A genetic variant may protect some abused kids from depression and other long-term effects.
Comment: i am a whore.
Comment: I will not deny that those that are abused, oppressed, mistreated in any way either by one person or a whole system of people may have some negative emotions. Most do have some most negative feelings, and sometimes possibly even devastating lifelong reactions to and consequences from these memories. They are all "bruised" and or being "exploited" to some extent when we are talking about people that have been victimized, adult or child. However, I think social skills and social roles play a big part in all of this. In training, upbringing, and personalities more so then anything. What we are looking at perhaps as abuse is perhaps more of a perception in some instances?
I don't want to excuse any actual violence or abuse, that is not my intention. Accidents do happen to the best of people. While rough and tumble can sometimes be termed abuse, which it really may not be according to who is looking at it and how. While in other situations rough and tumble is not thought of as abuse, take for instance kids sports and other activities, and also the resulting injuries that are possible. Yet, we do not call these sports injuries abusive for the most part. Certainly welting a child or beating it to death or sexual exploitation is.
As rules of how to live in a society change, perceptions often change. Some of these changes may not always be for the best, they may at times simply take away the ability to teach behavioral coping or adjusting mechanisms? Therefore, the range of perceptions about what abuse is may be so broad now that it causes some necessary life skills to change and some of the things that have made humans buoyant and flexible over time in order to adapt to life events may be getting lost in the shuffle.
Even people that do have what looks like an easy life, who have never been abused, can have wildly different resiliency levels. Take for instance two stock brokers that have had everything in life, in the depression both with the same factors one of them then jumped and the other went back to start all over and succeed, right? That is resiliency right, but I don't ever think it will be known exactly why? Sure different life events impact people in different ways and teach them different things about how to cope with life.
Comment: Scientist have looked for possible clues for generations now and still have not been able to define these kinds of things. They have no reliable way to measure them exactly? That is not in the chemicals or genes of any one person, it is a societal problem. Genes can't be easily changed in most instances, they can be mutated. However, I think that most of this is a matter of learning which can be changed. This learning starts from the day a baby is born, if not before?
While even one instance of distorting the degree or amount of facts can create the unintended consequence of having misrepresentations. Any act of obtaining facts from another by coercion or intimidation through abuse of ones authority or position in any oppressive or unjust way can be harmful and have long lasting and impacting side effects for the whole of humanity. In fact, such acts can cause society to be filled with fear and terror, to lose their sense of faith, hope, and trust in them self or others. Any such act which is done in order to dominate another can produce widespread fear in order to frighten or overpower people with. The terror to coerce through fear without first having good facts not only affects the person it is being done to, but all those around them inadvertently.
Society in general talks as if emotional reactions to some things are created by different chemicals and genes, when in fact there is no conclusive reliable or valid evidence to say this is so and the APA knows this. These are theories and theories change over time. The truth about behaviors is ""No one knows how or why."" They probably never will so it does a disservice to your readers to make them believe that they do, until they do.
These pills are dangerous, and I for one am not sure that this is the best way to go about handling the problems we may find in this world we live in. In fact I doubt it, we have enough people hooked on pills as it is or in jails because of them. What you have here is certainly a good bite for the drug companies to start building another useless pill with. No better then when President Bush got on the TV and told Americans that he knew they had weapons of mass destruction, if you ask me articles like this and this treatment is what the real WMD is.
Comment: Hi Mary,
Thank you for the great article.
I???m glad NIMH is funding studies to find the genes associated with resiliency to hostility, abuse and trauma. As a former practicing biochemist, I can say that, of course, we???ll find genes associated with almost every pattern of behavior.
Resiliency is something that we???ve seen and studied throughout history. For example, in their elegant studies of about 700 famous men and women (???Cradles of Eminence,??? 1962), Victor and Mildred Goertzel, called the eminent survivors of childhood abuse and trauma ???The Invulnerables.???
But, I think it???s a dead end if we focus merely on the genetic expressions of what???s going on. You end up thinking that either you have the right stuff or you don???t.
In my coaching of adults (including parents wanting to know how to help their children), I encourage them to focus on the ???free will??? aspects of their lives. You have much more control over what you create in life right now than you do over your genetics. No matter what life throws at us, whether we???re subjected to natural disasters, large scale human destruction or individual family brutality and trauma, we all must struggle to rise above those events in order to create as great a life as we can. We can take charge of our efforts even though we can???t control the results.
