Differing severities of mental illnesses in adopted children

movin4ward
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Differing severities of mental illnesses in adopted children

I believe it is said that an adopted child will share similar traits and interests as their biological parents. Obviously genetic influence is an important factor in mental development. What piques my curiosity is this...."could the impact of environmental factors, if severe enough, supersede genetic influences and extrapolate mental illness into full blown psychosis even if the adopted child carried genes that should have resulted in a sound mind?" Also, if mental illness runs in the family, and the child remained with his biological parents, was sexually abused by siblings, severely indoctrinated with a nutso pentecostal religion and after deconverting had their family turn on them and shun them- what could this potentially do to a persons psyche? Would time, antidepressants and logic be sufficient or would such an individual be basically doomed without some sort of therapy or counseling? Would major depression, anxiety, confusion and schizotypalistic tendencies be understandable? I feel such a person may benefit from researching and giving it time before getting a label stuck on them- labels are for jars.


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What?

 

 

 

                       The question you pose is best answered by a board certified Psychiatrist, one involved in psychoisic research, no one here is qualified to answer.  Does your proposition relate to your personal experience? If so you are in dire need of psychiatric help,  not us.  Good luck.

 

 

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From the other Thread . . . .

Quote:
36 year old male here, extremely sheltered and strongly indoctrinated from day one witnessing tongues, laughing in the spirit, dancing/drunk in the spirit and slain in the spirit weekly. I couldn't go to drive in movies, ride public transportation, watch ET, scooby doo, flinstones, smurfs etc. because mom says the devil is behind them. For as long as I can remember mom has told me satan goes out of his way to tell me I'm no good and she says I believe his lies. Whatever. After dad passed 10 years ago she has immersed herself in Joel Osteen and has lost it-her prozac needs checked I speculate. I spent 8 years at a state job as a scientific technician and it changed my process of thinking and I started questioning 1.5 years ago for the first time. I was shocked how obvious it was that it is all a lie. The shock turned into joy and relief being saved from eternal flames which I was sure I was headed to after committing blasphemy at 13 in a fit of rage- I didn't mean what I said at the time but I still said it. On the flipside, going to heaven sounded dreadful, petty and materialistic to me. I was actually scared that at some point in eternity mankind would act up somehow and unravel the very fabric of heaven.

  Forgive me for saying this but your former group sounds like a 'Cult', using the sociological definition of the term. Nothing overtly against anyone in my statement about being a cult. I have noticed in some Pentecostal movements they have a tendency to say 'our way is the true way', and begin to act like the other sister organizations are no good. (Harley I may have some gender bias after all, noticed I used the word 'sister'; sorry private joke). You have shared alot but I havent heard enough about this legalism you are pointing at. Was your dad a lay minister or lay preacher ? You will forgive me  but it sounds like your folks werent all that bright (no offense). You  never said they were or not. It's a shame you never had a chance or an opportunity to examine things from a radically different perspective, where youre saying that at least tentatively could be accepting some portions of the holy book, showing a more benevolent being. Breaking with the tradition in phases.. would have been helpful to you, and to you alone.  Ideally in a couple of different denominational groups that werent Charismatic, solely to gain a different perspective.

  Part of the problems you are having is in the deep fear impressed upon your own psyche in your formative years. I doubt you committed anything that would have got you tossed into hell in the larger christian tradition (even if your parents were sure). Can you see what I mean to say? It also sounds has if you never really questioned your parent's doctrinal stance in your life (prior to 1.5 years ago).  To have made such an impression upon you.

 


movin4ward
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long winded

My mom wore the pants 110%- selfish, bossy, manipulative and controlling. She has even admitted to me she's not very smart, she then has the audacity to at later times tell me I'd be better off listening to her than going my own way because she is wise in her years-grrr. A recent conversation delved deep into Noahs ark, I explained that one small opening could not possibly provide adequate ventilation and lighting for a 3 story ark, candle light and mass methane no good, she replied that gods presence illuminated the vessel and chalked it up to another miracle. That's usually the way we "talk", both walking away bitter and frustrated. She also lies when she needs to and has a selective memory and is the goddess of tough love and non enabling. She stood up for my ex father-in-law who was also the pastor at our pente. church who got forced out for embezzling over 50k- he now preaches in a small town of 500.

