Has anyone here had a happy childhood?
Question:
Nirgala, Thank you for the compliment! That was really nice of you! Gretchen Nirgala <ho…@marsbio.tamu.edu> wrote in message
news:88htpo$8n3$1@news.tamu.edu… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Annmarie and Gretchen, > I’m sure you both do wonderful jobs as mothers–you are obviously very caring > people. Best of luck with continuing the great job! > In Ares Vallis > Nirgala > Remove "mars" to reply
Response:
Gretchen, You’re very welcome. :) In Ares Vallis Nirgala Remove "mars" to reply
Response:
Trey wrote: > There are others in my family who also have suffered from > depression and anxiety disorders but I am the first one > to get help for it and to talk openly about it. I feel good about > that too. 
Hi Trey – and so you should. It’s a good attitude to have. Actually, I really enjoyed reading something that sounds so positive – thanks. Kind regards, Steve ~ http://www.mybookmarks.com/public/Steve_George ~ steph…@georgeharris.freeserve.co.uk ~ Fax & Voicemail: (+44) 0704 470 0528
Response:
Scott C. skrev i meddelelsen <38AE062F.5…@borg.com>… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->x-no-archive: yes >simon, > Excuse me….put please stop using my full name in posts. What the >fuck is your problem ?? I haven’t posted to you in a considerable >period of time, and the first post I see upon returning home after being >away a week is this one. What a total asshole you are…yet well >qualified to be a moderator. You and you pals Lars and Stevie really >need to take a look at your Scott obsessions…they are out of control. > You treat people like the pompous ass you are…has nothing to do with >levels. > Scott >simon smith wrote: >> In article <38ADCF40.821CD…@excite.com>, Chris <ezra…@excite.com> >> writes >> >Simon, I’m trying really hard not to be offended by your arrogant, >> >condescending, and often rude posts to me. I don’t believe I have ever >> >written anything objectionable to you except perhaps an opinion that you >> >didn’t agree with. >> Well it’s not a matter of exchanging insults, it’s a matter of looking >> at the content of your posts. I just disagree with them, that’s all, >> just as I disagree with many of Scott Carlsen’s, who has very similar >> views and puts them across in a very similar way. You rarely answer me, >> either because what I say is complete crap or because it’s too hard for >> you to answer. You use the same tactics as Mr. Carlsen when you set up a >> view – that ‘environment is the cause of OCD’ and then tell us that that >> view is against the scientific evidence. But nobody here is putting >> forward that view. So why answer it? People (like me) are saying that >> not enough is known about OCD to make complete judgements but it seems >> likely that people are born with a certain predisposition to be >> obsessional and that life experiences could bring it out or not. The >> scientific evidence says nothing to prove that ‘OCD’ is inevitable from >> birth in general. >> Actually, I treat you on a level, and many people don’t like that. >> — >> simon >– >*********************************************************************** >To reply: Remove .nospam from the above. Scott C. @–>–>—
Response:
In article <38ADCF40.821CD…@excite.com>, Chris <ezra…@excite.com> writes >Simon, I’m trying really hard not to be offended by your arrogant, >condescending, and often rude posts to me. I don’t believe I have ever >written anything objectionable to you except perhaps an opinion that you >didn’t agree with.
Well it’s not a matter of exchanging insults, it’s a matter of looking at the content of your posts. I just disagree with them, that’s all, just as I disagree with many of Scott Carlsen’s, who has very similar views and puts them across in a very similar way. You rarely answer me, either because what I say is complete crap or because it’s too hard for you to answer. You use the same tactics as Mr. Carlsen when you set up a view – that ‘environment is the cause of OCD’ and then tell us that that view is against the scientific evidence. But nobody here is putting forward that view. So why answer it? People (like me) are saying that not enough is known about OCD to make complete judgements but it seems likely that people are born with a certain predisposition to be obsessional and that life experiences could bring it out or not. The scientific evidence says nothing to prove that ‘OCD’ is inevitable from birth in general. Actually, I treat you on a level, and many people don’t like that. — simon
Response:
simon smith wrote: > Well it’s not a matter of exchanging insults, it’s a matter of looking > at the content of your posts. I just disagree with them, that’s all,
Okay, that’s cool. I also diasgree with some of your posts, as well as those of a few other people, but I suppose that’s par for the course. > just as I disagree with many of Scott Carlsen’s, who has very similar > views and puts them across in a very similar way.
