Intergenerational Depression: How Family Trauma and Genetics Shape Mental Health

In this intimate, unscripted conversation, Giving Voice to Depression hosts Terry McGuire and her daughter Carly McCollow open up about their personal experiences with depression across generations. They reflect on how genetics, trauma, and family silence shape mental health — and why speaking openly can break cycles of shame and stigma.

Listeners will hear stories about childhood anxiety, gratitude rituals, reframing depression as a chronic condition, and the healing that comes when families normalize talking about mental health. This candid dialogue offers validation and encouragement for anyone navigating depression within the context of family history.

Primary Topics Covered:

• Genetics, trauma, and their role in intergenerational depression
• Why families often avoid mental health conversations
• Early signs of anxiety and depression in children
• How parenting with depression changes perspective and priorities
• Challenging stigma through openness and humor
• Trauma as both a family and cultural experience
• The power of naming and normalizing depression in loved ones

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to the episode and why it’s different
 01:12 Stigma around depression in families
 03:57 Childhood memories of anxiety and gratitude practices
 08:36 Depression going unnamed and misunderstood in families
 12:56 Parenting while living with depression
 16:18 Mental health days and challenging the wellness binary
 20:28 How trauma and silence carry forward across generations
 24:52 Understanding trauma as individual, family, and cultural
 27:31 Closing reflections on responsibility, acceptance, and love

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