The role that genetics plays in mental health is a thrilling aspect of psychiatric research and development. The potential to diagnose, treat, and overcome mental illnesses emerges in the genetic breakthroughs that Helen and Valerie explore in this riveting episode. These findings indicate a new hope for sparing years of suffering and promoting earlier recovery from psychiatric illnesses. Their guest tells an inspirational personal story that illuminates the points made in the episode. Don’t miss it!
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Genetics and Mental Health: Is It In My Genes?
Episode 16
Helen Sneed: welcome to Mental Health Hope and Recovery. I'm Helen Sneed.
Valerie Milburn: And I'm Valerie Milburn.
Helen Sneed: We both have fought and overcome severe chronic mental illnesses. Our podcast offers a unique approach to mental health conditions. We use practical skills and inspirational stories of recovery. Our knowledge is up close and personal.
Valerie Milburn: Helen and I are your peers. We're not doctors, therapists or social workers. We're not professionals, but we are excellent. We are experts in our own lived experience with multiple mental health diagnoses and symptoms. Please join us on our journey.
Helen Sneed: We live in recovery, so can you.
Valerie Milburn: This podcast does not provide medical advice. The information presented is not intended to be a substitute or relied upon as medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The podcast is for informational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any health related questions you may have.
Helen Sneed: Episode 16 Genetics and Mental Health Is it in My Genes? As we explore the implications of genes on mental illnesses, please remember that I forgot to go to medical school. I didn't do it. Valerie has had many interesting careers, but she is not a geneticist.
Valerie Milburn: Nope.
Helen Sneed: Okay. So with that in mind, we want to investigate the exciting new research and knowledge about genetics that is having such influence on the field of mental health today. Here are our objectives. To explore the impact of genes on mental health to identify the mental illnesses believed to have genetic heritability. To update the concept of nature versus Nurture to hear a firsthand account of the consequences of family and the risks of mental illness to examine the potential of genetics for prevention and recovery and.
Valerie Milburn: We are grateful and excited today to have our dear friend Eileen Gray with us to give that firsthand account. And I'll introduce Eileen later when she joins us to share her mental health journey, a journey that will shed light on our topic today. But first for now, Eileen, I want to welcome you and let you know how much we appreciate you being here with us.
Valerie Milburn: Well, thank you so much. I'm delighted to be here.
Helen Sneed: Well, we look forward to hearing from you because it will, as always, will be the most interesting part of our presentation. But first, a little background on genetics and mental illness. I guess you could say the modern approach or investigation of mental illnesses began about 150 years ago with Sir Francis Galton. Now, he was a cousin of Charles Darwin and was greatly influenced by Darwin. Galton did studies with twins and he looked at inherited mental traits and weaknesses he had observed in families. Now, his first or his major article was in 1875. This is where Galton coined the phrase nature versus nurture. His endeavor was to distinguish between the characteristics people have at birth and the characteristics they receive from the circumstances of life and experience. Valerie's going to tell us more about this later. Is it in the genes?
Helen Sneed: The great question. Well, John Maynard Smith put it very simply and very clearly. Genetics is about how information is stored and transmitted between generations.
Valerie Milburn: I love that. That's such a simple, clear definition of genetics.
