A thought has just occurred to me:

I have a plethera of mental ailments - ADHD, PTSD, OCD, derealization, Major depressive disorder, anxiety with panic attacks, agoraphobia, social phobia, hypersensitivity - and I was just wondering to myself how those all got in there. And then it occurred to me - could it be a birth defect? Could my brain have been formed wrong while I was being formed? I've always had these problems, exept for the PTSD, and maybe the OCD.
Tell it to me like it is folks. That's the only explanation that makes any sense to me.

I certainly think that a certain amount is genetic and what happens after birth can dramatically influence the path it takes. I also believe that only a portion is biological, otherwise we wouldn't be able to change and improve ourselves the way we have!

E Girl,

I'm reading a counseling book of OCD and it is extemely heritable, so probably PTSD is the only totally acquired one you mentioned.

I was just reading that depending on what type of ADHD co morbid conditions your parents have you are more likely to have more serious ADHD. My father had violent conduct disorder problems, which put me at high risk for ADHD -- voila. Environmental stuff probably made it worse though -- stressful pregnancy, bottle fed, etc. My co morbid symptoms run the course of anxiety and depression -- I tend to think those are made much more likely by ADHD but also are influenced by circumstances, environment and even choices I make. I had a really great up bringing in a loving home and always wondered why I had to wrestle so hard with them, kind of making more sense now.

Scattered