00.0	be anxious around other people? In this video we're going to talk about
1:03.6	heritability estimates what the research has to tell us about how much genes
1:09.4	contribute to mental health. You'll learn which
1:12.4	disorders have the highest rates of heritability and how understanding this can help
1:17.5	you make better choices. Okay, so we're gonna jump into the numbers behind
1:22.5	mental health heritability real quick. But first, let me clarify a few things.
1:26.3	There are no mental health conditions
1:28.7	that I know of that are 100% genetic. There is no single gene for any condition that we know of.
1:35.6	There is not a depression gene or a bipolar gene. Mental health conditions are caused by a whole
1:42.3	bunch of complicated interplays between a bunch of different genes and our environment and how we think.
	...

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