Helen Sneed: Yes, it's true. And so I'm just going to give the basics here. A genome contains all the instructions for making and maintaining an individual. Each genome contains 20,000 genes and 3.2 billion letters of your DNA. Now, the DNA is important for regulating the genes. It can switch genes on and off and it can tell them when to do it. So this information can be thought of as the basic set of instructions for the development and function of a human being. However, a glitch can occur in the DNA code, sort of like a spelling mistake, and the body gets the wrong instructions. What about genetics and mental illness? Some illnesses come from a single gene, such as sickle cell anemia and cystic fibrosis. They are inherited, like eye color or baldness. Scientists do not believe that mental illnesses come directly from one gene, but rather from combinations of genetic changes that predispose some people to become ill. No one inherits mental illness from the father or mother. Instead, each person inherits a unique combination of genes from their mother and father. And certain combinations can predispose the individual to a particular illness. This means mental illness is indeed genetic. It's just not inherited from a single gene. Now, I want to point out the impact this Knowledge has had on me as we worked on this podcast. If you take away one message today, I hope it is this. You see, I've always blamed myself for my illnesses. You know, lazy, spoiled, weak, sick. But through this episode, I can see the scientific evidence that I am not to blame. The predisposition was passed down to me. This is the hand I was dealt by nature through no fault of my own. Knowing this takes away a tremendous misplaced burden of guilt and shame. Now, the study of these genetic advances and breakthroughs is fascinating, but there's one that I wanted to tell you about. It's the Amish Bipolar Study. A groundbreaking study that was begun in 1976 for bipolar and unipolar research. And this from the Coryell Institute for Medical Research. The Old Order Amish in Lancaster, Pennsylvania comprised the oldest Deme in the U.S. a Deme is a genetically closed community. Nobody new has come in. The Amish are descended from 500 members who came to the US in the 18th century. So no new DNA since they came to America. Bipolar is predominant in the Amish. Now look how undiluted this group is for studying the transfer of bipolar across generations of families. It's the oldest dean in the us they have large families, clear paternity, extensive genealogical records and geographic immobility. They don't move. Dr. Aaron Levin reported this in the Psychiatric News. The Amish generously agreed to the study in order to help all people with bipolar. And over the first 10 years, the study revealed invaluable knowledge about the heritability of the illness. Now this brilliant landmark study has had far reaching impact on genetic research and advancement. But here's perhaps for me, I think, and for Valerie, the most salient point. It's now widely recognized that having a close family member affected by a mental illness is the largest known risk factor to date. So Valerie, how do genetics affect the degree of risk that we have for a psychiatric illness?
Valerie Milburn: Research shows clearly that genetics do indeed affect the degree of risk for developing a mental health condition. The following statistics are from Dr. Fuller Tory in the book Surviving Schizophrenia. These statistics show that with no genetic relationship to someone with a mental health condition, a person's chances of developing schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are 1%. And for developing a depressive disorder, chances are 5%.
Valerie Milburn: Now that's with no genetic relationship to someone with a mental health disorder. Now, if a sibling has schizophrenia, the chance of developing schizophrenia goes from 1% to 9%. If a sibling has bipolar disorder, the chance for developing bipolar disorder goes from 1% to 12%. And if a sibling has a depressive disorder, the chance for developing a depressive disorder goes from 5% to 15%. Now, if one parent has schizophrenia, the chance for developing schizophrenia goes from 1% to 13%. If one parent has bipolar disorder, the chance of developing bipolar disorder goes from 1% to 27%. And if one parent has a depressive disorder, the chance of developing depressive disorder goes from 5% to 15%. If both parents have schizophrenia, the chance goes from 1% to 36%. And if both parents have bipolar disorder, the chance goes from 1% to 74%.
Helen Sneed: Those are just shocking numbers to me.
Valerie Milburn: Right. And we do want to keep this knowledge in mind that while genetics have a clear role in the risk of development of a mental health condition, we will discuss soon how our environment plays just as powerful a role.
