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Do we inherit anxiety through our genes, or learn it from those closest to us? ‘Nature or nurture?’ looks at the evidence. Twin adoption studies point to a genetic influence, but researchers have failed to find a single gene responsible for anxiety, suggesting that a complex interaction of genes and environment causes anxiety. The polygenic theory indicates that several genes are involved in the generation and maintenance of anxiety. Genes are responsible for 40% of heritability and a tendency towards a high level of anxiety rather than a specific disorder. Research into childhood experiences — focussing on trauma, parenting, and learning from others — considers the likelihood of developing anxiety disorders. ...Less

Although the biological facts of being a child have remained largely the same, philosophers and theologians, reformers and policymakers, educators and scholars have, over the last few centuries, come to varying conclusions about the meaning of childhood and the place of children in society. Childhood is a social construction, shaped by local conditions, beliefs, and needs, as well as time. As a result, it is important that while children are a relatively unchanging fact of life, childhood is a constantly shifting concept. The Introduction explains that there are many histories of childhood, although a few general concepts and facts loosely bind them together. ...Less

‘Developing our identity as reflective scientist-practioners’ considers the benefits and drawbacks of working as a clinical psychologist. It looks at the different areas of clinical psychology training, which usually involves: a degree from an approved educational programme, a minimum amount of supervised clinical experience, and passing an examination. Training also requires formal reflection on the integration of science into clinical practice through supervision and personal reflection. Self-care and awareness of the risk factors of compassion fatigue and burnout can help avoid work-related stress in this field. Continuing in clinical psychology requires cognitive attentiveness, emotional resilience, a sustained interest in understanding and alleviating the distress of others, and ongoing education. ...Less

Psychoanalysis emerged between the 1880s and 1900s. Its origins can be traced to many sources, but mostly to the work of Sigmund Freud. ‘How psychoanalysis began’ considers, in turn, Freud’s work on hysteria using hypnosis; his focus on patients’ fears and phantasies; his interest in the interaction of mind and social circumstance (‘inner’ and ‘outer’ realities); his publication The Interpretation of Dreams, which proposed that the dreaming state can provide access to more forbidden thoughts, as there is a partial release from censorship; the ‘primary process’; Freudian slips; how sexuality involves a host of different feelings that may be enjoyed, endured, subdued, or displaced; and the experiences of infancy and childhood. ...Less

Panic is a common feature of all anxiety disorders, and other psychological problems too, but it takes centre stage in panic disorder where a person experiences recurrent, unexpected panic attacks, involving four or more of a range of sensations, including palpitations, pounding heart, sweating, trembling, breathlessness, chest pain, dizziness, and fear of dying, losing control, or going crazy. The biological and psychological causes for panic are considered; the success of Cognitive behavioural therapy as treatment indicates a strong psychological cause. ...Less

Charles Dickens was a life-long radical. According to Forster, it was Dickens’s childhood experiences that instilled ‘the hatred of oppression, the revolt against abuse of power, and the war with injustice under every form.’ Dickens would unfailingly take the side of the poor and the underdog. His vision darkened with age, but although his focus changed, the radicalism never left him. ‘Radical Dickens’ outlines his early targets and sledge-hammer blows through a variety of media. Throughout the 1850s, his magazine, Household Words, addressed important and controversial issues: factory conditions, slum housing, public health and hygiene, women’s employment, education, emigration, crime and prison discipline, and government bureaucracy and administration. ...Less

Obsessions in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) are upsetting and unwanted thoughts, images, and impulses that constantly recur. So distressing are they that people with OCD use a variety of elaborate and time-consuming rituals to try to make them disappear, or to prevent the harm they seem to predict. These rituals are called compulsions and they can be actions or thoughts. Scientists have identified five ‘dimensions’: inflicting harm, or failing to prevent harm; symmetry; contamination; sex, violence, religion; and hoarding. ...Less

Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth in February 1812. ‘Public and private’ describes his early childhood, his first jobs, and his move into writing. His father’s imprisonment for debt when he was just 12 led to the most painful episode of his life. His first sketch appeared in December 1833 and he went on to write many more under the nickname of Boz. He married Catherine Hogarth in 1836 and before he was 30 was one of the most famous men in Britain. By the late 1840s, he felt financially secure and could devote time to social reform issues. His later work and the failure of his marriage are also described. ...Less