I’ve spent a bit of my life thinking about this as I come from a bit of an odd circumstance as my parents purposely raised me poor (despite having wealth), didn’t offer much support and made me struggle thinking it would make me very resilient. They very much believe that anything that doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

The biggest problem with childhood adversity is that you are risking your health. My physical health started to fail and I’ve been unable to work for the last few years. I wasn’t born with the strongest constitution, but I do think my upbringing is a large contributor to my health problems.

I have friends who grew up in wealthy supportive environments, they are doing absolutely fine but the article is right in that they don’t have the drive or sacrifice to accomplish huge things. They are also by and large, very healthy. On the other hand, with my immigrant friends (many of whom are very successful), even though most are healthy there is a way higher percentage of health problems.

Another problem that I have is that I have some poor people impulses and habits, like issues with instant gratification. I did get some benefits in that I am amazingly resourceful and have great problem solving skills. I have the resilience to navigate awful bureaucracies and deal with everyday problems which has been helpful in my attempts to restore my health. I do know a lot of normal people would’ve given up by now.