OT : A psychosocial question

[Caduceus]

Why do people seem to have a need to frequently revisit old emotional scars?

It is part of being human. Learning to cope with past psychological trauma is important to facing possible future similar trauma.

This brings up another question: Does experience shape an individual's personality more so than genetics?

As a clinician, I can say that both are equally important. I see the same cycle repeated for generations (self-abuse through alchohol, etc.). And then there are those that "end the cycle" - go to college, etc. Life it what you put into it. A three year-old dying of cancer is often wiser than a sixty year-old with lung disease.