Helen Sneed: So what is known now about the mental illnesses that we've been talking about, where genetics are a factor at this stage? Some scientists are focused on several mental illnesses that research shows have a genetic component. Bipolar, autism, depression, schizophrenia, and adhd. They have learned that schizophrenia and autism, for example, have overlapping risk factors. Think how beneficial it will be when more is learned about the connection between these disorders. Now, the question does arise. Which of these do I carry in my own genes? It's kind of a personal question, right? Everyone carries some degree of risk for psychiatric illness, as for cancer and other diseases as well. Everyone has a unique gene sequence, and most people do not get sick. In the majority, the genetic risk is extremely low. So we're focusing today on the statistics for people who do develop these disorders. Other factors, though, as Valerie mentioned, contribute to the development of an illness. Environmental conditions are key, from the womb to those of early childhood and beyond. Lifestyle can be a major factor. Mehmet Oz said, genetics loads the gun. Lifestyle pulls the trigger. Valerie's going to get into this for us later. How can genetics help lead to prevention and recovery from psychiatric illnesses? Already, genetic research is leading to improved and expanded treatment for mental illnesses in many areas. For example, doctors now know to ask about family history. Many families are more aware of the critical need to watch for symptoms in their offspring and to seek early treatment. For children and adolescents, genetic research will lead to more prevention, to investigate and perhaps intervene with the symptoms that emerge through genetic testing from as early as prenatal through childhood, and to develop interventions or preventative treatments such as medications, more sophisticated medications. This will allow us to do battle with illnesses at all stages and to help individuals achieve recovery early, sparing them years of suffering that genetics could someday render obsolete.
Helen Sneed: Now. Valerie, you have got some remarkable information on the controversial subject of nature versus Nurture. So, okay, this has been debated since the Greeks. Where are we today?
Valerie Milburn: Well, where we are today is much different than when the debate began. The question of whether human behavior is driven by innate biological forces, nature or the product of our learning environment, nurture, has been debated and discussed both socially and scientifically for years and years. The longevity of this debate might lead to the conclusion that we have not learned much, when in reality a tremendous number of scientific advances have improved our level of understanding. Psychology today, in an article adapted from Pediatric News, explained our level of understanding of the nature versus nurture debate by looking at the three main stages of the debate's development over time. Before I describe these three stages of the development of the debate, I want to point out that the use of the words nature and nurture has changed over time. Time as well. Nature is now often referred to as genetics, and nurture referred to as environment. So we now think of genetics versus environment in the same way we think of nature versus nurture. So let's start with stage one, nature versus Nurture. The origins of the nature versus nurture debate goes back, as Helen said, for thousands of years and across many cultures. The Greek philosopher Galen theorized that personality traits were the result of a person's concentrations of bodily fluids. That's nature. The actual term nature nurture comes from the publication Helen referenced, Sir Francis Galton's 1875 publication entitled English Men of Science Their Nature and Nurture. Here he argued that intelligence and character traits came from hereditary factors, nature. His beliefs were in clear opposition to earlier scholars such as the philosopher John Locke, who is well known for the theory that children are born a blank slate, with their traits developing completely from experience and learning nurture. So nature versus nurture was the debate, and that stage one debate being nature versus nurture, continued throughout most of the 20th century. Then we get to stage two, nature and nurture. From about the 1970s to the end of the 20th century, a noticeable shift occurred as we learned more about the brain. This new direct knowledge of the brain and of genetics Led to an increased appreciation of nature as a critical influence on a person's thoughts, feelings, and behavior. The human genome project was launched in 1990, and the entire decade of the 90s was designated as the decade of the brain. This is where neuroscience research just absolutely exploded. Also during this time, the research known as the twin study was conducted. And this study showed that when it came to behavioral variables, Both genetic and environmental influences were important, Often at close to a 5050 split in terms of magnitude. These types of studies, combined with others, Made it increasingly difficult to argue for the supremacy of either nature or nurture as the primary driver of behavioral traits and disorders. We can see that stage two of the debate was nature and nurture. Today we're in stage three, Nature is nurture, and vice versa. Nurture is nature. Because today, most scientists who carefully examine the ever expanding research have come to appreciate that the nature and nurture domains are hopelessly interwoven. Genes have an influence on the environments we experience. For example, a docile child experiences the environment differently than than an aggressive child. At the same time, a person's environment and experience can directly change the level at which certain genes are expressed, which in turn alters both the physical structure and the activity of the brain. I'm going to say that again, A person's environment and experience can alter both the physical structure and the activity of the brain. My psychiatrist gave a
Valerie Milburn: fascinating and easy to understand description of this, of how the environment alters our genes. He described it this way. DNA is surrounded by proteins, kind of like a protective jacket. Negative events in the environment, such things as adverse prenatal events, trauma, drug abuse, infection, Cause this protective protein jacket to unzip, Allowing the DNA to be susceptible to change. Just like Helen said earlier, A glitch can occur in the DNA code, like a spelling mistake, and the body gets the wrong instructions. And I love that simple description of how environment impacts genetics. So, given this modern understanding, the question of nature versus nurture Ceases to even make sense. In many ways, this exciting, and this is what's exciting about all of this to me. An appreciation of these complicated interacting genetic and environmental factors Gives us places to intervene in the cycle to stop the progression of a mental health condition and even change the direction of the momentum of a mental health condition. Now we understand that not only are there medications and biological treatments, but also things like psychotherapy, Parenting guidance, Mindfulness practices, exercise, and good eating. Habits.