Let me state this categorically: I am not Scott Carlsen!! (Lest anyone starts believing that rumor…) > You rarely answer me, > either because what I say is complete crap or because it’s too hard for > you to answer.
I don’t think it’s either. In fact, I thought I had always answered your posts. If not, I apologize. > People (like me) are saying that > not enough is known about OCD to make complete judgements
I do agree with that. But I think we know a lot more than we did 20 years ago, and while the current theories may not be gospel, they are the best we have to work with right now. Medication and CBT have been FAR more successful in treating OCD than any other therapy. And while there certainly is a lot more to learn on the subject, I think these two therapies totally deserve the credit they are getting–they have helped a lot of people. But we should still keep researching. The > scientific evidence says nothing to prove that ‘OCD’ is inevitable from > birth in general.
I guess that’s where we disagree. I think OCD will always surface eventually if someone is predisposed, but the degree to which it does depends, almost completely, on life experiences. Regards, Chris
Response:
Simon, I’m trying really hard not to be offended by your arrogant, condescending, and often rude posts to me. I don’t believe I have ever written anything objectionable to you except perhaps an opinion that you didn’t agree with. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -simon smith wrote: > In article <38AB3981.16F71…@excite.com>, Chris <ezra…@excite.com> > writes > >DCO wrote: > >> While an unhappy childhood may be a stressor that brings out the > >> OCD sooner and/or makes it more difficult to cope with OCD once it > >> is active, the biological basis of OCD is still there and I believe > >> the OCD would eventually surface anyway. > >Excellent point. This has been the crux of my argument on this subject: > >It would be extremely naive of us to ignore the roll of environment in > >the development of OCD, but to say that it is the CAUSE of OCD > And how many people are arguing that? > > is simply > >against every scientific fact we have on the subject. That would be like > >blaming a car accident on bad weather, while ignoring the fact that the > >car’s brakes had completely failed. > That’s one analogy. A more open one would be a car with some inherent > flaws, which may or may not become evident and cause an accident > depending on what happens to the car in its lifetime. > > The car would have crashed with or > >without bad weather because there was an INHERENT problem. > So you are ignoring the role of a person’s life experience! > >> And how do you explain children who develop OCD or other anxiety > >> disorders before they’ve even had time to have an unhappy childhood? > >And another excellent point. I developed OCD at age five, and did not > >grow up in an abusive home. > You sound like a teacher who tells the pupil ‘excellent point!’ when the > child is merely saying what the teacher ‘knows’ and is waiting to hear. > Millions of things can happen before the age of five, for Christ’s sake, > they are the most important years in a person’s life. > — > simon
Response:
Good question Kathy! I am the only one in my family that has OCD. I have 2 sisters and 1 brother, and none of them show signs of OCD. Maybe very mild symptoms with my older sister. Gretchen GiottoLady <giottol…@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000216023134.05365.00001454@ng-cl1.aol.com… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> x-no-archive: yes > Lars asks: > >How about a happy/unhappy childhood-count. > >On the unhappy-side we have the following so far: Aimee, Annmarie, Steve, > >TL, Calvin, Gretchen, and myself. > I want to adopt every one of you. :-( > >On the happy-side we have… well Monkey… Can’t think of anyone else. > I’d like to know how everyone’s siblings are doing? Do they have ocd too? > >How about you? > I had a very happy childhood, but since I don’t have ocd I don’t count. > Kathy the Giotto Lady
Response:
Lars, I agree that we have alot of people here that have had unhappy childhood’s. It is unbelievable. Good idea with the happy/unhappy chilhood count. Gretchen L.Ros. <ro1.rat-…@get2net.dk> wrote in message
news:1apq4.847$ve5.5705@news.get2net.dk… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I think the number of people here who have had an unhappy childhood is > striking. I am one of them myself. I doubt it if it is a coincidence that so > many posters on an OCD-newsgroups have had such experiences. To me it > indicates that the effect of your upbringing on the development of OCD > should not be underestimated. > How about a happy/unhappy childhood-count. > On the unhappy-side we have the following so far: Aimee, Annmarie, Steve, > TL, Calvin, Gretchen, and myself. > On the happy-side we have… well Monkey… Can’t think of anyone else. > How about you? > — > Lars > delete .rat-pie to reply by e-mail > ________________________ > Moderated newsgroup: > alt.support.ocd.moderated > website: http://stump.algebra.com/~asom > Chat: http://pages.hotbot.com/health/sillychickens/asomchat.html
Response:
I as well, try very hard to be a good mother to my kids. I very much want them to grow up happy!!! Gretchen M+A B. <MAMi…@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:16767-38AB9AF9-101@storefull-276.iap.bryant.webtv.net… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Nirgala, I am happy to hear that someone had a good childhood. I try to > be a great Mother to my son. Hopefully his memories of his childhood > will be ones like yours! Take care, Annie > The brown eyed lady
Response:
GiottoLady wrote: > I want to adopt every one of you. :-(
Hi Kathy, You already did – didn’t you realise? :) Why do you think we all love you so much? Don’t feel sad – I can’t afford to fly to America to give you a big hug (much as I’d like to). > I had a very happy childhood, but since I don’t have ocd I don’t count.
