Posted by judy on January 21, 2000, at 19:30:11
In reply to worried about my kids, posted by kelly on January 21, 2000, at 10:33:33
My father also committed suicide (he was diagnosed manic-depressive) when I was a teen. Several members of my family have mood disorders, I have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I had similar concerns about my children, when my son (age 9) exhibited anxiety symptoms I had him evaluated by a child psychologist because I am very against medication and was concerned about him seeing a child psychiatrist. Anyway, the psychologist was extremely helpful in teaching him coping skills and he is doing much better. If any of your children are experiencing symptoms that concern you, speak to your pediatrician. Otherwise, try not to worry, I had one shrink- totally biologically based- who told me there was only about a 15% chance of passing on a gene (and even this is suspect) that would predispose them to a mood disorder if only one parent had it. I think children react to the behavior of their parents (especially Mom)- if your sad, they will probably feel sad too. Take care.
poster:judy
thread:19332
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000112/msgs/19367.html