Trauma is an experience so harrowing that it can alter our gene expression — and in some cases, these changes can be passed down to future generations. But if the traumas experienced by our parents, grandparents and other ancestors can be directly transmitted to us through our genes — and presumably, we pass down our own psychological residue to our kids — what does that mean exactly? Are we doomed to an endless cycle of genetic anguish?
A growing body of research is shedding light on this phenomenon. For example, a 2020 paper published in the American Journal of Psychiatry analyzed blood samples of Jews who directly experienced the Holocaust, comparing them with both the blood samples of their children and the blood samples of Jews who lived outside of Europe during the Holocaust. Notably, the scientists found that mothers who survived the Holocaust had changes in their DNA in the sections that regulate stress responses — and that their children, who did not experience the Holocaust, had those same changes.
