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EJ711 said:
when they are raised with unrealistic expectations and very little emotional support and unconditional love?

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I'm a perfect example too. Anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, bulimia, etc.

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Rapunzel said:
(Invalidating environments and the consequences of them).

ADHD fits in there somewhere too, and probably has a lot more environmental factors than most people recognize.

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Environmental factors definitely play a role in ADHD but not necessarily the way you're thinking of. An unsupporting family environment can worsen ADHD but in my opinion it doesn't "cause" real ADHD. An abusive/invalidating environment can cause a child to display "ADHD-like" symptoms. The child might act out and appear to be "hyperactive". Or he'll be so stressed out and preoccupied with his problems that he has trouble concentrating and focusing and thinking clearly.

The ADHD thing has been complicated by rampant misdiagnosis. I suspect that many kids from dysfunctional environments have been falsely diagnosed even though they don't have "the ADHD gene(s)". The difference between the misdiagnosed ADHD kids and the "real" ADHD kids is the origin of their symptoms. The abused kids are exhibiting "ADHD-like" behaviors as a normal response to stress while the "true" ADHD kids have a biological/genetic defect that causes their symptoms, regardless of their environment.

I strongly believe there's a biological/genetic explanation for ADHD because I had ADHD symptoms WAY before my family environment became dysfunctional. Once upon a time, I had a very loving, normal family. My ADHD problems caused a lot of stress on my parents but they were patient and loving in elementary school. I was young so they probably just figured I was just immature and just needed some extra time/attention to catch up w/the other kids. They tried extra attention, meeting with my teachers, rewards, sports, loss of privileges, private schooling, HOME schooling, tutoring, and who knows what else. They even enlisted the teenage neighbor to be my babysitter during the summer! Most parents only use babysitters when they're NOT actually at home, lol.

It wasn't until junior high that my mother became abusive. At this point I was old enough to "know better" so she began to see me a defiant spoiled brat who was misbehaving on purpose. My dad also died before 5th grade so that made things even more complicated. Anyway, my mom was sometimes physically abusive but the emotional abuse was much more devastating and very invalidating. So yeah, that's why I became suicidal, "depressed", and eating disordered.

My thoughts on depression are similar. I suspect that there are people who have "genes" that cause/contribute to clinical depression. But I also believe that many people w/a depression diagnosis are simply exhibiting a normal response to stress/trauma. In my case I don't think I have "real" depression. I've been taking ADs because of my doc, but I honestly don't think I have "the depression gene(s)". I think I just have "depression-like" symptoms as a result of my life experiences. I think the people who feel depressed despite having a normal family life are the ones who actually have "real" clinical depression.

Also, I think many people don't realize that ADHD is a lot more complicated than hyper kids bouncing off the walls. ADHD also causes a lot of cognitive deficits. I don't mean to sound whiny. I know there are many mental disorders like bipolar, schizophrenia, DID, psychotic depression, clinical depression, that are much worse than ADHD. But I also want to emphasize that ADHD is much more disabling than people realize. It's not a devastating diagnosis like psychosis but it's NOT a "no big deal" type of thing either. I guess I see it as something like asthma or diabetes. People with these conditions can live very normal lives if the disorder is diagnosed and well managed but if the condition isn't treated and managed properly, the results can be devastating. Same thing with ADHD.

Wow, I didn't expect to write such a long post. Sorry about that. If you're still reading this, thanks.