Dad on the other hand was a good ol boy who loved to hunt, trap, fish, and could hang with the best of them on jeopardy. He was very mechanical and I hold great respect for his intelligence-he truly loved me. Guess him passing at 53 cut short his time to figure it out-I get backhanded remarks it was my fault of the heart attack because of my reckless behavior between 17-24(I was a wild child and did a lifetime of partying but pulled up the reigns. Who knows, maybe he did wise up but was too afraid of moms wrath and didn't wanna upset the balance. They fought all the time about breaking up but always chose to stay together "for the kids." My parents were both heavily indoctrinated and had to leave state and move after their marriage to escape their malicous, abusive religous parents. I'm breaking the cycle-that's why I chose to not have kids. Even when I was a christian I recognized the madness-shit, the ex mother-in-law got mad at me for taking her daughter to jurassic park- her belief was dinosaurs were satanic and didn't exist, that all fossils were placed in holes dug by the nephilem long ago. Yet less than a year later her husband invites a creationist missionary to preach and he told us that a missionary team captured video of a brontosaurus deep in the swamps of the congo- upon returning to civilization they were attacked by the minions of satan and the douche bag carrying the camera slipped and dropped the footage in a mud like quicksand. He said satan won that battle but there should soon be footage of pterydactyls swooping out of the skies at funerals and snatching the dead bodies in papua new guinea. She quickly believed and was fascinated that"dinosaurs exist today and it will be the christians who show the world." Did I mention the ex cheating on me was a blessing in disguise?!

Our church, an assembly of god, believes(including me at the time) that catholics, baptists, presbyterians, morons, jehovah witns', lutherans, apostolic, amish, and every other denomination has it all wrong and god will not show mercy on judgement day. The bible in its entirety was to be taken literally 100%. Had I not believed every word of the bible, I'd have most likely remained a luke warm christian, not once did I feel that I'd had it right except for that first week after church camp- then a lustful thought would creep in or a cuss word would slip and I just knew that I'd agonize in hell for it. Then in my twenties I was lying in bed one night and the words "fuck you jesus" popped in my head, I felt immense guilt and immediately tried to expel that thought which only perpetuated and extrapolated it to the point that phrase took over my thoughts and I didn't want it to yet it was there every time I tried to get close to god. So about 7 years ago I just quit praying and shut him out figuring it would piss god off swearing at him for the umpteenth time, potentially doing more damage than good. During those seven years I worked in the field of science and quit church and praying yet still believed the whole bible, feeling no need to question it because it was ingrained in me as the truth. Several things failed to add up so I started questioning hoping to disprove it so I could live my life without daily fear of an eternal hell. Well, between unexplained phenomena I have encountered and the wicked nature of the church people I had a good reason to question. Took me less than 3 months to shed the chains of the bible, reading Dawkins and the internet were paramount tools in aiding in the achievement of my goal-kick an imaginary god out of my life(metaphorically speaking). Yet I find myself more curious in religion than ever now- I do try and find a happy medium though. Don't get me wrong, I would be severely disappointed if the existence of god was ever proven. Eternal sleep sounds far less chaotic than an eternal heaven that has the ability to peek into hell at will-that is when their not worshiping the almighty.

From my church, there is about 12-15 adults I know of that attended the same church and believe the bible completely. The majority of them are worse off than me and on govt. assistance for mental issues. They accuse me of being the crazy one for my recent lack of belief and say I'm just mad at god for my recent rut I've been climbing out of. In a span of two years it was a mess when I was drinking- divorce, dui, lost job, ripped off by mechanic $3500 on my truck, lost my cat, bankruptcy, and now my house is in foreclosure. I remain positive and grateful that I am a survivor and because of this mess I can be more cautious in the future avoiding something worse. One of my ex churchmates has a tough time believing that so many animals could fit on the ark yet he still keeps the faith and buys the lie. I refuse to talk about god with certain individuals as I could never convince them, it's like they are too scared to question for fear of damnation.

