Mental Illness & Other Quirks – Inherited Or Acquired?

ink blot psychologyDo you have a mental illness or a mental oddity of some sort?

I wonder if you feel it’s inherited, or something you picked up along the way? Maybe you think it’s both?

In your own estimation, where did your problem/gift/curse come from?

Also, is your Mercury afflicted or looking reasonable

You’re openly invited to use fake whatever,  in order to respond. I just wonder where regular people are with this.

Thanks!

18 thoughts on “Mental Illness & Other Quirks – Inherited Or Acquired?”

  1. Avatar
    NeptuneBarbie

    I have OCD, which is considered a mental illness. I don’t have the germophobe type, I have the type where I alphabetize my books, music and movies, everything has it’s place (and if you touch it, I’ll rip your head off), and my panty drawer is folded perfectly. My closet is by color and length. Everything must match perfectly. I must have harmony.

    I inherited it from my mother, but she wasn’t nearly as bad as I am. Neither one of us were medicated for it. We both led extremely organized lives, which reduced our anxiety to nearly zero. We both liked lists and were very rigid about what gets done when, we both made check lists. We were meticulous housekeepers. Again, if you mess it up, I’ll rip your head off. Unless you happen to be a dog. I’m very forgiving of dogs and cats.

    Mercury in my 1st in Aquarius is opposite both Pluto and Jupiter in my 7th in Leo. I’ve been accused of being a dishonest trickster by 2 astrologers because of Mercury. I’m neither. I’m also not an astrologer, so I have no idea what any of it means. However, my mouth (Mercury) has always gotten me in trouble. My dad always said I shoot arrows out of my mouth (Sagg moon). I’ve destroyed (Pluto) a few relationships with my mouth. Nobody likes a truth-teller. That’s about the extent of my astro knowledge.

    I’m very happy with my OCD, it allows me to lead a very relaxed, harmonious and organized life. I know exactly where everything is, which is valuable when being married to someone with ADHD who’s wasted half his life looking for things.

  2. Hmmm, I have PTSD and both my parents definately have PTSD from living in war torn countries and other reasons too.

    People say I don’t have a filter. (Mercury/Mars conjunction in the 10th trine Pluto in the 2nd) whatever I say sorta becomes public 😭 Like the show Monk, it is both a blessing and a curse.

    I also like to be organized and become the go to person for it, but I’m usually surrounded by folks who are kinda similiar to hoarders 😔 I have Pluto transit to my Virgo moon in the 12th right now.

    I have Venus trine my ascendent, people call me sweetheart all the time (I’m middle aged) and my voice is disarming?? I just sound timid??

  3. Great topic.
    I’ve always had anxiety and it is obvious that it was inherited from Mom 😄. My sun is conjunct Mercury and Mercury is pretty active in my chart, so I figure this may contribute (over thinking things). My sun’s in the 12th, with pisces rising and combined with Saturn in 4th (fear), I can understand how worry/anxiety is present.

    I must confess that I also suffer from OCD at times and yes, my Mom does too. This could stem from my Moon conjunct Pluto in 8th .
    Most of the time, this energy can be directed positively as NeptuneBarbie has outlined. Sometimes though, under great stress, this energy becomes burdensome and painful.

    Possessing anxiety and OCD has provided me with great empathy/understanding of those who struggle with mental illness to greater degrees. Because I inherited these conditions I really get how powerful genetics can be. Of course, environment always a role but in recent times, I’ve read more on biological influence. Functional MRI’s for example, can detect brain differences in those with certain mental health conditions.

    1. Also, apologies, Hades Moon, I didn’t know that my comment would be nested under yours, thought I was starting my own. Not trying to derail you!

  4. Definitely genetic for me. Although I believe it can be multifactorial! I was a happy, easy going, social kid until I got my period. I physically felt a change in my brain at that time even though I could not verbalize that at the time. No trauma or incident occurred . Family history of depression in the family. I once received an astro report that stated one of my astro positions was common in those who have a life long “death wish” I translated it as suicidal ideation . I don’t now what the astro was that it was referring to and now have lost the report. I do remember it stating that others with a different signature was a “life wish” .. Interesting..

    1. I have Mercury in Scorpio, and Sun, Venus and Jupiter in the sign as well.

      They are all opposite Chiron in Taurus, and I guess that has some influence… To a degree.

