Expert: Dana Krempels, Ph.D. - 11/20/2011

Question
My daughter was diagnosed schizo-affective/bipolar two months prior to her suicide (the direct result of the disease and despite everything I did to prevent it).  I was 40 when I had her, part of the "peace" generation, and took mescaline a few times in my early 20s.  I discovered (well after my child was born) that a close relative (my father's son from first marriage) had two children who committed suicide in adulthood, one who committed murder, and another who was suicidal (female) until around age 25 but is now a psychotherapist (so she must be free of serious mental illness.)  I would like to know WHAT HAPPENED TO MY DAUGHTER.  IS there any way for me to be tested at this point to see if my mitochondria is the cause?  Thank you.

Answer
Dear Ellen,

I am very sorry about the tragedy you have suffered.  Unfortunately, there is no way to know exactly why she took her own life.  We are many, many years away from being able to detect something as complex as a personality disorder in our genes--if, indeed, such a disorder can be due only to genes.  

The connection between genes and personality is not yet well understood.  It is known that some types of mental disorders can run in families, but whether this is a result of similar environment ("nurture") or shared genes ("nature") cannot really be known with certainty without extensive research.  The human mind is simply too complex, and it is impossible to do controlled studies on our own species.

I am sorry for your loss.

Dana