The family has some say in whether it will be possible to get better, and by what means. A family will sacrifice a member to protect a more important member. The most disturbed family member may not be the identified patient. Symptoms have an organizing effect on a family. Symptoms appear when a family is threatened by change or they may accompany changes in a family.
Symptoms influence the emotional temperature of family relationships.
If it is too hot, the symptoms may produce distance. If it is too cold, the symptoms may unite the family. When symptoms diminish, anxiety may increase somewhere in the family. Symptoms develop around mislabeled feelings or repressed affect. Symptoms or patterns of illness often have a cross-generational basis.