I’m a lefty, and I love to read interesting facts about left-handed people.
A recent Wall Street Journal article, however, says that left-handed people are more prone to mental illness, among other health issues.
For example,
Left-handedness appears to be associated with a greater risk for a number of psychiatric and developmental disorders. While lefties make up about 10% of the overall population, about 20% of people with schizophrenia are lefties, for example. Links between left-handedness and dyslexia, ADHD and some mood disorders have also been reported in research studies.
Great. And I thought we’re supposed to be the smart, creative people that eventually become presidents.
The reasons for these so-called health risks aren’t all that clear. It may actually have something to do with brain lateralization, or being right- or left-brained. Though we like to say left-handed people are in their right minds, about 70% of lefties are actually left-brain dominant. It’s the 30% that are right-brain dominated or “distributed” that are at greater risk for brain disorders and learning disabilities.
Awesome. I’m definitely right-brained.
Of course, since left-handed people’s brains are known to be wired differently, they are not usually chosen to participate in studies. I guess we throw things off too much. One study actually links stress while being pregnant to “increase the risk of having non-right-handed children.”
The “risk” of having a non-right-handed child? Um. I think I should stop reading now.
Read the article for yourself and tell me what you think. Should I be worried that my left-handed child will develop ADHD. Or, should I just worry about my own “behavioral difficulties?”
