How do you overcome the Obstacle?
Tammy Davis
To be better in your body is to be better w/ your mind! Use your nose | Retrain your brain | Emotional freedom | Deprescribing | Expert peer reviewer DJ Veritas on KMRD 96.9 Unadulterated
A deep dive into epigenetic memory ...
Epigenetic memory explains immunity to change.
Epigenetic memory is generational trauma.
The subject line of a recent email I received from a brilliant guide, author of Becoming Safely Embodied and Master of Social Work specializing in attachment theory, Dierdre Fay said:
How do people really change?
The opening body of the email continues with:
Can we change? How do we really change? Is it really possible?
Are our habitual patterns of mind and body too deeply entrenched to really become different?
Noticing the development of news, statements, beliefs and concerns over this year's round of COVID, Dierdre's email captivated my attention bringing to mind a book titled 'Immunity to Change '. Although each references change in relationships albeit personal or work-related, there is a link to the way many people go through the Cold, Flu and more season or for that matter handle any health issue.
Epigenetic memory:
Patterns of automatic interpretations, thought, and behavior ...
Briefly defined, when an organism goes through a challenging time, the epigenome adapts, marking the DNA with an impression that is used during future experiences for the sake of survival.
In other words, the DNA stores historical information for your good!
And just like that ... without even realizing it, you encounter a trigger, the stress response is activated and your chemistry changes!
Stressors include:
Epigenetic memory is an instinctive reaction to stressors because history has been recorded:
Call it what you will, epigenetic memory is a survival mechanism.
It's why you run towards a loved one when you realize they are in need.
It's why we find ourselves involved with a**holes (this is fodder for another discussion!!) or experience challenges in our friendships or with co-workers.
It's why plants produce different chemicals or can grow in locations away from their native ground.
It's why you pay close attention to the headlines when talk of the next viral variant makes its way back into the news. Instincts!
Epigenetic memory is good because it's a genius mechanism of protection. It's why the black plague of the 14th century faded away and the reason you're here reading this!
The human organism adapted perfectly. And that's the point, the abilities of the human body are incredible ... to this day! You are equipped with an epigenome which is a series of switches that adapt accordingly, directing energy as needed to survive.
The epigenome is a multitude of chemical compounds that tell the genome what to do. It’s made up of chemical compounds and proteins that can attach to DNA and direct such actions as turning genes on or off, controlling the production of proteins in particular cells .
Circadian rhythms are biological rhythms that include physiological and behavioral rhythms like sleeping. The circadian clock helps regulate functions that include sleep schedule, appetite, body temperature, hormone levels, alertness, daily performance, blood pressure, and reaction times .
Research has shown that the epigenome affects circadian rhythms. For example, a study published in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology suggests that epigenetic mechanisms play a role in regulating the circadian rhythm of immunity .
A study published in Nucleic Acids Research found that histone modifications are critical for coordinating the circadian rhythms of gene expression.
In other words, the epigenome influences your body’s natural rhythms.
Surviving (point A) to thriving (point B).
The path from point A to point B is homeostasis which means disrupting ongoing epigenetic patterns. Your system is brimming with memories and even though generational trauma is a hot topic for explaining 'why you are the way you are', people know very little about epigenetic memory and the wisdom it offers.
For decades I've heard countless people mention body memory or cellular memory and recommend different ways to release this stored trauma which was typically in reference to this lifetime and tragedies. On one hand it made sense. On the other, it was confusing because there was no explanation offered as to how this was even possible.
领英推荐
Enter the need-to-know kind of girl that I am!
In the 1960's, Frances Crick (one of people credited for discovering the double helix of the DNA), noticed what he referred to as 'junk DNA'. Today, scientists recognize these elements as containing information that spans generations, much like computer chips. Further research now reveals that the suggested information are historical imprints to a person's DNA that will modify epigenetic processes when external triggers are identified by the brain.
It's not a mind / body connection ... it's a DNA / brain connection.
In my course, Breaking the Cycle of Dis-ease Management, I talk about transponal elements also known as 'jumping genes' which are segments of the DNA with an ability to adjust their location along the strands. THIS is epigenetic memory that begins to influence everything about you prior to conception.
If you'd like free access to this course, message me.
