Tip: click a paragraph to jump to the exact moment in the video. Spousal Correlation of Mental Illness (EXCERPT)

1. 00:08 Right now having read all these studies and many others I think the correct picture is this. We tend to select people who are consciously or unconsciously, visibly or invisibly similar to us in profound ways
2. 00:33 in in ways which are not uh superficial but reflect who we are, reflect our essence and identity. We would therefore tend to select mentally ill people or mentally disordered people if we are mentally ill and disordered. There is therefore assortative ma mating
3. 00:56 in my view or and from the studies people who are predisposed to mental illness or already affect afflicted with mental illness would tend to select as partners people who have a predisposition for mental illness or already are afflicted with mental illness. Like attracts like.
4. 01:20 Couples are similar to start with. There is an assortative mechanism. There’s a mechanism of filtering out mates which are not like us. Mates,
5. 01:36 partners, spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends which are dramatically different to us. So the ground is set when in these couples where one of the members of the couple is mentally ill, afflicted with a psychiatric condition including severe psychiatric conditions such as
6. 01:58 personality disorders and schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and so on. This per this kind of person would select as a mate as a spouse in a committed relationship someone who has the capacity to develop mental illness that I believe has been established in multiple studies. However,
7. 02:24 which type of psychiatric disorders would emerge in the partner depend crucially on the other partner. I think that has been established as well. There is a contagion effect regarding the specificity of the of the mental health condition. Not the general propensity but the
8. 02:46 specificity. I may be inclined to develop mental illness, but whether I become a narcissist or um someone with a mood disorder depends on my partner. If my partner is a narcissist, I’m much more likely to become a narcissist. If my partner has a mood disorder, I’m much
9. 03:05 more likely to develop a mood disorder. Partners determine the specific mental health conditions of their partners. This is the shocking news. because it means that there is no genetic hereditary pred predisposition or proclivity for any one specific mental illness.
10. 03:31 There is a genetic there is genetic determinism to some extent. there’s a genetic contribution, hereditary determination with regards to the general vulnerability or susceptibility to mental illness. In other words, I think the only thing the genetics that one’s genes determine
11. 03:55 is whether you are likely to develop mental illness or not. You’re likely to acquire a psychiatric condition or disorder or not. This is determined by genetics. This is hereditary. What type of mental illness you will develop? Exactly. Would it be a
12. 04:14 personality disorder, a mood disorder, some other type of disorder, including autism, including ADHD? This is determined by the environment, and most crucially by other people in your environment to which you’re exposed in the long term. This is the amazing outcome which
13. 04:36 emanates from uh studies of spousal correlation convergence and in my language contagion.