When we talk about trauma, the conversation often focuses on events that have happened within a single lifetime. Yet modern science is increasingly revealing something many therapists and healers have intuitively understood for years: our bodies may also carry echoes of what happened to those who came before us. Experiences lived by parents, grandparents and sometimes even earlier generations can influence the way our nervous systems respond to the world. This does not mean we inherit trauma as a fixed destiny, but it does suggest that our biology can hold patterns shaped by previous generations. This is where the field of epigenetics becomes particularly interesting.

Epigenetics refers to the way our environment and experiences can influence how genes behave without changing the underlying DNA sequence itself. Genes can be turned up, turned down, or expressed differently depending on what the body has lived through. Stress, safety, nourishment, adversity, connection, toxins, and emotional environments can all influence this process. Over time, some of these biological adjustments may be passed down to the next generation, shaping how sensitive or resilient the nervous system becomes when facing stress.

From a nervous system perspective, this makes profound sense. The human body is designed for survival, and survival requires adaptation. If a generation experiences famine, war, violence, instability, or prolonged emotional stress, the body may adapt by becoming more vigilant, more reactive, or more efficient at storing energy. Those adaptations can influence how certain stress-related systems function in the next generation. In this way, biology does not simply reflect our personal story, but sometimes a much longer family story.

One of the most well-known biological systems involved in stress regulation is the HPA axis, the pathway connecting the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands. This system governs how the body releases cortisol in response to stress. Cortisol is essential for survival. It helps mobilise energy, sharpen focus, and allow the body to respond to threat. But when this system becomes dysregulated, cortisol may be released too frequently, too intensely, or sometimes not effectively enough.

A gene that has attracted considerable attention in this area is FKBP5 (and I test for it). This gene helps regulate the sensitivity of cortisol receptors in the brain and body. Certain variants of FKBP5 appear to influence how strongly the body reacts to stress and how quickly it returns to baseline. Research has suggested that early life adversity, particularly trauma during childhood, can alter the epigenetic regulation of FKBP5, changing how the gene behaves over time. In practical terms, this can make some individuals more biologically sensitive to stress, sometimes across generations.

Closely linked to this system are the adrenaline receptors, including genes such as ADRA2A and related adrenergic receptors that influence how the body responds to adrenaline and noradrenaline (which I test for too). These chemicals are central to the fight-or-flight response. When the nervous system senses threat, adrenaline surges, heart rate increases, blood pressure rises, and the body prepares for action. Variations in these receptor genes can influence how strongly a person experiences these responses. Some people are naturally more reactive to stress signals, while others may be slower to activate but also slower to calm.

When epigenetic influences from previous generations combine with an individual's own life experiences, the nervous system can become particularly sensitive. A person may feel constantly alert, easily overwhelmed, prone to anxiety, or exhausted by a stress response that seems to activate too quickly. For some families this pattern repeats across generations: grandparents who lived through hardship, parents who lived with chronic stress, and children who inherit nervous systems already primed for vigilance.

Understanding these patterns is not about blame, it is about context. When we recognise that the nervous system may be responding not only to present circumstances but also to deeper biological imprints, it becomes easier to approach healing with compassion rather than judgement.

This is where the work I do becomes particularly relevant. In my practice I combine nervous system understanding with genetics, epigenetics, functional medicine and psychotherapy. Genetic reports such as those from Lifecode Gx allow us to explore variations in stress-related genes, including those involved in cortisol regulation, adrenaline signalling, detoxification, neurotransmitter balance and inflammatory pathways. These reports do not diagnose illness, but they can offer valuable insight into how a person’s nervous system may be wired to respond to stress.

When these genetic insights are combined with deeper therapeutic work, the picture becomes clearer. A person’s anxiety, exhaustion, or hyper-vigilance may not simply be a psychological issue or a character flaw. It may be rooted in biological sensitivity shaped by both personal experiences and family history.

Alongside this, I often look at the wider terrain of the body through approaches such as organic acid testing, mineral analysis, and other functional assessments. Nutrient status, mitochondrial health, detoxification capacity and microbiome balance can all influence how resilient the nervous system is. For example, magnesium, B vitamins, methylation pathways, and neurotransmitter metabolism all play roles in regulating the stress response. When these systems are supported, the nervous system often becomes far more stable.

Equally important is the work of nervous system regulation itself. Through therapeutic conversations, mindscaping approaches, trauma-informed psychotherapy and other integrative methods, we help the body gradually learn that it is safe again. Safety is not simply a psychological idea - it is a biological state. When the body experiences enough safety, gene expression itself can shift in more adaptive directions.

This is one of the most hopeful aspects of epigenetics. The same mechanisms that allow trauma to influence biology also allow healing to influence biology. Our genes are not fixed instructions written in stone. They are part of a dynamic system constantly responding to the environment we create around and within ourselves.

In this way, healing is not only personal. When someone begins to regulate their nervous system, restore balance in their physiology, and process experiences that have been carried for years, they may also be altering the biological story passed to the next generation. The cycle can begin to shift. How amazing is that!

Intergenerational trauma shows us that pain can echo through families. Epigenetics reminds us that change can echo too.

I am right here…