Scars Run Deep: Epigenetics and Trauma

Photo from Pexels, by SHVETS production

There has been a lot of discussion recently about Breaking the Cycle – taking a stand against cycles of abuse, trauma, bullying, etc. Much of it focuses on making active efforts to recognize when things are unhealthy and choosing to change. What a lot of it lacks, especially in short-form media like tweets, is nuance.

A lot of people who experience extreme trauma or abuse are physically changed – in ways that gets passed down to their children.

Epigenetics is the study of how environmental factors can change how your body processes DNA. It encompasses everything from cancer risk to transgenerational trauma. Basically, environmental factors can change what genes get read, and which don’t, effectively turning them “on” or “off”.

Photo from Pexels, by artist Nidia Dias

But that means your body physically warps to seeing things differently, processing information differently. And that can be passed on. A surprising amount of children of trauma survivors have horrible nightmares and other symptoms of PTSD, even when given a good upbringing and not told of the trauma. There’s not nearly enough studies on it, but people who experienced that seem to find each other more and more online.

So if you’re predisposed to heightened reactions, adverse reactions, and PTSD like symptoms, you might not even know it. More studies are needed, but based on the Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn reactions that exist? Hypothetically, it could explain both bullies that come from otherwise healthy households and the cycle that victims often find themselves in.

Photo from Pexels, by artist Gelgas Airlangga

But there’s hope!

More and more research is coming out about potential epigenetic treatments. Most of them focus on more physical effects, like predispositions to allergies, cancer, and the like. But imagine a world where both therapy and epigenetic treatment was given to survivors of trauma and their children. Being able to treat trauma and its long term effects on a protein level could revolutionize how we handle trauma and intergenerational symptoms! 

And imagine this from the perspective of someone with trauma, or a child of a survivor. Imagine a world where people don’t have to fight against or argue with their own intrusive thoughts or memories, don’t have to spend far more energy on emotional regulation than their peers, and aren’t stuck with lifelong nightmares that may never receive treatment.

As of yet, there’s no formal organizations created to fund or study this phenomenon. The research currently coming out is from major universities – from Johns Hopkins to MIT and more.

Someday we may just live in that world. But more social awareness is needed, more research is needed, and more global awareness is needed. Self-awareness is especially important, even and especially for those who don’t think are affected by any of this. The thing about protein reactions is that you can’t see them. Without lots of tests, it’s not possible to know if a quick temper, a closed mind, a rejection sensitivity, or irrational fear is coming from experience or biochemistry.

In the meantime, there’s lots of emotional regulation coping skills and exercises. Therapy is for everyone, even those who don’t think they need it.

And as always, be kind to each other. You never know what someone – even yourself – may be dealing with.

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