And on the other hand, who knows how many people have abuse histories that they keep to themselves? They could be TV game show hosts, military leaders, substance abusers, "normal folk", or suicide victims? We only know what we know, not what we don't know.

Yeah, we all know that some guys can make a good life out of shrugging off their past, like becoming comedians etc.
Everybody expects just that of comedians and actors etc.

As any actor or comedian will say tho', is that in private life they really are not so funny or anything else, they are just like anybody, and they want to make people funny on stage, but not in their private life.

Many of the actors, comedians etc., are manic depressives, like any of us, but a lot wear the mask of, so what!
They tend to make ppl happy, but deep down they have their own deep personal problems.

That is what tends to happen to them, they realize that they need ot focus on their past, instead of making life seem so funny.

ste

I think the brain can overcome many things we are only just starting to learn about it. There more we don't know about the brain than we do know. Many of us here have relearned many things as old connections are broken and new ones created. I found it an interesting read and am glad to read that at least someone is making a start on this. There is also new brain imaging technology that may also help that is in its infancy but holds a lot of promise for future understanding of the brain. Here is a link to some images using SPECT ( Single photon emission computed tomography ) scanning.
http://www.amenclinic.com/bp/spect_rotations/
If your into brain stuff this is pretty awesome.