Some elements in my loss of faith....

-ex girlfriend had me watch zeitgeist and religulous on netflix

-my super smart bosses couldn't stand the thought of a divine being

-one of my best friends in h.s., who is 100 times smarter than me and was a firm believer came back from college making bank and sat me down and had a talk explaining what I now know. He planted the seed and the rain fell fast.

-ex wife(preachers daughter) cheatin on me and her old man pastor of a dad rippin off the church yet still maintaining their holiness and salvation

-witnessing a mass ufo sighting and no christians believed me even though it made the news and is on the net

-hands on science for 8 years, I thought I could apply the science to make the bible impossibilities fit- instead the scientific process was more effective at prying off the layers and getting to the bottom of the real truth.

-having a mother who resents me for being who I am and loves jesus way more than me, the same guy who supposedly loves and created me.

-having my older sister join a charismatic church showed me the bravery to even question stepping outside of the box and many more reasons

Sorry, I had no intentions of being long winded but it is therapeutic for me getting this off my chest as I'd rather not overwhelm those around me. I know I need a psych but at this point my best means of paying for it is my moms offering to pay for it, and she insists it be a christian psychiatrist. Sounds like it could do more damage than good. I've got lots of good books for now. When I get a job I'm definitely getting the help I need.


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Lol. I'd love to see the

Lol. I'd love to see the photo of a brontosaurus, seeing as how that particular dinosaur never existed.

Good luck with all that, and welcome!

And don't go near a theist psychiatrist. I'd do a better job.

Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.


Jeffrick
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It's OK

 

 

 

                  To be long winded.  If it helps, go for it. You should consider a meet up group of atheists. Tell  us your town and we can direct you to the nearest athiest/humanist group.

 

 

    

"Very funny Scotty; now beam down our clothes."

VEGETARIAN: Ancient Hindu word for "lousy hunter"

If man was formed from dirt, why is there still dirt?


movin4ward
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answers...

I'd very much like to mingle with other devangelists - my humble abode is situated in the beautiful evergreen state, olympia to be precise.

Also. I had no idea that the brontosaurus failed to evolve into existence- when I think of dinos that guy usually pops up first. I'm rather disappointed that such a mistake could be made- leads me to wonder how much bs was shoved down my throat growing up.

My life may be hectic these days but I find solace in the fact that each day I'm taking steps in the right direction, I would never harm myself or another individual and my cats are very happy and well balanced so that's a big plus on my behalf. Also, I do a lot of volunteer work for cub scouts staging pinewood derby races and teaching father and son the physics how to build a smokin fast racer. Anyways,thanks a bunch for pointing me in the right direction, and I really do love this site- my mind has been blown by some of the revelations posted in these here forums.

 

 

 


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Check these out.

 

 

 

                         It's  a short list but it's in your area.

 

                                     "Ask an Atheist"  radio program on KLAY 1180 Am   SUNDAYS AT 3:00pm. They have an after show meet up in Seattle. You can hear the complete shows on their web site.

 

 

                                  "Olympia Atheists"    &    "Tacoma Atheists meet up group"  can be contacted through their web sites.  Both are close by to you, check them out.

 

 

              

 

 

                                   

"Very funny Scotty; now beam down our clothes."

VEGETARIAN: Ancient Hindu word for "lousy hunter"

If man was formed from dirt, why is there still dirt?


movin4ward
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ask as atheist show

I appreciate pointing me in the right direction. Listening to the show right now-good stuff! Gonna head up to tacoma one of these days, looks like a good meeting to attend. Thanx again


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movin4ward

movin4ward wrote:

Anyways,thanks a bunch for pointing me in the right direction, and I really do love this site- my mind has been blown by some of the revelations posted in these here forums.