Although it's widely accepted in neuroscience that the brain of a developing fetus mirrors that of its mother's neurological reactions, I assert it's deeper than that.
I believe your brain / my brain development was influenced by transponal elements and epigenetic memory before we were conceived! This is the only way of explaining psychological differences between siblings whether identical twins or spaced years apart. While there may be some similarities given the environment we are brought up in, the differences show up in the mannerisms and ways of interpreting situations.
This little bit of insight lends itself to acceptance and understanding as it softens the inner critic and reduces the chance of even more oxidative stress inflaming your system ...
Understanding epigenetic memory provides not just awareness, but also a foundation for shifting your reactions to any situation.
When you don't know these changes are occurring or for that matter the speed with which they take place, the second something feels off or upsetting, you automatically fall prey to your patterns.
In relationships albeit work, friendships or intimate, I would withdraw and isolate relying on countless explanations to justify my why. Until I recognized my patterns, I rested comfortably in the dis-comfort of emotional pain.
Of course, there were situations in my early life that helped form these reactions. However, are they in my best interest today? Possibly, although not 100% of the time.
My role as an aware Being is to lean into the wisdom and employ discernment in every situation realizing that other people are not the problem nor am I.
Something my soul sister and I were recently talking about is how in every difficult situation, the other person is at least 10% right. Let that 10% be the Grace of wisdom that shines the light for you.
When it comes to the Cold, Flu and more season , it's easy to understand why so many are triggered. The mere suggestion is enough of a threat to set off internal alarms. Combine that with suddenly seeing such headlines as COVID levels are so high, they're hovering near 2020's peak as the WHO urges those at high risk to take any booster they can get their hands on while shopping for shoes online! Now your system is 'online' and activated for survival.
Unless you're aware of the influence of epigenetic memory, everything you feel, think, say and / or do is automatically aligned with what it's going to take to survive.
Not that survival isn't important. If you don't survive, there's nothing to live for! The point is to realize that all we're doing is managing to survive and not everything is a do or die situation.
Thriving takes leadership and that requires vision for something more than what you're currently witnessing and / or experiencing.
Am I the only one who is ready to cancel the Cold, Flu and more season ?
For as long as I can remember, and that's decades now, the beginning of the school year led to an increase in colds and flu which introduced the next flu vaccine. As an adult, there was a common story that people, me included, ended up catching a cold or flu because they were facing a lot of stress and not getting the proper rest ... whether you were vaccinated or not!
This was the accepted belief that we ALL bought into.
And then there was / is the infamous declaration, stress kills.
Although I had eaten a plant-based diet since I started on table food, was physically active riding my bike for 15+ miles several days a week, swimming nearly 100 laps with my dad and getting into using natural remedies and supplements, I still ended up hearing I was living with probable MS as evidenced by various symptoms, including lesions in my brain, breast cancer, skin cancer, arthritis throughout my body and osteopenia / osteoporosis .... all between the ages of 40 and 50.
I can't say I ever felt betrayed by my body. I felt betrayed by my gullibility that bought into the healthy-living theories for relieving stress and preventing dis-ease.
Say 'hello' to the plot twist I needed to redirect my attention and find strength in the wisdom I could sense inside of me ... yet chose to ignore until now ...
I was wired to rely on the instructions issued by others.
This is how most of us are wired and although this mindset served our ancestors centuries ago, it's also the reason history continues to repeat itself.
How do you overcome the obstacle?
Because there is a degree of 'rightness' in all difficult situations, I made it my mission to understand stress since all the evidence suggested and continues to suggest that it is the root cause of many dis-eases.
I NEEDED to get to the bottom of the root cause!
The investigation into solving my own health issues led to the revelation that dis-ease management and healthcare are totally opposite. Healthcare is leadership. Hence, Breaking the Cycle of Dis-ease Management. And through the creation of this course, I found my answer regarding the root cause of ALL dis-ease, dis-comfort and dis-orders ... which continues to unfold with each passing day.
Epigenetic memory is the obstacle. And as Ryan Holiday wrote about: the obstacle is the way
When you realize the gift in epigenetic memory, you now have the ability to use this understanding to disrupt patterns that keep you from being healthy in all areas of your life and change the way you do things starting now.
History ONLY repeats itself when you give it permission!