Have you ever wondered why you act the way you do? There has been a huge debate on the aspect of how much your biology (nature) and your environment (nurture) affect who we are as people and how it negatively or positively impacts our development.
Nature is how your genes can impact your development as you grow up. It is the biological components that make up who you are on the inside. It comes from your parents and your geological tree. This genetic code decides if you reach those milestones at an appropriate time, like walking and talking as a toddler or even how soon you can reach sexual maturity. If a parent has anger issues or mental health problems, it is a good chance that eventually their offspring will also develop either those same problems or other similar issues.
On the other hand, nurture is how your environment affects how you develop throughout your life. If we are raised in a loving and caring household with all the support in the world, it is more than likely that a child will flourish and become successful. The opposite can be true as well. If a child is raised in a chaotic, negative and toxic household, they can be prone to more issues in school, lack of friends and become an unhealthy adult when it comes to work and mental health.
Both of these can have a huge impact on how we come to be when we reach adulthood and even into old age. There are all kinds of combinations that can happen with nature and nurture because as we know, every person is an individual. Even twins can become totally different people or siblings that grow up the same household. You even have some people who come from happy homes with all kinds of support but still end up with mental health issues due to that biological concept in their genes.
We may not understand why we act or think or the issues we have but with some digging and self-reflection on our past, sometimes we can take bad habits like smoking or mental issues like depression and turn them into something positive. With the right support from the right people, a person whose life is circling the drain can turn into a sunny new day. That can also be said for someone who has everything and with the wrong people around them, suddenly everything falls apart.
The more we understand what internally and externally is affecting us, then we can finally make the best of the one life we have been given.
Please comment on your thoughts. If anyone has any questions or needs advice on a specific issue, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am here to help.
Your Inner Helper, Luna 🌜
