i have always believed that it is a 50-50 split when it comes to nature vs nurture. our DNA is the canvas and our environment is the paint. we are stuck with the canvas we are given. our environment choses the colors and designs that go on the canvas

if it is in our dna that we are prone to depression, life will depress us. it is like trying to paint white on a black canvas, you will never get a true white. why is it that some people can roll with the punches, while others of us crumble under such blows? addicts, for the most part, are born to addicts, no matter if it's booze, drugs, misery, etc.. mental illness has a vast array of symptoms. someone with bi-polar is just as ill as a drug addict. both need help to overcome what life/dna has given them. and neither get the help they need in this country because money is being wasted elsewhere!
it is all chemical, in my view. once the chemisty is figured out, everyone can get the help they need. we are all different chemically, so different chemicals are needed to get the balance we all would like to be at.

i could be all wrong (and probably am) but this is my theory on it. i took two semesters of chemistry in college and was addicted to it. chemistry is the key to all that ails us because chemistry is what keeps us all going, it is what created us.
i would love to see more money put into research on the chemistry of the brain, because that is the key to mental illness. but i guess in this day and age, war is more important!
sorry for such a long post, but i have such passion on the topic of nature vs nurture and am a geek that reads alot of science/chemistry books when my mind will allow me to concentrate on something for more than 10 mins.
take care all
grace