Helen Sneed: This is so encouraging to me to hear you spell it out in this way, because I've wondered in the course of all this how on earth we recovered. You look at it and go, gosh, nature really slammed me, right? But this is what you're talking about is they are proving that I can help myself and that if I adopt a healthy lifestyle and use these treatment methods, that I can actually turn myself onto the path of recovery. And this, to me, is just miraculous.
Valerie Milburn: It is. And that's that daily wellness plan we've talked about so many times on this podcast. There's another area of new research about nature and nurture that is promising research, and it's about the prenatal nurturing. And it's promising because the research identifies preventative measures. This new research suggests that the seeds of some psychological problems are planted well before birth. Prenatal environmental factors and a variety of early life events can boost risk, sometimes considerably. But prenatal preventative measures, like taking a flu shot and maintaining good nutrition during pregnancy can greatly decrease the offspring's risk of getting a mental developing a mental health disorder. And all of that is from the American Journal of Psychiatry. And again, the fact that researchers are finally beginning to understand the processes that underlie these links between genetics and environment points to new directions in treatment for mental health conditions and suggests routes to prevention. Now, there's one last area of research I want to touch on, and that's that scientists studying studying the developmental roots of mental health conditions have zeroed in on another environmental element that is likely a likely suspect, the body's stress response. This research examines how the stress response impacts the body's immune function and the body's inflammatory immune system. The role of inflammation on mental and physical health is fascinating, and my psychiatrist refers to it often.
Helen Sneed: Well, this is such significant information, much of which I was completely clueless. I didn't know this, and I hope that everybody's taking this in because it really is helpful. Now, this is, of course, the high point of our program, which is Valerie and I are thrilled to have our great friend Eileen Gray with us. Eileen is going to share some of her mental health journey with us, particularly the parts that relate to what we've been talking about today. Her story is full of strength, resilience, hope, and recovery. Eileen is originally from Chicago and has lived in Texas for 52 years. That means that we no longer refer to her as a newcomer. She has worked for more than 50 years to improve the lives of people with disabilities, both physical and mental. Her work has included positions as a therapist, program director for a rehabilitation agency, expert witness in federal court, and consultant to nonprofit organizations.
Helen Sneed: Eileen is an active community and synagogue volunteer. She's married to a sweet and funny singer, songwriter and loves to dance, cycle, read, swim and travel. But her favorite thing to do is anything her 9 year old grandson wants her to.
Valerie Milburn: I love that Eileen.
Helen Sneed: I know. You should know Valerie. Anyway, Eileen, welcome and thank you so much for joining us. We're delighted to have you.
Valerie Milburn: Well, thank you so much. I'm very excited to be here and I find this topic absolutely fascinating and can really see in my own life and in my own experience much of what you've talked about. So I'm happy to share my story. So ask away.