I’m curious (I know I am, my mother says so all the time, LOL!) – would you say that you ever feel "guilty" in any way for having had such a happy childhood? I sometimes feel that you may be a "collector" of unhappy souls (which most certainly isn’t meant to be a criticism, of course). [ BTW, I can't see your post (again) so I'm just replying to the bits that I can see from the reply to it. ] Kind regards, Steve ~ http://www.mybookmarks.com/public/Steve_George ~ steph…@georgeharris.freeserve.co.uk ~ Fax & Voicemail: (+44) 0704 470 0528
Response:
Nirgala, I am happy to hear that someone had a good childhood. I try to be a great Mother to my son. Hopefully his memories of his childhood will be ones like yours! Take care, Annie The brown eyed lady
Response:
>> I’d like to know how everyone’s siblings are doing? Do they have ocd too?
I have an older sister (she’s 26) who has OCD and panic disorder. My other sister is fine (except she was pretty whacked out for a long time because of drugs) and my brother has no mental illnesses whatsoever. Shana shaynuh…@aol.com
Response:
I would say I had a happy childhood. No relations with OCD at all. I can trace the start of my OCD to two things in childhood, although it did’nt get bad until I was about 20. My OCD centres on blood and germs. The germs part deriving from blood. The two events was a very bloody car accident when I was 3-4 years old and the other to do with gutting/skinning Animals, rabbits, deer. Yuck. Although OCd didn’t show up til later. I used to faint up to the age of 16 if anyone even just said the word blood. This was a good playground game at primary school. Aren’t children such cruel liddle bees. I chart my OCD from those two events as much as from a chemical imbalance thing. But obvoiusly I had some sort of suspectibility to start with that was triggered. Cactiphile. * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet’s Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet – Free!
Response:
> I’d like to know how everyone’s siblings are doing? Do they have ocd too?
I’m 40. My sister (27) has no mental health problems (except for a mild phobia about flying). My brother (38) has been treated for mild OCD in the past and also has anger management problems and finds coping with stress very difficult. And I hope that he never reads this or he’ll probably punch my lights out! :-) Steve
Response:
> I’d like to know how everyone’s siblings are doing? Do they have ocd too?
I have two older sisters. My middle sister definitely has it- worse than I do. She’s had it since she was a child. Mine didn’t start until I was a teenager. I strongly suspect my older sister has it, too, although she has not been diagnosed. Ida
Response:
DCO wrote: > While an unhappy childhood may be a stressor that brings out the > OCD sooner and/or makes it more difficult to cope with OCD once it > is active, the biological basis of OCD is still there and I believe > the OCD would eventually surface anyway.
Excellent point. This has been the crux of my argument on this subject: It would be extremely naive of us to ignore the roll of environment in the development of OCD, but to say that it is the CAUSE of OCD is simply against every scientific fact we have on the subject. That would be like blaming a car accident on bad weather, while ignoring the fact that the car’s brakes had completely failed. The car would have crashed with or without bad weather because there was an INHERENT problem. > And how do you explain children who develop OCD or other anxiety > disorders before they’ve even had time to have an unhappy childhood?