When you look back at your inheritance, think of what your ancestors must have lived through. No matter what your ancestry, you come from an unbroken line of men and women who survived drought, flood, plague, famine, disease, war, uprooting, slavery, rape and every other form of trauma, hostility, control, abuse and brutality known. Everyone one of your ancestors survived long enough to make a baby who grew up to make a baby who grew up to make a baby ??? until you were born. If one of your ancestors hadn???t grown up to do his or her part, you wouldn???t be here. That???s a legacy of survivors.
Also think of your mental and spiritual inheritance. There must have been people who took in some of your ancestors and nurtured, encouraged and stimulated them, even though they weren???t blood relatives. Despite all the abuse and trauma, here you are. You the legacy of survivors. Stop worrying about your genes and start acting on what you want to try to create that???s glorious, that???s worthy of all the struggle and effort that went into getting you here.
I remember the stories of what my grandparents went through in order to get here. They didn???t have credit cards, cell phones, health insurance or own their homes. How can I let them down by not living as gloriously as I can? How can I let them down by not encouraging my children to do the same ??? no matter what their genetics has given them?
Best wishes,
Ben Leichtling
www.BulliesBeGone.com
Comment: This also leaves other interesting questions: 1) why 20 years of four-five da/wk psychoanalysis "cured" one severely abused child in a family of four,children, but the remainder continue to struggle with their respective issues left from that abuse. 2) The physical effects from the years of struggling with high cortisol levels in the body continue to plague this individual, but emotionally and spiritually, she remains in good stead. 3) The valient lives of all of them, responsible and respectible professionals all, are contrasted with the remainder of those whose lives turn to chaos--and the abuse was severe. Only one of them (the described woman takes medicine--and no longer for psychiatric reasons).
Comment: I always thought that there must be something genetic that had to do with resiliency. In my experience, if, for instance you had a patient with depression, you used an antidepressive drug succesfully and afterwards a son suffered the same disease, it´s almost sure that the same drug will have good results
Comment: WoW!! This is amazing!! I can totally relate to this. Both my husband and I were raised in abusive environments. He is extremely Anti-social & has depression...and has been this way most of his life, while I am outgoing, but I started to have symptoms of depression when I hit my mid-twenties. All I can say is that if this group of people needs someone to study they should look at my husband and I because we are perfect case studies for both of the gene types they have described in this article! polyeurocalian@msn.com
Comment: WoW!! This is amazing!! I can totally relate to this. Both my husband and I were raised in abusive environments. He is extremely Anti-social & has depression...and has been this way most of his life, while I am outgoing, but I started to have symptoms of depression when I hit my mid-twenties. All I can say is that if this group of people needs someone to study they should look at my husband and I because we are perfect case studies for both of the gene types they have described in this article! polyeurocalian@msn.com
Comment: WoW!! This is amazing!! I can totally relate to this. Both my husband and I were raised in abusive environments. He is extremely Anti-social & has depression...and has been this way most of his life, while I am outgoing, but I started to have symptoms of depression when I hit my mid-twenties. All I can say is that if this group of people needs someone to study they should look at my husband and I because we are perfect case studies for both of the gene types they have described in this article! polyeurocalian@msn.com
Comment: Well finally science is catching up to what any lay man on the street already knows.
I have had this quiet voice in my head for some time now that has led me to believe that this gene does exist. For example if one compares children who scream abuse in the developed world to the kind of physical, mental, emotional and abuse many children suffer in third world countries and yet so many of these children come out okay, one cannot help but wonder what could be responsible.
I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to figure this one out.
What is need more detailed research in to what could be the reason for this phenomenon. Is environment responsible for this?, Is it heredity? Is it faith or a combinations of all these elements or do these children posses an uncanny ability to compartmentalize things? Children in both developed, developing and underdeveloped countries do have these attributes. Why? How do these children from varying backgrounds deal with traumatic experiences?
PMA Lawson
Comment: Well finally science is catching up to what any lay man on the street already knows.
I have had this quiet voice in my head for some time now that has led me to believe that this gene does exist. For example if one compares children who scream abuse in the developed world to the kind of physical, mental, emotional and abuse many children suffer in third world countries and yet so many of these children come out okay, one cannot help but wonder what could be responsible.
I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to figure this one out.
