Posted by fires on May 28, 2005, at 10:51:14
In reply to Nature + Nurture?, posted by Dinah on May 28, 2005, at 9:54:38
> We're born with biological predispositions but their expression is determined to a greater or lesser extent by our environment, depending on the nature of the biological predisposition.
>
> Like I'm biologically predisposed to diabetes and got overweight. Not all those who are overweight get diabetes. But not all of those with the biological predisposition develop diabetes. If I hadn't gained fifty pounds I most likely wouldn't have. But if I had had a disposition for a different sort of diabetes, it wouldn't have mattered what I did. I'd have gotten diabetes.
>
> So with mental illness, in some cases the biological disposition is so strong, that no amount of good fortune and internal self talk would help. But in other cases, there is a tendency to depression or anxiety whose expression is determined by both external (like parenting) and internal (like self talk) variables.
Don't forget that some of us were born with apparently "abnormal" immune systems. We might be able to avoid depression if we aren't exposed to the viruses which apparently trigger it. Parenting and self talk may have nothing to do with this/these type(s) of depression.Borna virus:
http://www.psycom.net/depression.central.borna.html
Immune/inflammatory responses/cytokines:
http://www.psycom.net/depression.central.borna.html
Interferon and depression:
http://www.biopsychiatry.com/interferon-alpha.htm
poster:fires
thread:501224
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050528/msgs/504129.html