And another excellent point. I developed OCD at age five, and did not grow up in an abusive home. Chris
Response:
that’s a tough one. Although I’ve really had some bad things happen to me, I don’t consider my *entire* childhood bad. Average, perhaps. We did get our asses beat more than I think is healthy, but our neighbors across the street got their asses beat even more than we did. Nothing my parents ever did was as bad as the stuff cthat happened at my neighbor’s house. I think my judgement as to what kind of childhood I had is relative. Compared to whom? My mom was a class "A" bitch sometimes, but most of the time I knew that she loved and cared about me. She usually hit us out of frustration (not that this makes it ok). I do think I obsessed on my father’s death by cancer more than anything else that happened to me during my childhood. Ida L.Ros. <ro1.rat-…@get2net.dk> wrote in message
news:1apq4.847$ve5.5705@news.get2net.dk… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I think the number of people here who have had an unhappy childhood is > striking. I am one of them myself. I doubt it if it is a coincidence that so > many posters on an OCD-newsgroups have had such experiences. To me it > indicates that the effect of your upbringing on the development of OCD > should not be underestimated. > How about a happy/unhappy childhood-count. > On the unhappy-side we have the following so far: Aimee, Annmarie, Steve, > TL, Calvin, Gretchen, and myself. > On the happy-side we have… well Monkey… Can’t think of anyone else. > How about you? > — > Lars > delete .rat-pie to reply by e-mail > ________________________ > Moderated newsgroup: > alt.support.ocd.moderated > website: http://stump.algebra.com/~asom > Chat: http://pages.hotbot.com/health/sillychickens/asomchat.html
Response:
Hi Mike, I missed you. Annmarie The brown eyed lady
Response:
Hi all, I had an absolutely wonderful childhood. Adolescence was extremely painful for me, but it had nothing to do with my family–it was all about horrendous teasing I received in junior high school. But as a child, I remember being very happy (at least, till the OCD got real bad, maybe around 10 years old or so), my parents were wonderful and always encouraged me, and my little brother has been my best friend for 18 years. So, I’ll say that in some cases, OCD may be due to a bad childhood, but it’s not true for all of us. *Hugs* to all of you who have suffered through so much–you are true survivors. In Ares Vallis Nirgala Remove "mars" to reply
Response:
Nazar wrote: > I’m new here and I suspect I also have OCD.
Hi Nazar – welcome to the newsgroup. If you’d like to say something about your problems then we’ll be happy to give you our (non-expert) opinions and advice based upon what you have to say. > I just wanted to comment on the happy childhood or the lack thereof > with OCD. I’d be hard pressed to pick apart the two or draw any > conclusions based on an association. The problem I see is that it > would be difficult to say which is the cause and the effect, was it the > OCD that created an unhappy childhood or vise-versa? It’s more > likely a combination of the two or an interactive effect.
The cause of OCD… one of life’s confusing mysteries! Your theory only holds true for somebody who had OCD as a child – I didn’t develop OCD myself until I was 25. However, I do agree that a "combination of factors" is a very plausible argument for the causation of most people’s OCD. > For example, if one had the right social support system in place, > the OCD probably wouldn’t take as strong of a hold during > childhood. But the flip side is that if social supports were lacking > during this time then it could indeed exacerbate the OCD and so > you’d end up with a downward spiral. Just a thought but I don’t > know how useful it is.
I think that defining a "social support system" is necessary here. Are you talking about parents or friends or the education system? And would these social support systems be *external* to the home in which you lived? For example, you could have plenty of friends but still be treated very badly by your parents and so subsequently develop OCD. > We’re still here, right? I suppose we need some kind of understanding > of OCD, I know I certainly do.