 

For a long time (  newly deconverted Atheist days) I was really afraid of debating religious people.

After discovering the likes of Hitchens I gathered up more confidence and began being much more open about my Atheism.

However, I had not really learned the tactics of actually being able to debate (a few online groups, a few personal in your face type confrontations which were solved via biker method).

BUT, I never liked the style of those types of debates, because they always just degenerated into profanity and name calling.

Discovering this site, has been awesome for me as well.

I am no longer afraid of a well-reasoned debate, no longer afraid to debate any religious person on any subject, and the few times that I have been stumped in an online debate, a quick question here usually gives me plenty of ammo to debunk it.

I too, enjoy the site and the wealth of information on here. I only wish that I had found it sooner.

Glad to have you aboard and glad that this is helping.

Some times (I live in the Bible Belt south, even though I grew up in Jersey) this place is a respite and breath of fresh air from the insanity of the heavily indoctrinated religious region of the country that I live in.

I think you'll find the same thing.

“It is proof of a base and low mind for one to wish to think with the masses or majority, merely because the majority is the majority. Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people.”
― Giordano Bruno


Beyond Saving
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movin4ward wrote:I believe

movin4ward wrote:

I believe it is said that an adopted child will share similar traits and interests as their biological parents. Obviously genetic influence is an important factor in mental development. What piques my curiosity is this...."could the impact of environmental factors, if severe enough, supersede genetic influences and extrapolate mental illness into full blown psychosis even if the adopted child carried genes that should have resulted in a sound mind?" Also, if mental illness runs in the family, and the child remained with his biological parents, was sexually abused by siblings, severely indoctrinated with a nutso pentecostal religion and after deconverting had their family turn on them and shun them- what could this potentially do to a persons psyche? Would time, antidepressants and logic be sufficient or would such an individual be basically doomed without some sort of therapy or counseling? Would major depression, anxiety, confusion and schizotypalistic tendencies be understandable? I feel such a person may benefit from researching and giving it time before getting a label stuck on them- labels are for jars.

As a person who is (surprisingly) absent of any documented disorders, I do have quite a bit of personal experience with people who suffer from severe depression and bi-polar disorders. In my opinion, such things are primarily genetic but can be controlled through environmental factors. IOW, if you are a person who suffers from depression, you can't prevent yourself from going through the depression, however knowing that the thoughts and emotions you are experiencing are caused by depression can help you cope with it and minimize the impact it has on your relationships with other people. A good psychologist can help but many of them are worthless frauds who will simply write a prescription to make some money. My advice is that if seeing one isn't giving you the results you want, don't be afraid of going elsewhere. 

I am extremely skeptical of antidepressants because of my personal experiences- I think that the science of the human mind is still extremely young and the use of things like Prozac is the equivalent of the practice of leeching. But, I also know people who claim that such antidepressants have saved them. I think the best you can do is learn from your own experience and if you have someone in your life that you trust to offer you advice on how such things affect you and whether you should stay on them- do what works best for you. 

If, if a white man puts his arm around me voluntarily, that's brotherhood. But if you - if you hold a gun on him and make him embrace me and pretend to be friendly or brotherly toward me, then that's not brotherhood, that's hypocrisy.- Malcolm X


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Beyond Saving wrote:I am

Beyond Saving wrote:

I am extremely skeptical of antidepressants because of my personal experiences- I think that the science of the human mind is still extremely young and the use of things like Prozac is the equivalent of the practice of leeching.

