Under Construction - MHWA Retreat

My dad is OCD and Nan was a worry-wart. I am OCD and a worry-wart; I used to think it was in my DNA. However, last year I learned that dad wasn't Nan's biological child and he was adopted. Mom's mother was also adopted. Two of my relatives were adopted and that threw a monkey wrench into my theory. I decided to try 23 & Me to not only learn of my ancestry but to also see what I inherited. Fortunately, I don't have any major illnesses - I guess thyroid disease isn't major in the grand scheme of things - but there was a link to depression or at least I'm susceptible to it. I guess depression and anxiety aren't necessarily related to my thyroid disease, which is inherited from my ancestors, but there are other genetic factors involved.

Since Nan was a worry-wart, she used to teach me ways to manage my worry and anxiety. Although I have been failing to use them in the past few years, I'm starting to especially as mom continues to threaten to kick me out. While I know she won't and she knows I don't have the money, it's teaching myself the deep breathing exercises Nan taught me and remembering what happened in the past. Past behaviours predict future behaviours. Remembering that seems to calm me down. Could some of my OCD behaviour been learned by dad and his obsessive cleaning? Maybe? I don't shower three times per day and I tend to be a hoarder, but hoarding is an OCD trait. I've been getting better about my hoarding and in a few weeks I will be doing a major cleanout. It takes many times, but sometimes it's working myself through feelings of getting rid of sentimental memories.

I believe our mental health is a combination of both. We are predisposed, but we are also exposed.