OCD is a very poorly understood illness (like many illnesses). My opinion is that unless a person has an extremely good ability for self-insight and self-awareness then it’s better to follow the conventional lines of treatment for OCD (medication and/or behaviour therapy) and then ponder the more complicated theories once your symptoms have been reduced, and your anxiety level is low enough to allow for calm, rational, clear thinking. Otherwise, it’s possible to get bogged down in a fruitless search for the "truth" and end up confused by a seemingly endless set of differing theories and speculation. Kind regards, Steve ~ http://www.mybookmarks.com/public/Steve_George ~ steph…@georgeharris.freeserve.co.uk ~ Fax & Voicemail: (+44) 0704 470 0528
Response:
Hi Lars, Well you can’t really count me in for either side, bad or good. I had a great childhood in some aspects, a bad childhood in others. My parents always provided me with everything that I needed, and then some. I am the youngest, so by the time they got to me, I sort of just slipped throught the cracks and was brought up with absolutely no rules. In some ways, I know that certain things my parents did and didn’t do for me contributed to my OCD, but at the same time I am completely grateful for having the parents that I have because without them, I would not be who I am today. And I am pretty happy with who I have become. =) Shana shaynuh…@aol.com
Response:
Kathy,My sister has OCD too. My Bro(now deceased) didn’t have OCD, Thanks for asking! PS you don’t have OCD????????? Annmarie The brown eyed lady
Response:
Lars! Good/Interesting thread! You know I really think that family upbringing is a contributing factor in the development of OCD. I live a horrifying childhood and had not control over anything…could not make my own decisions, couldn’t chose, etc… I started doing my OCD rituals I think for the need of control because I lacked major control for anything in my life. My sisters also experienced abuse just not has severe as mine. My older sister Debbie had her OCD moments. She was obsessed with the letter 4 and would say things backwards alot and has this thing with license plates. Carmen my younger sister always had to touch her dinner plate on all sides b4 she ate. She also and a few anxiety attax while driving and had this fear that her hair was thinning and was going to go bald. In comparison, I underwent far more abuse and yet my OCD id far more intense. I too, do not find this a coincidence that we all have OCD but the fact that we developed OCD due to a traumatic upbringing. Perhaps it could also be a biological factor as well. It is said that OCD can be manifested by a traumatic event. Just my 3 cents. Aimee 
) L.Ros. <ro1.rat-…@get2net.dk> wrote in message
news:1apq4.847$ve5.5705@news.get2net.dk… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I think the number of people here who have had an unhappy childhood is > striking. I am one of them myself. I doubt it if it is a coincidence that so > many posters on an OCD-newsgroups have had such experiences. To me it > indicates that the effect of your upbringing on the development of OCD > should not be underestimated. > How about a happy/unhappy childhood-count. > On the unhappy-side we have the following so far: Aimee, Annmarie, Steve, > TL, Calvin, Gretchen, and myself. > On the happy-side we have… well Monkey… Can’t think of anyone else. > How about you? > — > Lars > delete .rat-pie to reply by e-mail > ________________________ > Moderated newsgroup: > alt.support.ocd.moderated > website: http://stump.algebra.com/~asom > Chat: http://pages.hotbot.com/health/sillychickens/asomchat.html
Response:
I’m new here and I suspect I also have OCD. I just wanted to comment on the happy childhood or the lack thereof with OCD. I’d be hard pressed to pick apart the two or draw any conclusions based on an association. The problem I see is that it would be difficult to say which is the cause and the effect, was it the OCD that created an unhappy childhood or vise-versa? It’s more likely a combination of the two or an interactive effect. For example, if one had the right social support system in place, the OCD probably wouldn’t take as strong of a hold during childhood. But the flip side is that if social supports were lacking during this time then it could indeed exacerbate the OCD and so you’d end up with a downward spiral. Just a thought but I don’t know how useful it is. We’re still here, right? I suppose we need some kind of understanding of OCD, I know I certainly do. thxs.. ShAyNuH512 <shaynuh…@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000215234107.06209.00000644@ng-ch1.aol.com… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hi Lars, > Well you can’t really count me in for either side, bad or good. I had a great > childhood in some aspects, a bad childhood in others. My parents always > provided me with everything that I needed, and then some. I am the youngest, so > by the time they got to me, I sort of just slipped throught the cracks and was > brought up with absolutely no rules. In some ways, I know that certain things > my parents did and didn’t do for me contributed to my OCD, but at the same time > I am completely grateful for having the parents that I have because without > them, I would not be who I am today. And I am pretty happy with who I have > become. =) > Shana > shaynuh…@aol.com
