What is generational trauma and does it affect our health?

Generational trauma is stored as cellular memory within all of us.

From a scientific perspective, trauma can be passed down through the ancestral line.

This is because trauma can alter the way our genes are expressed and the way that we function, and thus this is how it can be passed down through epigentics.

It alters the way we’re ‘wired’ to deal with things.

For example, people who descended from an enslaved people will have acquired several epigentic adaptions to help them cope with the conditions they had to face.

They would have also passed down innate feelings of oppression, anger, anxiety etc.

Even if the person was born in the last 10 years, that mark on their DNA mechanisms will still be present, and will affect the way that person’s genetics are expressed.

This doesn’t just affect how someone feels, it also affects the descendants’ health and appearance.

Some of the chronic effects on descendants:

-the way they metabolise foods,
-the way they maintain their body composition (are they more prone to storing fat, utilising protein, etc),
-their nervous system function,
-their hormonal function,
-their physical features and much more.

This can all be seen in genetic testing, which can give us clues as to what may have happened in our family history.

Do you want to see some specific examples of how this plays out?

Let me know in the comments!

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