Family History and your Health
Apart from the most obvious connection of inherited risk factors for certain diseases and health conditions, understanding your family history can really help you understand yourself better and help you become more comfortable about ourself and who you truly are.
There are two aspects I’d like to highlight from personal experience:
- my particular foot deformity is genetic, but at the time of my pain, we had no details of my Mum’s blood family history. It is only recently that we have found and met up with them, and can now see that lots of us suffer foot and other health-related problems
- learning about your family history, particularly the relationship with the opposite sex parent back through generations can tell a lot about your own particular fears and issues. How we are treated in childhood has a significant impact on our life, and by understanding the conditions and situations that previous generations found themselves in, it becomes easier to understand why and how they were as they were in their life.
Shadow work to help identify, accept and allow these influences, which in turn can release you from repeating similar patterns in your life.
This video shares my maternal family’s poignant journey to reunite blood and adoptive families, all ultimately the work of my wonderful Nan and Grandad. It is our lasting reminder to their efforts, and dedicated in memory to my Grandad, who passed 4 weeks after reaching his 100th birthday.
Being accepted so warmly by our blood family, and learning about each other is such a gift. Mum’s brother Richard grew up in the National Children’s Home in Harpenden. Thanks to archive video footage and my Uncle’s willingness to share his memories for the first time, here is a special insight into what life was like growing up in care.