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. Truth is relatives.