      The main culprit is with my Moon-Mars square I think. This square has made my temper difficult at most. My mom’s moon is conjunct my Chiron too, and my Dad’s Chiron is very close to my Aquarius Ascendant degree.

      My Chiron is conjunct fixed star Algol too… There is a lot of controversy with that Medusa star, and the energy of it is very pronounced in the Moon/Mars square. This square aspect has much the same flavour as Algol (“Loosing one’s head” in a temper for example), but it makes perfect sense, because it shows the core wound about anger and expressing anger in my entire ancestral family tree on both sides of it.

      I have been subjected to cumulative stress throughout my childhood, which has given a lot of anxiety and mental illness. Abuse and consequences of alcoholic abuse is never pretty.

      I have been diagnosed with ADHD myself, which is also a generational trait from my ancestors as well (post humed diagnosis for my grandmother and grandad on my family tree)

      Many an alcohol abuser or other abuser has had undiagnosed and untreated ADHD through history, and my dad’s line was no exception.

  5. I’m registered here but commenting under a different name because my gut tells me I should be anonymous.

    I have a very loose, out of sign Mercury-Pluto opposition with Mercury in Taurus+11 and Pluto in Sag+6. To me, it perfectly describes both my eidetic memory and my OCD, the latter being chiefly contamination- and morality-centered but also currently fucking up every single other aspect of my life. You’d never look at it and think it’s one of the main characters in my play – even I didn’t – but it is, and I can pinpoint the start of it to one traumatic event when I was 10 years old. My parents both have it as well so there’s probably a strong genetic element – it was a can of gas that just needed a match.

    Of note is the fact that my father and brother also have the Mercury-Pluto opposition, in different signs and houses, and their memories are also remarkable: Brother can tell you exactly on which date did insanely specific and small things happen. Father has entire movies and TV shows memorized.

    Also while we’re talking about my Taurean+Uranian Mercury, numbers and letters are colors, some of which do not exist in real life, and colors have a sensation between a taste and a texture which also only exists in my head. That’s pretty much all me.

    I can see my PTSD reflected simply in my hard Mercury-Pluto and Moon-Pluto aspects. I have seen and felt some hellish things. Why my brain thinks they’re still happening or going to happen again, I don’t know.

  6. Avatar
    Born With The Energy

    I’m also anonymizing mine. Moon conjunct Pluto, squared by Saturn has been a huge block on my lifelong emotional expression and sense of belongingness and it has fueled much anxiety. My Sun and Mercury conjunct is squared by Neptune. I was definitely born questioning who I really was and became a chameleon to blend into wherever I was, and I suppose it’s easy to be anxious with wondering what is ever certain within and outside of me.

    Then, there’s my friend who has Mercury conjunct Uranus the 12h square and with a square to Jupiter and Neptune. He has an impulse control disorder that is considered a form of schizophrenia and at least one other in his immediately family had it. He was too ashamed or afraid of it to get help until their Chiron return slam-dunked his facing it.

    Is it inherited or does life do it to us? I think we’re born with the energy, and whatever we interact with throughout life shapes it and gives it a minimal or maximum expression.

  7. I have fought depression since I was a teenager. Both parents had mental health issues, I suffered from their abuse because of it. I think its genetic coupled with the environment.

    1. As far as my natal placements, Sun and Saturn conjunct in Scorpio , 12th house square my pluto in Leo.

  8. Avatar
    the laughing goat

    At ten years old I was about to commit suicide until my older brother’s girlfriend walked in and found me. I grew up in a home that contained much abuse and neglect. I became an alcoholic by age 14 to attempt to numb the pain and escape the emotional misery. In my early thirties I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and feel that I have had these conditions most of my life. I have managed to have a pretty good life, broke the cycles of abuse and neglect with my family, and have been sober for 24+ years. I struggle now with a great deal of anxiety because of the workplace I am currently at. And I feel that I am somehow reliving my family of origins experience at this place. I guess I still have some shit to work out.

    12H Sun and Mercury in Capricorn BUT they Sextile 9H Neptune in Scorpio, and Trine 7H Uranus, and Pluto in Virgo.

    1. I’m sorry you went through all that and also that you have to revisit it now. Congrats on getting your own family together. No easy feat!

      1. Avatar
        the laughing goat

        Good morning, Elsa! ☀️
        Thank you, it’s been one hellluva a rotten onion to peel that is for sure.

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