Celebrating Your Family History

by SAMHSA

Your family is unique and so is your family's history. Set aside time to connect with your roots. Why? By getting to know your ancestry, you find out more about yourself and your identity. It is a great activity to do as a family. Plus, you may learn about your family's medical history so that you can be on the lookout for health risks like problems with alcohol. Knowing you are at risk is important because then you can take steps to protect yourself from developing problems with alcohol. Here are some ideas on how to celebrate your family history:

What To Do

• Create a photo album together. Make sure the names of everyone in the photograph are written under or on the back of the photo. Don't forget to write the year the picture was taken.

• Make a family history book, complete with photos and articles written about weddings, reunions, and other celebrations. Each family member can take a different section.

• Hold a family reunion. Ask everyone to bring photos and fact sheets about their immediate family, including important dates and brief summaries of their own personal histories. This information can be used for the family history book or just passed around for everyone to see. Family reunions are a great way for the generations to mix and spend time together.

• Make a cookbook of favorite family recipes through the years. Bring the recipes alive by taking turns hosting potlucks and cooking or baking dishes from the book.

• Have an afternoon of storytelling from the older generations to the younger ones. It helps the youngsters see the grandparents, aunts, and uncles as "real people" with a history. It also can help them understand what life was like before e-mails and cell phones!

These activities can bring your family together. Start a tradition and help everyone in your family connect with each other and learn more about themselves.

What To Know

Knowing your family history also can be useful for medical reasons, such as genetic disorders or hereditary conditions. For example, risk for developing addictive behaviors like alcoholism and substance abuse has been found to be related to genetics. Consider learning about and documenting your family's medical history.

About the Author

www.samhsa.gov
SAMHSA works to improve the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, alcohol and drug addiction treatment, and mental health services. Includes links to support groups, information resources, events and articles.