• Question: why do some people have problems with their anger and understanding, is this something to do with genes or is it just from their childhood problems etc ?

    Asked by to Ben, Dave, Ditte, Heather, Rebecca on 20 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Rebecca Gladstone

      Rebecca Gladstone answered on 20 Jun 2014:

      This is a really interesting question that people have been trying to find an answer for, what makes us who we are?!
      A key thing with understanding is that we are all different and what you might find easy I might find difficult, we all have some things that we have a talent for whether it be maths, crafting furniture or working with people, sometimes we just don’t notice what it is! The same is true for anger, we also all have weakness different as they may be.

      The question is though where do these differences come from? We are very complex creatures that learn throughout life and change and adapt, some things about us are genetically determined, some things are learned and many things will be a mixture of both!
      Trying to understand the role of genetics and our environment is very difficult. Sometimes a part of you genes will mean that you are more likely to be a certain way but it doesn’t mean that you will be, the opposite is true a part of you genes makes you less likely to be a certain way but it doesn’t mean that you won’t be like this.
      Did you know that scientists are even discovering the role of your mums diet whilst she was pregnant with you in shaping who you are?! This is because our genes can be switched off or turned up really high during early life.
      Our genes are certainly not the only thing that dictates who we are!

    • Photo: Ben White

      Ben White answered on 22 Jun 2014:

      There’s many different conditions, e.g. diabetes, that can cause a person to find it difficult to control their mood. The NHS has quite a good page on this here:http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/Pages/controlling-anger.aspx

    • Photo: Dave Baker

      Dave Baker answered on 24 Jun 2014:

      I think it’s probably a combination of both. The nature or nurture question. study’s on identical twins separated at birth will give the most reliable evidence that it’s not purely down to the genes.

    • Photo: Ditte Hedegaard

      Ditte Hedegaard answered on 24 Jun 2014:

      Just like what the others have said, understanding why we behave like we do is a complex subject. I think we all agree that our behavior is determined by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, but dependent on who you ask they might say that the genes play the biggest part, while others say that the environment does.

      A good example of a behavior which is a combination between both is depression. Depression is believed to be a condition where the brain does not produce enough of the ‘happy’-protein called serotonin or when the brain do not react to the presence of serotonin. The level of serotonin in the brain can be determined by the serotonin gene and can therefore be genetic. Also, if our parents have had a depression, then we are more likely to get depressions as well. However it does not mean that we have a 100% risk of getting depressions if we have the gene for low serotonin or if our parents have had a depression. A depression will usually only start if something in our environment triggers it like stress or experiencing something sad.

    • Photo: Heather Ritchie

      Heather Ritchie answered on 24 Jun 2014:

      Everyone has given such excellent answers.

      What is also important to know is that sometimes a condition or a behaviour isn’t controlled by one gene but instead a suite of genes.

      Some conditions such as Asperger’s Syndrome are believed to be controlled by 200-400 genes! Sometimes people with AS have problems expressing their anxiety without showing it as anger but this doesn’t mean everyone with AS is the same and this may be due to which of the several hundred genes that are controlling their AS or it could be, as mentioned before, that it could be due to their environment – they say they have been brought up etc.

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