Helen Sneed: Okay. Well, I think that you've sort of touched on it because in the long course of your life you have had firsthand experience with genetic heritability and predisposition for mental conditions that were manifested in your life over many years. So can you talk about your family's mental health background because it seems so relevant?
Valerie Milburn: Oh yes, I certainly can. As you both know, I have struggled with a severe mental illness since I was a small child, and I come by this quite naturally. Mental illness is rampant on both sides of my family. My daughter says there are many florid blossoms on our family tree. My grandmother had a lobotomy back in the 1940s when that was the treatment of choice for what was then called involutional melancholia, now called severe recurrent depression. My mom, her daughter, suffered terribly for many, many years with a severe agitated depression, needing in her older years to be restrained while she just screamed, help me, help me, help me. Her brother, my maternal uncle, had bipolar disorder and was murdered in a robbery attempt in Chicag when in a manic phase, he thought he was invincible and would not hand over the money and jewelry and was shot. I have another aunt who lived in the same institution as my maternal grandmother who had the lobotomy. And I remember other kids would go visit relatives on Sundays in people's homes and I would visit relatives in this institution, which was then called an asylum. I have first cousins on both sides of my family who died by suicide. My only sibling was unable to live independently for many years. She died recently, but had been diagnosed variously with bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder. One point I'd like to make, though, is that I was firmly instructed to never talk about this. It was a deep, dark, shameful secret. Just to tell a brief anecdote of how shameful it was regarded to be. My parents concocted this, excuse me, elaborate fairy tale of how they met, which involved my dad rowing across a lake to a resort where my mother was. And I'm sure there were little cupids flying overhead, shooting hearts and darts and all kinds of things. And it was just the story I grew up with, which I just thought was so romantic. Years later, I found out from another relative that my parents actually met at the asylum when he was visiting his sister and my mom was visiting her mom. And so that's how the. How the story went. But I think it's illustrative of how shameful this was all regarded to be.
Valerie Milburn: Wow. Absolutely. That certainly illustrates the incredible shame that surrounds mental health concerns conditions, and we have all experienced that. So Helen gave a quote earlier that genetics loads the gun and environment pulls the trigger. And that's definitely a loaded background that you have. And you talked about, you mentioned that you struggled with your mental health conditions since
Valerie Milburn: early childhood. Can you talk about what your young childhood was like, the environment and your journey, starting from young childhood?
Valerie Milburn: My childhood wasn't particularly pretty. Let's say that as a young child, I was very aware that I was different. I was dark, I was intense, scholarly, very anxious, and I felt very, very alone. I grew up in a pretty rough neighborhood in Chicago. I'd get into fights on the playground and then come home and take the elevator up into my high rise apart. And I would either hide under my bed, trembling and shaking, or go into my closet. My mom knew that something was amiss, but she would only respond when people would inquire as to what the heck was wrong with Eileen. English was not her first language. So she would say, oy, Eileen is a lovely girl. She's just a little high, strong. And so it went. I tried to act as normally as I could, because, of course, admitting a problem would have been violating an important family code. But I was very well aware that I was not like the other carefree kids. So I think some of the environmental factors that led to that were, number one, growing up in that neighborhood in Chicago, where every time I left my apartment, there was fear of a fight. I mean, I had two teeth knocked out by the time I was eight years old. I still have a little knife wound from getting a penknife pulled on me in one of those fights. So that was scary. I didn't want to get out from under my bed. I think the second environmental factor for me was all that secrecy. It was very tense to hold all that inside. And more than that, it convinced me how shameful and terrible it was. And it didn't feel as if there was something wrong with me. It felt like I was wrong. I absorbed that identity so thoroughly that I just came to feel like I was shame I was wrong. And then the third thing that I've just really thought about more recently is that I am a Jew who was born in the late 1940s, just as people were coming to terms with exactly what happened in the Holocaust. My environment, my family, my very Jewish environment, my home was all filled with kind of a veil of horror and fear and smoldering kind of darkness. I had already learned the story of my grandparents, each of whom had left their families during the Eastern European pogroms in the late 1800s, early 1900s, where Jews were being tortured and killed willy nilly. I still remember my grandma telling the story of being forced to march around her town with a pig's head. And for a Jew, a pig's head is just a terrible, terrible thing. So I was scared as a child all the time that they, some they who hated Jews was going to come to get me. And I remember just every time there would be a siren, because I associated that with the N*** vehicles that would come to collect Jews. Every time I would hear a siren as a child, I would get sick to my stomach. I would sometimes throw up. I was just so terrified. So I think those are some of the environmental factors that in fact pulled the trigger for me.
