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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This is something that I think of daily or hourly, as someone who married into a family with hidden mental illness (like literally hidden in a basement!) and whose STBX has developed dangerous mental illness symptoms over the past 5 years and after we already had a child together.

I’m sorry but the answer is absolutely not. It is irresponsible, selfish, and magical thinking on the part of a mentally ill person with a strong family history of mental illness to think that by just adding some new genes they might eliminate whatever issues run through their family.

Unfortunately one hallmark of some of the most severe mental illnesses and the ones that should disqualify people from procreating is total lack of awareness of their mental illness. [b]Anosognosia should be the actual disqualifier rather than mental illness itself.[/b] [/quote]

Completely agree. People who recognize their mental illness and who take proactive steps to manage it should be fine parents. My dad has bipolar disorder (and actually does take his medication, but sees the doctor 1-2x per year, refuses therapy, and doesn't report any issues to the doctor because he claims he doesn't have any, so the meds are not actually effective). His inability to recognize at any point that anything is wrong with him is the reason he should have never raised children (biological or otherwise). Because he's functional enough to not be in a conservatorship, no one can force him to do anything to take care of himself, and so there is no meaningful chance he will ever be able to manage his condition effectively and not verbally and emotionally abuse all the people around him. [/quote]

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