Nature and Nurture
What psychological problems do we have a natural predisposition to developing? Are we able to prevent these through avoiding certain situations? What psychological problems are the result of our circumstances and experiences? Does our brain chemistry give some of us an easier time avoiding these issues compared to others experiencing the same things?
Some of who we are is a product of our nature and some is a product of our upbringing. For example, our genetics give us things such as our intelligence from our DNA, and that is our natural intelligence. However, if it is not nurtured throughout our lives, we may not see it fully present. Some people born with less natural intelligence may present as more intelligent than us due to training and their nurturing early in life. It’s been argued that most of the things that make us who we are can be half explained by genetics and half by environment.
Let’s look at families with adopted children for example. A child adopted at birth will look like their birth family and not their adopted family because that part of themselves is usually genetic only. However, they will probably smile, gesture, and move the same ways as their adoptive family does, causing some of their “looks” to be due to their environment. As another example, a child may spend their entire lives training as a gymnast. They may be extremely good due to years of practice. However, perhaps their body type is naturally very tall and bigger-boned, causing them to be unable to perform as well as other gymnasts with less experience due to their genetics. Nothing is ever 100% nature caused or 100% nurture caused, that is impossible. Nature and nurture add up together to form what we are capable of and what we will become, and it is always important to consider both when judging ourselves or others.
Think about who you are and your “risk” or “rate” for being or having things as a point on a line between 0 and 100. 50 is the average or “normal” for every skill, trait, and disease, 100 is the high end and 0 is the low. You are born and your skin cancer genes put you at an 90, giving you a natural high likelihood of developing skin cancer due to the DNA of your family. However, you spend your whole life living in Northern Canada, inside and away from the sun, so your environment and life choices prevent your genetic predisposition from occurring. Now, let’s say your skin cancer risk is a 10 on the scale when you are born. You choose to forego sunscreen, you work as a lifeguard your whole life, and you live near the equator. Chances are you will end up with skin cancer as a result of your nurturing, even though your genetic predisposition was far in your favor. Many things work like this, including our weight, our happiness, our friendliness, etc.
Taking mental health as an example, some of us are born with an 80 or a 90 in relation to developing depression or anxiety. This is usually caused by a close family member having one of these disorders, which gets written into our DNA and passed along. Even trauma can be passed along through DNA, predisposing us to have an easier likelihood of developing things such as PTSD. If my “rate” is a 90 at birth for depression development, and yours is a 10, and both of us are put in the same environment, I am far likelier to develop the depression and you are more likely to withstand that development far longer and easier than me. It does not mean it is impossible for you to develop it, but rather your brain was gifted with things that perhaps mitigated a depression risk and caused you to handle circumstances in other ways, whereas my brain immediately causes me to turn to depressive symptoms.
Knowing your natural “rate” or risk for certain things can help you be aware of what nature has in store for you, so that you can work on changing your “nurture” or environment to keep yourself safer from the harmful things. We can’t change our nature, only manipulate some of our life circumstances, but we can educate ourselves on both. Making a family tree and writing out problematic or concerning things about our ancestors that could show up in our DNA and doing research about how that can affect us is a great first step. If you have kids, figuring out the likelihood of some of the mental or physical health problems you have had during your life passing to your children as they age is super important, so you can begin helping them now. If you have suffered with anxiety since you were a teenager, consider putting your children in therapy early to prevent anxiety symptoms from beginning in the first place. If you suffered from PTSD due to a traumatic event in your life, make sure to take extra caution and care with your children if they go through any situation that could be traumatic for them as well. We are a product of our parents and our world, and we have the free will to help those coexist within us.
Some of the most evil people of the world have kind, normal kids. Some of the nicest people of the world end up with problematic people as children. Some of us spend our whole lives trying for things in the world we are predisposed to be unable to accomplish. That is how our world works, science blending our complex genetic code with our complex lifestyles to create our life stories. What are some behaviors you have that are natural or unexplained by your experiences? What are some behaviors you have that you have adopted from watching others? How do you think your life would be different if your genes or upbringing were different?
Kyndal Sims
Birch Psychology
Resources
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-nature-versus-nurture-2795392
https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/nature-versus-nurture