Helen Sneed: Well, really, I mean, and understandably so, what a dark and lurid childhood you had. So can you tell us a little bit about your journeys? I mean, we know that you did become very sick over time. And what kind of struggles did you have with your mental health?
Valerie Milburn: Well, big
Valerie Milburn: ones. My mom finally took me to a psychiatrist when I was 15, and I began treatment, taking medication. But medication back then in the early 60s was not very effective. So I was being treated, but it didn't really do a lot of good. When I was 15, I finally dropped out of high school because I just couldn't withstand the pressure. And through my 20s and 30s, I was on many different kinds of medications, and my symptoms kind of waxed and waned through that period. Y' all could tell from introduction number one, the lovely one that Helen gave, that outwardly, I continued to function and function very well. Yeah, mental illness was the norm in my family, was one norm in my family, but the other norm was achievement. So I pushed and pushed and pushed through those many years. I kept my Illness, a secret, especially from my professional colleagues. And throughout all those those years, I just was terrified. I was terrified of losing my husband and daughter. I was terrified of jeopardizing my career. I was terrified of totally losing my grip, which eventually happened. And most of all, I think I was terrified of turning into my mother, who by that time was in the institution, you know, tied to a bed, screaming. And the fear was just incredible. So I pushed as long as I could, but when I couldn't hold on any longer, the walls I had built around to separate the sick me from the achievement me finally just came tumbling down kind of all at once when I was in my early 40s. And it felt as if that ball of pain and terror and fear and despair and secrecy that I'd carried in my chest for about as long as I can remember seemed to just kind of grow spikes and eat up my insides. I was always nauseated. I couldn't eat. Helen and Valerie, you know me. My normal weight is about 145, and that's probably a good weight for me. I got down to 88 pounds.
Valerie Milburn: Wow.
Valerie Milburn: Yeah, I was. I was. I was just terribly, terribly ill. I had vivid and frightening auditory hallucinations, mostly music. A friend of mine tells me that I spent most of the early 1990s arriving in bed and that sometimes I'd get up and bang on the walls and scream when I lost control. I remember being in the hospital. I had five psychiatric hospitalizations within a period of a couple years. I couldn't seem to stay out of the hospital. And I just remember being in a corner in a dirty nightgown, just kind of holding myself and rocking and moaning a lot, like I used to rock and moan in my apartment when I was a little girl. But I was so ill that when people would speak to me, I could make no sense of the words. I couldn't even understand what people were saying. I had electroshock therapy. The doctors told my husband and daughter that I wasn't going to survive. So My husband of 25 years left me. And then, figuring that I was just a burden to everybody and I was going to die anyway, I attempted suicide. And in a memory that I guess is always going to haunt me and make me feel terribly guilty is that my then teenage daughter found me, and you can only imagine how that affected her. By that time, my insurance had been depleted, and I spent more than a month, well, the better part of a summer at Austin State Hospital. So that was the worst of the worst.
Valerie Milburn: Thanks for sharing that. I know it's never easy to share our journey, but it's so helpful to so many people. And this is when we always get to the hopeful part. And you mentioned electroshock therapy and your stay in Austin State Hospital. And I know those are two things that helped you. And can you talk more about those two things and about the other things that helped you come to where you are today, your recovery?
