MONTREAL, Mar 25, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A University of Montreal researcher
says family skeletons that lead to feelings of guilt, anger and helplessness can
hamper healing when disease strikes.
Marie-Dominique Beaulieu, a professor at the University of Montreal's department
of family medicine, says family secrets such as alcoholism, abuse and unwanted
pregnancies are quite common and an obstacle to healing.
"I see it in my practice," Beaulieu says in a statement. "Family secrets lead to
feelings of guilt, anger and helplessness. These feelings have a considerable
impact on health, specifically on the capacity to adapt and find a balance in
times of disease."
For example, American actor Jack Nicholson discovered via a Time magazine
reporter that his "mother" was in fact his maternal grandmother and his "sister"
was really his mother -- not everyone carries such dramatic secrets, yet
difficult family situations are quite commonplace, Beaulieu says.
Research increasingly shows that emotions such as anger and feelings of
helplessness lead to a higher risk of disease. Someone can be perfectly happy
even if they carry heavy secrets, Beaulieu says.
"To speak about subjects that have tarnished a family's history is a liberating
process for oneself and for future generations," Beaulieu says.
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Copyright 2009 by United Press International