Some of the other questions got me thinking…if you have severe childhood trauma (sexual abuse, emotional neglect) are you guaranteed to develop schizophrenia?
I don’t think it’s guaranteed. Welcome back!
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Thanks so much!
I would say no. Plenty of abused, neglected children don’t develop schizophrenia.
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No but childhood trauma/abuse can be a trigger for SZ if you carry the predisposed SZ genes to begin with
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Bro so many people with SZ have trauma, myself included. I definitely think it is a major factor
A big fat no IMO on this one.
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No. I’ve participated in survivor groups over the years where there are people who have also been significantly abused, but I’m almost always the only SZ there. We seem to make up the same percentage of abuse victims that we do of the general population.
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I’m glad I’ve grown old because when I was a child I was very fragile. I don’t know how I escaped being demolished so many times. I do believe my mother neglected her children a bit but I never had a large dad who terrorized his family or sexual abuse because as I said I was fragile and I wouldn’t have survived. Thank goodness I met Dan when I was seven who taught me to be a man.
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I dont think it’s a guarantee at all, but I’ve been told by multiple psych professionals that it’s among the biggest factors behind my sza, and definitely the main reason for my DID.
As someone said, there’s plenty of trauma survivors who don’t have sz or sza, but I’m guessing that within that sz population there’s a high percentage of trauma survivors.
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Research says that childhood trauma can be a big factor in causing sz. But not everyone with childhood trauma develops psychosis. I have been exposed to trauma for most of my life, and I think prolonged exposure to abuse can have adverse effects.
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The thing about my childhood trauma is, while I wish it hadn’t happened, it has definitely helped me reframe problems in my adult life. I get into so many situations where I don’t want to do this or that, but then remember what I’ve made it through and realize that after surviving my childhood, what I’m facing today is no big deal. I’m capable of doing (whatever) and I go for it. Even if I don’t succeed with (whatever), I have a pretty good idea of what my breaking point is now. I don’t generally worry about a failure crippling me. I take what I learned from it and come at the problem again with new knowledge.
I’m no longer allowing “doomed” to be my lifestyle choice.
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I don’t really want to get into a debate on this, but I really don’t think trauma is a direct cause by itself. I think it’s a trigger for people predisposed for the condition genetically. And there is lots of information out there to support this position.
The genetic component, in my view is almost undeniable, in the vast majority of cases. I could post a zillion articles on this, but like I said, I don’t really feel like getting that in depth on it. It’s been discussed before and I have been drawn into the discussion and I have done my research.
Sz is caused by genetic predisposition mixed with environmental triggers, IMO.
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Now I cant help but post more…
So, because it’s a trigger for people with the predisposition, yes, I imagine there would be more people as a percentage of the sz population who have trauma.
But no, if you don’t already have the genetic predisposition, you’re not likely to develop it from trauma alone, IMO.
And you are definitely not doomed to get sz because of trauma.
There’s my take on it.
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No, but it can make you more prone to violence. Schizophrenics with a history of childhood trauma are more aggressive and violent than schizophrenics without a history of childhood trauma. Sad.
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