What is need more detailed research in to what could be the reason for this phenomenon. Is environment responsible for this?, Is it heredity? Is it faith or a combinations of all these elements or do these children posses an uncanny ability to compartmentalize things? Children in both developed, developing and underdeveloped countries do have these attributes. Why? How do these children from varying backgrounds deal with traumatic experiences?
PMA Lawson
Comment: Well Finally sience is catching up to what any lay man on the street already knows.
I have had this quiet voice in my head for some time now that has led me to believe gene does exists. For example if one compares children who scream abuse in the developed world to the kind of physical, mental, emotional and abuse many children suffer in third world countries and yet so many of these children come out okay, one cannot help but wonder what could be responsible.
I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to figure this one out.
What is need more detailed research in to what could be the reason for this phenomenon. Is enviromnent reponsible for this?, Is it heredity? Is it faith or a combinations of all these elements or do these children posses an uncanny ability to compartmentalize things? Children in both developed, developing and underdeveloped countries do have these attributes. Why? How do these children from varying backgrounds deal with traumatic experiences?
PMA Lawson
Comment: Just remember WE ALL ANSWER FOR OUR ACTIONS ON EARTH.PEOPLE THINK JUST BECAUSE THEY CANT BE SEEN OR HEARD THAT THEIR SIN WILL GO UNANSWERED. WRONG....
Comment: When I was 6 years old I was molested by both aunts at the same time up intil the age 12.One of my aunts used to take me to motorcycle partys and i would see all kinds of horrable things go on there to women.My dad threw me down a flight of stairs when I was 2 it gave me a blood clot to the brain almost killed me.He was jelous of me getting more attention from my mother.I am 39 now and I have been divorced twice, seen multiple shrinks,lost 2 houses all my money and just recently my job of 12 years.I have 3 kids and none of them call me even though I was a great dad to them I was always there.So I wonder why I feel so screwed up sometimes.I than see some people with looks to be great lifes walking around judging others.Anyway What gets me by to see another day is Jesus AKA God Also I know is when I pray I know that everything will be the way it should be.I think some of us need more faith and maybe just maybe are genes will get stronger.Amen . John
Comment: I say how much it means to me to hear that other people have had similar experiences. I was abandoned by my mother as an infant, shuffled in and out of foster homes, and eventually "adopted" by a family that abused me terribly. I have struggled all my life to feel "right" and good about myself, but depression always hangs out just around the corner. Despite earning degrees and having a successful career, I battle to control the pain of my past every single damed day of my life. This is the first time I've ever written this publicly. The article held out hope that maybe my depression is not my fault.
Comment: you are such a cry baby. everything that has ever happened to you has been your fault. take responsibility for it. whore.
Comment: Thank you. I get so angry and frustrated that I can't "get over" my past, and that nothing seems to completely help with my depression. Maybe if I can wonder if it's partly genetic, I can stop beating myself up long enough to make some headway. (Is this circular reasoning, or what? If only logic and intellect were enough to combat depression... but for me at least, it definitely isn't.)
Comment: I really wish science publish more articles available to the public about fight or flight syndrome. Adrenaline is one nasty hormone.
Comment: I am somene that suffers from severe depression and have since childhood. I come from a very abusive home involving physical, sexual, and mental abuse. Most of my siblings seem go be ok for the most part. With all that therapy and medications, I still can't seem to beat the depression. This article was very helpful to me.
Comment: I have an adopted son, now 11, who was abused when he was with his birthmom. He seems to be relatively unaffected by the abuse, and this offers a possible explanation for his resiliency. I pray that the scientists can determine a way to use this discovery to benefit kids who are not so lucky.
Dee Thompson
Comment: youre right dee.I was molested by my two aunts between the age of 6 to 12 and I told my elders and they did nothing.Plus when I was two my father threw me down the stairs gave me a blood clot to the brain almost killed me.He was jelous because my mother gave me more attention.I never got to meet him I found him when I was 16 in a grave.My one aunt was a motorcycle woman with a well new biker club and I used to watch them do very bad things to women from the age 6 to 14.I am 39 now and I cant seem to live a normal life.I am a graet guy.But it is a struggle everyday for me.I THANK GOD EVERYDAY,I PRAY WHEN I CAN IT SEEMS TO MAKE EVERYTHING BETTER.THESE WERE SOM OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED TO ME.WE CAN OVERCOME OUR PROBLEMS HAVE FAITH AND PRAY.JOHN
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