29 ms·

Abuse and the developing human brain (2000)

• bondarchuk 5y ago
  I always wonder about this re: male genital mutilation. Could it have some long-term psychological impact? Could this be one of the reasons it got selected for (although it remains questionable, I think, whether cultural phenomena really work that way)?
  • mikotodomo 5y ago
    I Googled your term and it appears you are just talking about circumcision.
    • amanaplanacanal 5y ago
      “Just”. I guess that shows how accepted this kind of mutilation is.
      • mikotodomo 5y ago
        • Lammy 5y ago
          It’s a violation of bodily autonomy no matter how normalized you may consider it.
          • mikotodomo 5y ago
            Yeah just like being born, and getting haircuts.
            • Lammy 5y ago
              Dunno if you’re being sarcastic but I agree. A person very close to me suffers forced-childhood-haircut trauma
              • mikotodomo 5y ago
                Obviously I was being sarcastic.
        • dang 5y ago
          Please don't post like this, regardless of how wrong someone else is or you feel they are. I realize it's an emotional, activating topic, but we ban accounts that go after other users this way. If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of the site more to heart, we'd be grateful.
          • mikotodomo 5y ago
            Huh?? First of all, I'm not attacking any user, I replied to 4 different people who replied to my first reaction. I have read the guidelines. Person #1 violates it by disguising a normal accepted thing (circumcision) as "mutilation", which is an emotional and a hyperbolic take. They also tried to bring this up as if it's equivalent or as a pressing concern as the ongoing rampant physical child abuse.
            • dang 5y ago
              "Take your meds" is obviously a personal attack. Not ok here.
              • mikotodomo 5y ago
                Oh, I see. Sorry.
        • at_a_remove 5y ago
          When it happens to girl babies, it is Female Genital Mutilation. It gets all caps. When it happens to boy babies, it is "just circumcision." Routine. Ignored. Given that it happens in the first week of your life, and before 1982 without any kind of even local anesthetic, try to imagine that your first experience of having any attention paid to your genitals, a nerve-rich area if there ever was one, being strapped to a "Circumstraint" board and having a portion of said genitals simply razored off. Might that result in trauma? It's an interesting question to ask.
  • jimmygrapes 5y ago
    I have read a lot of things that suggest yes, but the nature of measurement (or lack of measurement) of things like infant trauma and subsequent effects seems to stymie any workable conclusions. Personally I received the operation long into adulthood, willingly-ish (most effective treatment for a physical issue I was experiencing) so I am familiar with what it's like to both have and not have the extra nerve clusters and skin. I am pleased with the outcome, but I would never suggest it to anybody else unless they made their own choice.
• softwaredoug 5y ago
  Powerful: > If we know that the roots of violence are fertilized by childhood abuse, can we make a long-term commitment to reduce violence by focusing on our children rather than our criminals?
  • treeman79 5y ago
    https://legalinsurrection.com/2022/01/l-a-da-gascon-allows-adult-child-molester-to-be-housed-in-juvenile-detention/ https://legalinsurrection.com/2022/01/l-a-da-gascon-allows-a...
    • DarylZero 5y ago
      Tubbs will go to the female side of the detention facility, but will remain “in isolation, separated by sight and sound from the other juveniles.”
    • qwertyuiop_ 5y ago
      “Even though Tubbs is now 26 Gascón refused to transfer the crime to adult court” I wonder how minds of DAs like Gascón work
      • whatshisface 5y ago
        >James Tubbs, who committed the crime in 2014 when he was 17 That's probably what the DA is thinking when making that decision.
      • jimmygrapes 5y ago
        Every decision he's made that gets press seems to indicate that his mind is firmly in the realm of "those who commit crimes are the most victimized because of their life circumstances and societal ills" in a Rousseau-esque view of humanity as essentially good until other bad humans make somebody act bad. It's a romantic view that, in my opinion, would only apply if we started humanity from the beginning; it's too late for it, now.
• fractallyte 5y ago
  And this article from a couple of weeks ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29920920 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29920920 [The impact of sexual abuse on female development: a longitudinal study]
• deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
• mkl95 5y ago
  I grew up in a hypocritical society where on paper you are free to choose your own beliefs, but in reality education is dominated by ancient catholic values. As a schoolkid you feel like little more than a prisoner. I wonder how much it contributes to shaping kids personalities, and how much it contributes to the area's absurdly low birthrate.
• temp0826 5y ago
  I work at an ayahuasca retreat center in Peru, and childhood abuse is one of the more common things people come here to work on. Often people will arrive with rather "generic" intentions for their stay (e.g. anxiety or depression) and will often discover after a couple ceremonies that childhood wounds had created broken patterns that have governed their whole lives. It's often shocking, but once the realization is there the healing work can begin. IMO, the traumas don't have to be permanent, as the intro to the article says. Ayahuasca isn't necessary (though I do think it's quite a boon to this work!), therapy can be sufficient for many. Don't be afraid to get help.
  • beebeepka 5y ago
    Are functional junkies welcome where you work? Asking for a friend.
