What is ancestral healing? How inherited trauma could affect your health and useful tips

This can manifest physically, as shown in a landmark 2015 study led by Dr Rachel Yehuda. The study found epigenetic changes in a stress-related gene, FKBP5, in Holocaust survivors and their offspring, suggesting that extreme stress could alter the body’s stress-response system and that these alterations could be passed down from parents to their children.

Other research has considered how this type of intergenerational stress could be addressed.

A 2021 study, Epigenetics of Stress and Stress Management, published in the journal Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, highlighted growing evidence that stressful life events could physically alter the way our genes function – like flipping a switch on our DNA. This genetic change was long-lasting and was linked to chronic diseases and mental health conditions.

This underscores the extent to which practising stress management is powerful enough to influence our genes, helping to reverse the negative effects that stress leaves on our DNA. Meditation, mindfulness, yoga, tai chi and breathwork are methods that can help achieve this.