Environmental
Environmental
Causes of Psychiatric Disorders
Your environment and life experiences can impact your mental health. Factors that can impact the development of the brain are varied and complex and can include such factors as an individual’s family and school environment, stressful and/or traumatic life events, friends and peers, hobbies, and activities, among many others.
The diathesis-stress model is a fancy psychological theory that attempts to explain the interaction between the stress caused by life experiences and the genetic predisposition to developing a psychiatric disorder. This model asserts that if the combination of the genetic predisposition and the stress exceeds a certain threshold, a person will develop a psychiatric disorder. It helps explain this interplay between “nature” and “nurture.”
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Biological Bases of Mental Illness
Researchers have spent decades trying to understand the biological basis of mental illness.
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Role of Genetics
Researchers are still trying to understand which disorders have the greatest genetic predisposition.
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