    • temp0826 5y ago
      Most definitely. Past drug use and related traumas are another biggy. But of course you wouldn't be able to use while here (while on the diet), and likely should take a break from any/all substances prior to arriving. (This is not solely due to the possibility of contraindications with ayhuasaca's MAOI effects, but it's a big reason)
  • exikyut 5y ago
    [Mumbling about the lack of contact details in your profile] (I'm quite far away from Peru myself, but others might not be)
    • temp0826 5y ago
      nihuerao.com is the center's website. Compared to other centers, there are very few "tourists" that come here that are just interested in trying out aya; much more catered to long-term dieters than the average center. It's very traditional Shipibo, with a big focus on "master plant" diets (additional plants taken along with ayahuasca for their healing/teaching abilities), and tends on the stricter side.
• z3c0 5y ago
  I experienced extreme physical abuse when I was 3 (my babysitter used to shot put me across the living room when I wouldn't take naps.) A lot of what is in this article, I can attest to firsthand. I didn't realize I had been abused until I was 15, as I had stifled the memory, and though I remembered it, it never "clicked" as abuse before then. I've had a host of mental health problems that have led to me being diagnosed ADHD/bi-polar in my early teens, with the latter being renegged as too hasty of a diagnosis. Today, I can't get a diagnosis, as I don't have enough symptoms in each category to fulfill any one (BPD vs DID vs PTSD). It feels like I have some kind of grab-bag illness of all three. What's more, the medicinal options available to me are awful, and cause me a whole host of different problems, both physical and mental. What I'm trying to say is that - as someone dealing with these problems - it still feels like there's a long way to go before I have any real options towards improving my mental health. I'm very hopeful for the increasing popularity of THC/CBD for the treatment of trauma, as I've found that to work wonders for stopping/avoiding psychosis. I've communicated this too all my doctors, but it's never been taken seriously. I am "prone to drug abuse" after all.
  • Lammy 5y ago
    Apologies if this comes off as trying to e-diagnose you, but may want to look into “Complex PTSD” (ICD-11 F62.0) if you haven’t. “Complex PTSD is a new disorder category describing a symptom profile that can arise after exposure to a single traumatic stressor, but that typically follows severe stressors of a prolonged nature or multiple or repeated adverse events from which separation is not possible (e.g., exposure to genocide campaigns, childhood sexual abuse, child soldiering, severe domestic violence, torture, or slavery).” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3799241/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3799241/
  • leoh 5y ago
    You could probably benefit from a far better care team that has an understanding of trauma and which sees medication not as a means of making the problems go away, but as a useful yet optional tool that may help you bring healing (ie allows you to comfortably explore trauma and your trauma responses in therapy) to deeply troubling events that happened in your life (ie typically with lower but clinically meaningful doses, say, of SSRIs). Ketamine with therapy (optionally with an adjunct like a low dose SSRI) also has also appeared to looks be a platform for doing such work, too.
• bubblecheck 5y ago
  Throughout childhood, I was subjected to serious physical abuse by my peers, as well as serious verbal bullying/psychological abuse. I stood up to a long term bully with a below-the-belt comment, which led to extremely violent abuse from peers. One of the last incidents was on the property of a town police officer, before high school started (around 12 yrs old). The police officer stood by while I was horribly beat up (punched full blast to my balls) by a scumbag with a group of people behind him. The physical abuse included acute trauma from repeated impacts via punches and full strength kicks to my head. Saw stars every time I was hit, like those old Batman comics. I entered high school as a broken child with cemented learned helplessness. Never the same. Now homeless and destitute. I became permanently suicidal after grade school, totally afraid of death. Trapped in an unwanted life. Just went homeless yet again last night suddenly. The one shelter here seems like a psyop of sorts: in view of wealthy people, under blinding bright lights. Fodder for the wealthy, like a dystopian plot in popular Netflix shows. I now suffer from tinnitus and hyperacusis picked up from overexposure. I am a destitute middle aged white male college dropout. Suicidal all of the time. This time going homeless I have no vehicle to sleep in. It's warm here but I am unsheltered. Demoralized, defeated, and hoping to die. I beg of God to forgive me and grant me peace in the afterlife, whether I am able to complete suicide now or later.
  • nums 5y ago
    Hoffman Process is life changing
    • bubblecheck 5y ago
      thanks. it wont cure tinnitus/hyperacusis which has robbed me of my ability to focus on difficult tasks.
  • crakenzak 5y ago
    It’s absolutely gut wrenching to read your experience, no one should ever have to go through that. Please if you’re ever having suicidal thoughts speak to a suicide hotline specialist. I almost lost a friend to suicide and he was really helped by talking to non judgmental people who genuinely wanted to help. Hope you’re doing great, and life gets better.
• deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
• Terry_Roll 5y ago
  I wonder how this works, when the abuse is portrayed as normalised discipline? Kids dont know what is right or wrong, so if you get punishment, physical and mental and accept it for the result of your actions, how does that work when the kid is an adult and doesnt agree with the way they were brought up, when they look back at their childhood? I'd say Laws can also cause alot of cognitive dissonance depending on how you were brought up. Another factor not considered is the diet and lifestyle today is different to what it was just 20/30years ago or longer. Those hormonal differences in people will also affect their behaviour and attitudes.
