Same Genetic Basis Is Found in 5 Types of Mental Illness

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That was my second thought. My first thought was, at last, they've found some genes, I 'knew' they were probably all connected somehow and this has confirmed it. If they're all linked (or caused) by the same genes, what makes autism a 'neurological difference', 3 of the others 'mental illness' and ADHD a 'neurobehavioural disorder'? As we're so clear that autism isn't a mental illness, perhaps the other conditions, through their association with autism, might get the taboo lifted from them (rather than autism being regarded as a mental illness). I hope so anyway. I wonder where the sensory processing issues come into the picture here.

My Mum's sister was diagnosed bipolar, although I suspect she had mild autism too. She was severely affected by her bipolar episodes. I think her mental health issues were not fully understood. I'm sure, at times, she drifted into the realms of schizophrenia. My Mum's mum was diagnosed with depression, but she probably had mild autism as well, given what my Mum tells me about her upbringing. My Mum has never been diagnosed with anything, but she appears to have some sort of anxiety disorder, which can seriously affect her sleep, and she quite clearly has ADHD and some autistic traits. My daughter has a diagnosis of Aspergers, although she does shows signs of ADHD and has extreme mood swings. I don't have any diagnosis, but I think I could take a piece out of 4 of the conditions (not schizophrenia).

I am disabled. To me, this means that I function in such a way that I must work harder or differently to achieve the same things as normal people do, and that I may not ever be able to manage some of them.

I am not broken. I am not dangerous. And I wish anyone luck who thinks they can try to control me.

And I wish that more people could find a balance between "we're superhumans!" and "we're poor broken freaks who would be better off dead". I don't believe that either of those extremes is true.

I am disabled. To me, this means that I function in such a way that I must work harder or differently to achieve the same things as normal people do, and that I may not ever be able to manage some of them.

I am not broken. I am not dangerous. And I wish anyone luck who thinks they can try to control me.
And I wish that more people could find a balance between "we're superhumans!" and "we're poor broken freaks who would be better off dead". I don't believe that either of those extremes is true.[/quote]

+1

My take? I'm fine, NTs are fine, almost* everyone is fine, let's just learn how to get along.

Oh, and this research really isn't anything new. As usual, news reporting of genetics is 5-10 years behind the actual discoveries.

* (almost as in not psychopaths, pedophiles, etc)

My mother was bipolar and my father may have been Aspergerish based on some information I was given. I may have gotten the double wammy gentically.

Last edited by Briarsprout on 02 Mar 2013, 12:00 pm, edited 4 times in total.

"I am disabled. To me, this means that I function in such a way that I must work harder or differently to achieve the same things as normal people do, and that I may not ever be able to manage some of them. "


___


This is true in my opinion. I am a person with a handicap. But it is not my whole identity or all what I am or what I am about. I simply try my best to work with it/ around it to meet my life goals etc.

Where did you get that from? Seriously, I don't see the connection between the article and your ridiculous assertions.

I think there was another chain in the forums on that topic.

*applause*

THIS is what I think about it.

As for it being good, bad, broken, better or worse through association with those other conditions, a "mental illness" or "developmental disability", etc., all of that is meaningless to me anyway, just like this nonsense about the "direction" of evolution. Evolution has no direction and "good" or "bad" genes are defined only as what works. We're here, so it is "working" in that sense, for the time being.

I wish this whole genetic-based craze of neuropsych research dies down soon. Yes, genetic research is important to a certain degree, but I would much rather see more effort being taken in trying to find diagnostic markers via fMRI/MRI anatomy. The muddled research needs to be cleaned up badly. What exactly DOES differentiate a schizophrenic brain from a bipolar brain? We need to get to the point in psychiatry where all other branches of medicine have been for years now. We need to be able to look at anatomy and say, "Yes, THIS is what you have, and THIS is what medication will work for YOUR individual profile."

Also, I find it highly offensive how many people with ASDs vehemently proclaim that they aren't "mentally ill." The autistic brain works differently due to different genes. And autism's diagnosed using a psychiatric manual. How does that make an autistic any different than a schizophrenic? This quick proclamation of ASDs not being "mental illnesses", which I believe will only increase with the DSM-5's category of "neurodevelopmental disorders", only adds stigma against the severe "mental illnesses." If people with autism don't want their odd behavior judged, why should we be judging the behavior of someone with psychosis?

Yeah.

Schizophrenic people don't deserve judgment any more than autistics.

Considering environmental factors also play a major role I doubt they will be able to tell by looking at someone physically without a doubt what specific mental illness someone has. The issue is no two brains are the same, no one has the same DNA so that alone adds even more difficulty to being able to 'see' exactly what someone has. There is no way they can know beforehand how a medication will work for an individual...as the effects always vary depending on the individual.

Two people could have the exact same mental illness and symptoms, and it's still very possible the same med wont work on them both.

Also DSM stands for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders...not mental 'illnesses' I suppose it all depends if one prefers the term illness or disorder. Illness to me kind of indicates it's a sickness that can be gotten rid of, so I tend towards the term disorder when it comes to AS, I'd probably refer to schizophrenia that way as well. Why are autism and schizophrenia different...well people are born with autism and people develop schizophrenia. Though maybe people who develop schizophrenia are neurologically different than a neurotypical from birth can't be sure.

In rare cases people can be born with schizophrenia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35gcBL1ZwY4

Autism isn't diagnosed at birth, and often, symptoms don't start to appear until the 2nd or 3rd birthday. Same with schizophrenia, only on a later time scale. And Janie Schofield showed signs of schizophrenia practically since birth, full-blown since around age 4.