Is it really true that people who have eating disorders, sleeping disorders, or mood disorders (like anxiety or depression) usually have suffered some type of incest in their childhood?

--Sheryl

Incest, as well as other types of sexual abuse, certainly can have profound psychological effects which, if unaddressed, can last into adulthood. So can emotional abuse, physical abuse, and neglect. But I wouldn't go so far as to say that people who have eating disorders, mood disorders or sleep disorders USUALLY have suffered incest as children.

Some studies have compared groups of people who are in psychiatric treatment and those who have never sought psychiatric treatment and found that a higher percentage of psychiatric patients have histories of child abuse. (The same has been found true for people with medical problems, by the way.) But there are many people in therapy, as well as people who have developed eating disorders or anxiety or depression, who were not sexually abused as children. They may have experienced traumatic events, but the trauma or abuse may have been emotional or psychological in nature rather than sexual or physical.
And, of course, there's always an interaction between the biology of an individual and his or her environment. Some people may have an underlying genetic or biological predisposition to developing certain disorders or problems. For instance, let's say a girl inherits a chunky or stocky build from her father, while her mother has a slender physique. She may grow up comparing herself -- or being compared -- negatively to her mother. If the family places a emphasis on thinness, she may try unsuccessfully to achieve her mother's slim shape, become disgusted at her body, and develop an eating disorder. (There would be a lot more to it than that, of course, but this is the short version.) Since, unfortunately, one in four girls have reported being sexually abused in some way before age 18, there's a 25 percent chance the young woman in this example might also have been sexually abused at some point in her life. (Keep in mind that not all sexual abuse is incest -- the abuse may come from outside her family, such as from a neighbor or boyfriend.) While sexual abuse may increase her negative feelings about her body -- and certainly would need to be addressed in her therapy -- it wouldn't have been the CAUSE of her eating disorder.

The danger in saying that people with certain disorders "usually" suffered incest or abuse as children is that some people might then assume that having the disorder means they MUST have experienced incest or abuse, even if they have no memory or no other suspicion of such abuse. Their healing might then focus inappropriately -- and unhelpfully -- on trying to remember such abuse and resolve its suspected effects. If someone WAS traumatized in childhood in some way but has dissociated from conscious awareness all or part of the experience -- which does happen -- what he or she needs to know, remember or realize in order to heal will usually surface naturally when the time is right. I believe it's best not to force that process.