Valerie Milburn: Yeah. I think when I saw what my suicide attempt had done to my daughter, that kind of brought me to a different level of awareness. Before then, I was convinced I would be better off dead and everybody would be better off if I were dead. When I looked into her eyes after I had attempted suicide and saw the pain and fear and love, I just decided, okay, gotta do this. Gotta get out of here. So, as you said, the ect, the electroshock had really helped me to come to a point where I could understand what was being said to me, where I could respond to treatment. And then the long stay at Austin State Hospital. I needed to be away for a long, long time. So those two things really helped me. And by that time, medications had improved. Other therapies had been developed. I worked so hard on those cognitive behavior strategies that I had learned at the state hospital. And, you know, I'm a tough and tenacious kind of gal. I mean, I'm. That's for sure, hold me down, you know. And so I worked at it. I really, really worked. So those things helped. And what also helped was a realization that I needed to change my life in order to stay well. So I restructured my life dramatically. I moved to a little, tiny apartment. I took a much less demanding, very structured job. My ego took a hit. But being alive, ego, not much of a contest there. I slowly learned what I need to do to stay reasonably well and functional. I know, and this is still true, that I need to fiercely guard my privacy. I need to get a lot of sleep. I need to withdraw from social situations when I need to. I need to take my medication regularly. I need to exercise, and I need to do work that I find meaningful. And those are all still parts of my life now. But I want to circle back to what we were talking about in terms of. Of genetics and treatment, because I think this is something that. I mean, the future is so bright, we got to wear shades. I firmly, firmly believe that, and I've seen that in my. In my life. So example number one, during one of my hospitalizations, I had an EEG run. Now, EEGs were not available. When my family was undergoing all these horrific experiences with their own mental illnesses. So the doctors discovered an abnormal brainwave, a severely abnormal brainwave. And my diagnosis was changed from the classic major depressive disorder with psychotic features and anxiety disorder. That got erased. And what my diagnosis became was atypical mood disorder with abnormal eeg. Now, that's interesting.
Helen Sneed: Yes.
Valerie Milburn: What implications does it have? I had a feeling because when I was very, very ill, I just kind of felt my mother in me. My urge was to scream, like she was screaming. My urge was to behave the way she was behaving. And so I called the institution in Chicago where she was living at the time and said, would you please run an EEG on my mom? I'm just curious. I just have a feeling. And surprise, surprise, she had the exact same feeling. Abnormal brainwave that I had. Okay, that's interesting, too. But what. What do we do about that? Well, first of all, the doctors put me on a medication that is usually used for neurological disorders rather than psychiatric, and guess what? It helped. And secondly, it made me wonder. You know, the eeg, the. Not the eeg, the electroshock therapy, the ECT that I had was very, very effective for me. It really got me to a point where I could understand what
Valerie Milburn: people were saying to me, for one thing. And it's not as effective for everyone. I wonder. I have no proof. I don't think there's any data on this yet, because I've looked. Did the fact that I had an abnormal brainwave in any way contribute to how effective the ECT was for me?
Valerie Milburn: Yeah, that's a really interesting connection.
Valerie Milburn: I don't know. I don't know. And then my second example is that about 15, 20 years ago now, Time flies when you're having fun, and even when it doesn't. I don't know exactly when it was, but a doctor said to me, you know, there is a gene mutation that is a lot more common among Ashkenazi Jews. That's me. Than other populations. I want to run some genetic testing on you. She did. Sure enough, I didn't just have one copy of that gene. I had two. And he put me on a medical food. Who knew from medical foods, when my family was undergoing all this trauma?
Helen Sneed: But it helped.
Valerie Milburn: It helped a lot. And so I really think that those are two good examples of the interaction between genes and potential treatments. We've come a long way, baby.
