Are Abused and Neglected People Smart?

I know that we were all smart at birth and when very young to have developed DID/DDNOS, but look at what happens to the brain of a 3 year old that has been severely neglected.

I have not read the article yet, but that is a lack of sensory deprivation I believe.

http://chrisd93.blogspot.com/2010/11/ex ... ation.html

I wonder what all that abuse has done to our brains as far as IQ?

When i saw the title i was tempted to respond with "are all fish goldfish" LOL.

in reality people who were abused and or neglected are as smart and less smart in all sorts of different ways and areas as the rest of the population is.


But the link is Interesting.

I was nurtured/taught intellectually, both at home and at school etc. i think i was probably really smarter as a kid than i am now tho

Not so much emotionally.

and interesting, cause i never had any trouble with the work at school but in many ways didn't have the emotional-life skills to be able to complete it! ironic really.

Neglect in childhood is correlated with lower intelligence. However, there is an impression, very popular among therapists who write books, that neglected children who develop DID have superior intelligence. The idea is that DID is a defense available to highly intelligent children, but not to others.

I agree with all that's said...


thus... I am still confused.

Those with DID are thought to be intelligent by those who write books, like Una said, at least when young.

Do we go down hill or do we keep our own brains stimulated somehow through DID?

I'll give you personal feedback on that in 6 months or so. - i've only been integrated for a few weeks. lol

i don't think DID keeps your brain stimulated, it dissociates the parts of you from the outside situation, possibly those (dissociated feelings, memories and or needs) that otherewise put together with the abuse and stress levels would cause damage that prevented the brain developing adequately.

still i dont imagine DID cancels out those effects completely.

Interesting. I used to feel "smart". As a child, I was in all the gifted programs, I won academic awards, I earned near perfect grades. When I failed a class, it was due to emotional stuff and depression, not because I wasn't smart. But now? I don't know if this is just a natural part of getting older, or if it's the DID (or both), but I really feel much "dumber" now than when I was a kid. I think the biggest part of this has to do with my memory... But then again... even as a child, I think my memory was really bad. I remember my dad being horrified when he would find out I didn't know basic history facts. So I've tried to hide my bad memory my whole life, since it's a source of shame. When I was in college, the only way I could do well on a test was to study the night before. Otherwise it would be forgotten. I go see a movie, and a month (or a couple weeks later), I couldn't even tell you what the movie is about or what happened. I know I was neglected (not nearly to the level of the children in the article) in my early childhood, and I had a dissociative mother, so maybe that affected my brain and it's ability to remember things...? Dunno.

I have to agree with Brandic. I know that, when I was younger, I was MUCH smarter. Things came to me easier. My grades were pretty good. But now, with all the dissociation and stress, I feel down right dumb. I can't remember what happens the same day it happens; weeks feel like days and days feel like weeks. What happens today may feel like it happened last month, and vice versa. It's terrible, especially lately.

Yes, I know that feeling! Can't remember who anyone is, can't even finish a thought without getting lost, can't remember what day of the week it is.... it drives my husband and kids nuts! My husband always says I am very smart except he (before we knew of the DID/DDNOS) can't handle my poor memory. It's good to finally know why its like it is!

But does it mean that we are not as smart as when we were kids or that we are simply dissociated? I have no childhood memories other than flashbacks so I have no comparison.

I kept the DID under wraps for 30 years, during which time I functioned consistently at a very high level, intellectually. Now, my motivation is shot and my concentration is not good either. Quantity of hard intellectual work has fallen to nearly nil, other work is suffering too, and I am having problems with such routine tasks as following recipes. I feel that I am not suddenly less intelligent, but I am extremely preoccupied.

Yes, I get that too Una. My T says it's a wonder I can do anything with all this going on in my head. Most of you probably are in the same boat.