First of all, you had me following your blog as I finished reading the paragraph about your story :) it sounds like something which will trully fascinate me. Sencond, I would never ask you to delete such an honest comment. Finally, while you state that you have a limited understanding of psychology, the argument you raised about the deterministic role our pasts play in defining who we are is indeed from a cognitive-behavioural point of view. The cognitive theory of emotion suggests that it is not the situation itself that gives rise to a particular emotion, but the meaning attached to it and the meaning here is an interplay amongst a) the individual’s history, b) the individual’s context and c) the individual’s mood state. Basically a summary of what you reflected :).
Regarding existential psychotherapy and phylosophy, I have noticed that, by far, the perception of how our past does not defines us is the most sensitive one. Still, the way I see it is that however much our pasts define the person who we are now, it does not have to dictate the person we can become.
@arthur.grapho, thank you so much for taking the time to read the post, the comments and take part in this discussion! Merry Christmas to you.