Helen Sneed: We have. And you really do embody it in your own life and your own. The own course that you've taken with it. Now, I think the important thing is that you overcame all of this, which to me is really almost hard to imagine. Given again as we were talking about the hand you were dealt. And so I can't tell you how much I admire you and respect you for overcoming it and for dealing with it, I'm sure, every day, but so successfully.
Valerie Milburn: Thank you. Thank you for the kind words.
Helen Sneed: Oh my dear. So with Eileen's epic story, we come to the close of this episode now because we've exhausted the subject. God knows that genetics stretches out before us with such promise in so many directions. Research is happening all over the world. Some of the greatest scientific minds are committed to, and the results of their work are already translating into treatment advances for individuals with mental illnesses and those who support them. This new body of knowledge can lead to more understanding, tolerance, hope, and recovery. As George M. Church put it, your genetics is not your destiny.
Valerie Milburn: Genetics indeed are not our destiny. And Eileen, thank you so much for sharing your story that clearly illustrates that, you know, Eileen, Helen, the three of us have shaped our destiny through our fierce fights for recovery and now our vigilance to stay in recovery with our mental health conditions. And we use mindfulness as one of our tools that brings us to close this episode the way we always close with a mindfulness exercise. What is mindfulness? I always give a definition. Mindfulness is a state, a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations without judgment. Today's mindfulness practice is called Ending the Day with Gratitude, and it is best done at the end of a busy day. Now, however, is a great time to be introduced to it. Let's take a few moments to begin to release any lingering tension or stress left over from the day or that you are feeling right now. Close your eyes if you can. Settle in and breathe as always, let's begin with a few diaphragmatic breaths. Whether your eyes are open or closed, let's steady our breathing with two diaphragmatic breaths. When you do this on your own, take as many breaths as you need to become calm and centered. Let's breathe. Inhale through your nose, expanding your stomach as you inhale. The count of five. Four, three, two, one. Exhale through your mouth, pulling in your stomach as you do so. Do so for the count of seven.
Valerie Milburn: seven. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Again. Inhale through your nose, expanding your stomach as you inhale. The count of five. Four, three, two, one. Exhale through your mouth, pulling in your stomach. The count of seven. Six, five. Four. Keep this slow, steady breath going.
Valerie Milburn: Now.
Valerie Milburn: Allow your mind to travel over the events of the day from waking up until this moment. Let your day wash over you. Make an effort to disconnect from any lingering responsibilities, any stresses about how your day went or how tomorrow will go. Remember that we are here to find Gratitude for the day. Bring your mind back to your day thinking about everyone you came into contact with. Who was the first person you saw today? How about the last person you interacted with? Recall a few conversations you had.
Helen Sneed: The.
Valerie Milburn: Smiles or pleasantries you exchanged as you do so. Express gratitude for these moments of connection. Now connect with your body. Think of everything it's done today to keep you safe and healthy. Think of all the processes that go on inside. Out of sight. Sit in thankfulness for everything your body has done for you today. Once again, no judgments, just gratitude for what your body has done for you today. Finally, express gratitude for all the skills that you carry, everything that you utilize in your daily life. Perhaps you're especially good at solving problems. Or maybe today you called upon your creative side or channeled your compassionate nature. Take one last moment to appreciate and be grateful for the gifts of the day. Thank you for doing this mindfulness exercise with me.
Helen Sneed: Thank you, Valerie. After this episode, I think I'm feeling extremely grateful, and especially for you, Eileen, and for the courage and generosity of sharing your story with us. With many thanks to our listeners for being with us today. In our coming episodes, we're taking on the fascinating subject of the impact of the pandemic on mental health in America. As we know, it has caused a nationwide outbreak of mental health conditions, often in people who hadn't had problems in the past. So next we will focus on the mental health of children, adolescents and young adults during the pandemic. We're excited and challenged by the topic and hope that you'll join us. Until then, I leave you with our favorite word. Onward.