I wonder myself about the effects of dysfunction and abuse in a family..both mental and physical. I seem to see alot more children with ADHD or ADD, and diagnosed very young. Not sure if this is because our medical system is quicker to diagnose or it is more prevalant?

This is related to what I talked about
last week in another thread.

The information I spoke about was
not received with much agreement.

But --- science has evidence that
what we experience or witness
in our earliest years impacts us
greatly from there on, through
our lives because of the way
it wires parts of our brain.

In my opinion it's not necessarily
permanent or irreversible. The
progress of many of us here on
this board is testimony to healing.

It is possible that early family disfunction plays a role. However it is important to distinguish between problems caused by neurological damage and problems caused by the child's current family environment. I think there is massive over diagnoses of these problems when children do not have neurological issues, but are acting out of anxiety and confusion over their home situation. I feel that this distinction is important because too often drugs are prescribed when they shouldn't be. ADD and other differences caused by neurological disfunction probably have radically different effective treatments from helping kids through a stressful family situation. I experienced this as a teacher. There are genuinely kids with neurological disorders who benefit from drug therapy. For the others drugs are not the answer, treating the underlying family situation and councelling might be.

The other question is; does living in an abusive family in early childhood cause neurological damage? I don't know the answer to that. It would be an interesting and important area of study.

Happily, significant study has
and is, being done.

Here's a repost of a thread from last week
when we were talking about choices or
below-consciousness programming.

Doctors at the Mayo Clinic
take a position that a combination
of genetics (nature) and circumstances
in the family of origin (nurture), seem
to hold the answers to many variant
behavior patterns, generally viewed
as problematic or dysfunctional.

Here's the post:

Paranoid Personality Disorder is from a group of disorders called Cluster A.

Borderline Personality Disorder is from the group called Cluster B.

My source for answering the question about whether the actions demonstrated by people suffering from one of these or other personality disorders can be answered by seeing them as choices or not, is the Mayo Clinic. Ive pasted in the link at the bottom of the post. The initial paragraph was pulled out from the middle, because its the most pertinent. Youll find, if you read down a bit further, that it appears again. I just wanted it to be on top, in case you werent interested in the whole answer.

So ---- here's what the doctors at the Mayo Clinic offer:



Personality is the combination of thoughts, emotions and behaviors that makes you unique. It's the way you view, understand and relate to the outside world, as well as how you see yourself. Personality forms during childhood, shaped through an interaction of two factors:

Inherited tendencies, or your genes. These are aspects of your personality passed on to you by your parents, such as shyness or having a happy outlook. This is sometimes called your temperament. It's the "nature" part of the nature vs. nurture debate.

Environment, or your life situations. This is the surroundings you grew up in, events that occurred, and relationships with family members and others. It includes such things as the type of parenting you had, whether loving or abusive. This is the "nurture" part of the nature vs. nurture debate.

Personality disorders are thought to be caused by a combination of these genetic and environmental influences. You may have a genetic vulnerability to developing a personality disorder and your life situation may trigger the actual development of a personality disorder.


Cluster B personality disorders

These are personality disorders characterized by dramatic, overly emotional thinking or behavior and include:

Antisocial (formerly called sociopathic) personality disorder
Disregard for others
Persistent lying or stealing
Recurring difficulties with the law
Repeatedly violating the rights of others
Aggressive, often violent behavior
Disregard for the safety of self or others

Borderline personality disorder
Impulsive and risky behavior
Volatile relationships
Unstable mood
Suicidal behavior
Fear of being alone

Histrionic personality disorder
Constantly seeking attention
Excessively emotional
Extreme sensitivity to others' approval
Unstable mood
Excessive concern with physical appearance

Narcissistic personality disorder

Believing that you're better than others
Fantasizing about power, success and attractiveness
Exaggerating your achievements or talents
Expecting constant praise and admiration
Failing to recognize other people's emotions and feelings


Personality is the combination of thoughts, emotions and behaviors that makes you unique. It's the way you view, understand and relate to the outside world, as well as how you see yourself. Personality forms during childhood, shaped through an interaction of two factors:

Inherited tendencies, or your genes. These are aspects of your personality passed on to you by your parents, such as shyness or having a happy outlook. This is sometimes called your temperament. It's the "nature" part of the nature vs. nurture debate.

Environment, or your life situations. This is the surroundings you grew up in, events that occurred, and relationships with family members and others. It includes such things as the type of parenting you had, whether loving or abusive. This is the "nurture" part of the nature vs. nurture debate.

Personality disorders are thought to be caused by a combination of these genetic and environmental influences. You may have a genetic vulnerability to developing a personality disorder and your life situation may trigger the actual development of a personality disorder.

Although the precise cause of personality disorders isn't known, certain factors seem to increase the risk of developing or triggering personality disorders, including:

A family history of personality disorders or other mental illness
Low socioeconomic status
Verbal, physical or sexual abuse during childhood
Neglect during childhood
An unstable or chaotic family life during childhood
Being diagnosed with childhood conduct disorder
Loss of parents through death or traumatic divorce during childhood

Personality disorders often begin in childhood and last through adulthood. There's reluctance to diagnose personality disorders in a child, though, because the patterns of behavior and thinking could simply reflect adolescent experimentation or temporary developmental phases.

Complications and problems that personality disorders may cause or be associated with include:
Depression
Anxiety
Eating disorders
Suicidal behavior
Self-injury
Reckless behavior
Risky sexual behavior
Child abuse
Alcohol or substance abuse
Aggression or violence
Incarceration
Relationship difficulties
Social isolation
School and work problems


http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pe...