Therapy?

[BridgetM]

Does anyone else think of genealogy as a way to understand--(or try to understand  )--their own issues?  i.e. If my grandfather was raised by an alcoholic who placed his sons in an orphanage when their mother died, how did that affect my grandfather’s parenting, which in turn affected my mother’s parenting—which clearly would have affected me?

And what were my g grandfather’s parents like, and their parents, and their parents?

[Roobarb]

Well I've tried to but having one ancestor who was apparently an alcoholic and another who was a leader of the Temperance Society, what would that make me?    Undecided probably! 

[Berlin-Bob]

Hi bjmachell,

Not a bad question, read this topic for answers to a similar one:
 
Topic: The Importance of Your Family's Health History
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,152385.0.html

Alcoholism in particular does seem to have effects on several generations, not just the alcoholics themselves.

Bob

[shan42]

Oh definitely! Not just with physical health either. I am a great believer in family patterns, and also breaking them. Health very often presents as the result of the way we think, conditioning is passed on from one generation to the next whether we/they are aware of it or not.
I could probably go on for quite a while with my opinions on this subject.

I'm happy to say I am our family 'pattern breaker' - somebody has to do it! 

[noxas]

Hello all,I tend to think we can be as our ancestors were and not change any family patterns,thats the soft option,just plod along.I also feel we are ment to move forward and make the best of our lives,this requires a little more effort,break the mold.
 Regards Diarmuid