It Didn't Start with You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle

the DNA responsible for transmitting physical traits, such as the color of our hair, eyes, and skin—surprisingly makes up less than 2 percent of our total DNA.14 The other 98 percent consists of what is called noncoding DNA (ncDNA), and is responsible for many of the emotional, behavioral, and personality traits we inherit.

Thomas Verny says, “From the moment of conception, the experience in the womb shapes the brain and lays the groundwork for personality, emotional temperament, and the power of higher thought.”1 Like a blueprint, these patterns are transmitted more than learned.

Researchers are now finding that our thoughts, inner images, and daily practices, such as visualization and meditation, can change the way our genes express

Bible, in Numbers 14:18, appears to corroborate the claims of modern science—or vice versa—that the sins, iniquities, or consequences (depending on which translation you read) of the parents can affect the children up to the third and fourth generations. Specifically, the New Living Translation states: “The LORD is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty. He lays the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.”

that even if humans receive supportive parenting as infants, we are still the recipients of the stress our parents experienced before we were conceived.

DNA methylation, a process that blocks proteins from attaching to a gene, suppressing its expression

According to Rachel Yehuda, epigenetic changes biologically prepare us to cope with the traumas that our parents experienced

With the knowledge that emotions can be biologically communicated and the fact that three generations share the same biological environment of the womb, imagine this scenario: A month before your mother is born, your grandmother receives the devastating news that her husband has been killed in an accident. With a new baby to prepare for, and little space to grieve the loss, your grandmother would likely submerge her emotions into the body she now shares with her daughter and grandchild. You and your mother would know something about that grief from a place deep inside you, a place all three of you share.

Nurturing the Unborn Child: A Nine-Month Program for Soothing, Stimulating, and Communicating with Your Baby

“The mother’s emotions, such as fear, anger, love, hope among others, can biochemically alter the genetic expression of her offspring.”