Stop Press: Leeching making a comeback:

 

http://www.livescience.com/203-maggots-leeches-medicine.html

 


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Until I fully research and

Until I fully research and learn, understand, develop and equip the proper tools in regards to debating a christian(lunatic)- I feel it best to not engage in such discussions for fear of me losing even more respect for that person and their insanity rubbing off on me. I am trying to restore my faith in humanity and become whole for the first time in my life, not come to hate my own species. I feel christianity has been a huge component in my lifelong brokenness. Attempting to devangelize my family, with me being the youngest and labeled by them as a "black sheep whom satan has in his grips" seems pointless. I'd rather let them remain delusional so that when they are trash talking me to the public the non-christians may see the truth. Besides, when I told them I deconverted, they basically called me a hell bound fool rather than ask me why I felt that way, hell, they didn't even say they'd pray for me. Compassion and fear for my eternal damnation were not emotions they displayed to me, more like contempt and anger.

I've decided to forgo starting up remeron, which would have equated to 3 SSRI. Zoloft and welbutrin have assisted me in getting off the couch and definitely improves cognitive functioning. For me, this is an effective combo so I'd rather not tweak it by adding a third. At this point, meds are the best band-aid I have found. Unfortunately, I have less than 50 people I converse with and 95% of them are either christian or "spiritual" having their own personal interpretations of god and/or the bible. That's one reason I rarely leave the house, their emotions rubbing off on me is just to exhausting. I have actually told a handful of them I'd rather not talk to them because of their christian jesus freak beliefs, hell, they act all high and mighty and refuse to be unequally yoked with the sinners-just giving them a taste of their own medicine. They drew first blood-not me as rambo once said.

 


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movin4ward wrote:Until I

movin4ward wrote:

Until I fully research and learn, understand, develop and equip the proper tools in regards to debating a christian(lunatic)- I feel it best to not engage in such discussions for fear of me losing even more respect for that person and their insanity rubbing off on me. I am trying to restore my faith in humanity and become whole for the first time in my life, not come to hate my own species. I feel christianity has been a huge component in my lifelong brokenness. Attempting to devangelize my family, with me being the youngest and labeled by them as a "black sheep whom satan has in his grips" seems pointless. I'd rather let them remain delusional so that when they are trash talking me to the public the non-christians may see the truth. Besides, when I told them I deconverted, they basically called me a hell bound fool rather than ask me why I felt that way, hell, they didn't even say they'd pray for me. Compassion and fear for my eternal damnation were not emotions they displayed to me, more like contempt and anger.

I've decided to forgo starting up remeron, which would have equated to 3 SSRI. Zoloft and welbutrin have assisted me in getting off the couch and definitely improves cognitive functioning. For me, this is an effective combo so I'd rather not tweak it by adding a third. At this point, meds are the best band-aid I have found. Unfortunately, I have less than 50 people I converse with and 95% of them are either christian or "spiritual" having their own personal interpretations of god and/or the bible. That's one reason I rarely leave the house, their emotions rubbing off on me is just to exhausting. I have actually told a handful of them I'd rather not talk to them because of their christian jesus freak beliefs, hell, they act all high and mighty and refuse to be unequally yoked with the sinners-just giving them a taste of their own medicine. They drew first blood-not me as rambo once said.

 

 

 

                        Avoid those 'jesus freaks'  like the pleague. You don't need them, they have nothing to offer.  Go out and take those long walks alone, without meds; you can always take the meds at home, if needed.[PRN]. Check out the atheist meet ups I wrote you about earlier. 

 

 

 

"Very funny Scotty; now beam down our clothes."

VEGETARIAN: Ancient Hindu word for "lousy hunter"

If man was formed from dirt, why is there still dirt?


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movin4ward wrote:Also. I had

movin4ward wrote:
Also. I had no idea that the brontosaurus failed to evolve into existence- when I think of dinos that guy usually pops up first. I'm rather disappointed that such a mistake could be made- leads me to wonder how much bs was shoved down my throat growing up.

Lots, lol. Much of my adult life has been spent unlearning bs I was taught.
The brontosaurus thing is common knowledge in some circles and rare knowledge in others. Anyone who's got an interest in dinosaurs almost certainly knows. But because hollywood exacerbated the error by putting brontosaurs in multiple movies before the mixup of skeletons was discovered, it's one of those things that became common knowledge yet was wrong.

Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.