  • haswell 5y ago
    As someone who went through exactly this, it fucks you up pretty thoroughly. Mid 30s and have been seeing a trauma therapist for almost four years now, and don’t suspect I’ll stop anytime soon. There is a path to healing, but it’s a long and difficult one. And as another sibling comment pointed out, C-PTSD is the generalized result. Not recommended.
  • nyanpasu64 5y ago
    You get people who end up on https://www.reddit.com/r/CPTSD/ https://www.reddit.com/r/CPTSD/ decades later.
    • Terry_Roll 5y ago
      Yeah so called experts should come with warnings, they could be about to open Pandora's box and there isnt any going back once that happens!
  • giantg2 5y ago
    "I'd say Laws can also cause alot of cognitive dissonance depending on how you were brought up." Or after realizing that they are only enforced against some people.
    • Terry_Roll 5y ago
      This totally, many Govt employees feel they are above the law. I've seen nurses, teachers, soldiers and police all dish out their own form of justice. I think its a Govt employee mindset, that they are untouchable because they "protect & serve" the country and the population and therefore can do what they like.
• mikotodomo 5y ago
  I hope internet regulation is improved to stop child sexual abuse online. Things like requiring SMS verification to play a video game are a good first step, but anyone can get a burner number for $5. It should be more tied to a cryptographic government ID in a way that you can register to multiple vendors' games without any of them being able to imitate you. Then we can start to have true accountability for people who say bad things to kids online.
  • alar44 5y ago
    You want government sponsored MFA for video games? That's insane.
    • mikotodomo 5y ago
      How is it insane to want basic accountability for your actions as an adult in a public place?
      • alar44 5y ago
        Because this isn't the case anywhere in a public space. Where do you go that you're required to be identified by the government?
        • mikotodomo 5y ago
          Public spaces have cameras and / or are safeguarded by the presence of other people who will usually at the very least report any heinous crime that takes place.
• fractallyte 5y ago
  If anyone has experienced sexual abuse, I highly recommend "The courage to be me", by Dr Nina Burrowes. It's free to read online: https://ninaburrowes.com/books/the-courage-to-be-me/ https://ninaburrowes.com/books/the-courage-to-be-me/ ...and available as a physical book. This wonderful book is sadly underappreciated - please tell everyone about it!
• littlefag 5y ago
• yamrzou 5y ago
  > If we assume that lots of attention, licking, and grooming are the natural state of affairs and that lower levels of attention are a form of neglect, we can use this model to explore some of the biological consequences of neglect or abuse in children. Low rates of maternal attention decrease the production of thyroid hormone by the rat pups. This, in turn, decreases serotonin in the hippocampus and affects the development of receptors for the stress hormone glucocorticoid. Since corticosterone, one of our primary stress hormones, is kept in check by a complicated feedback mechanism that depends on these same stress hormone receptors, their inadequate development increases the risk of an excessive stress hormone response to adversity. For this and certain other reasons, lack of maternal attention predisposes the animals to have a heightened level of fear and a heightened adrenaline response. Some of the consequences of this are altered metabolism and suppressed immune and inflammatory responses, neuronal irritability, and enhanced susceptibility to seizures. This is consistent with what I've read in the book Healing Developmental Trauma by Laurence Heller and Aline Lapierre: “When, for a child, this need-satisfaction cycle is significantly interrupted, healthy development is disturbed, and the environmental failure triggers both tension and bracing in the musculature and activation and imbalances in the nervous system and biochemistry—all of which sets the stage for symptoms and disease. When basic needs are not met and the protest to get those needs met is unsuccessful, children come to feel that something is wrong with their needs; they cannot know that it is their environment that is not responding adequately. Therefore, they internalize caregiver failures, experiencing them as their own personal failures. Reacting to their caregivers’ failure to meet their needs, children come to feel various degrees of anger, shame, guilt, and physiological collapse. Tragically, to the degree that there is chronic lack of attunement to their core needs, children do not learn to attune to the needs within themselves. When basic needs are consistently left unsatisfied, the need-satisfaction cycle is interrupted, and nervous system dysregulation and identity distortions are set in motion that often have a lifelong negative impact.”
• scrozart 5y ago
  > Published: October 1, 2000 Not knocking the article, but I'd love to see something a ouch more recent. Our understanding of PTSD, in particular, has changed a bit in the past 20+ years.
• phs318u 5y ago
  I can't say I know the stats for prevalence of abuse in the general community, but the prevalence in 12 step programs (I've been going since '98), is crazy. Anywhere between 1/3 and 2/3 of members in the meetings I've been to have suffered some form of abuse as children. I suffered psychological abuse, a lot of which was considered a form of parenting at the time (70's) in my community. I also had exposure to porn (I found dad's stash) as a pre-pubescent. Today I'm an addict in recovery with clinical diagnoses for depression and ADD. Living a good life today, but still attending meetings and seeing a psychologist.