Nurture v. Nature (cont'd)

Recently I was watching a great documentary on multiples in the womb. It highlighted the numerous stages of gestation and the interactions between the brother and sister fetuses while in utero. One of the very intriguing things brought to light was how often one fetus would dominate the other, in terms of obtaining the better position and space and utilizing a higher share of the nutrition. But what is striking is that these behaviors translate once out of the womb. That same sibling who was the aggressor, who took more food and blood, who pushed and shoved to occupy the prime positioning in the womb, would also be more aggressive towards the sibling, more confrontational and bullying, and demanding more attention from parents and caretakers. The reserved sibling would oblige, retreat easily, and overall tend towards more of an introverted personality.

With this information out in the western scientific world, it's not clear to me why so many often disregard the extent to which early life events and traumas can impact one's personality and physiology, emotional and physical well-being. On my website I have a case study on migraines and cluster headaches. In it, the patient had suffered many years before severe head trauma. All the doctors that she consulted for treatment (of which there were many, and some of which were top neurologists) all discounted these traumas as being sufficiently in the past to have no impact on her current situation. Dealing with this trauma with acupuncture and herbs led to rapid relief and cure of her symptoms.

By no means do I intend to negate the effects of genetics and "nature." Clearly, it has a profound impact on us all. But, I think it incumbent on all of us to critically examine our habits, lifestyle, nutrition, significant events in our lives, etc. to see how they have affected us in the past, and more importantly, how they continue to effect us in the present and will affect us in the future.