In this episode, we break down how your mother's stress during pregnancy shaped your nervous system, how trauma can pass down through generations via epigenetics, and why your body might be reacting to threats your ancestors faced, not threats in your actual life right now.

The good news? These patterns aren't permanent. You can rewire them. And when you do, you're not just changing your own system—you might be changing what gets passed to the next generation.

Keywords: epigenetics, inherited stress, maternal stress, nervous system development, intergenerational trauma, neuroplasticity, stress response

Topics in this episode:

• Maternal stress during pregnancy and nervous system development

• Prenatal stress and amygdala sensitivity

• What epigenetics is and how it works

• Intergenerational trauma transmission (Holocaust survivors, Dutch Hunger Winter studies)

• The HPA axis and inherited stress regulation patterns

• Why your stress response might not match your current environment

• Neuroplasticity and the reversibility of inherited patterns

• How regulation work interrupts the cycle for future generations

• Removing shame by understanding your nervous system's programming

  
  

[00:00] Introduction: When your stress response doesn't match the situation

[01:25] How nervous system development starts in the womb

[02:15] Maternal stress and cortisol crossing the placental barrier

[03:10] What "normal" meant for your developing nervous system

[03:30] The wartime pregnancy example: preparing for a high-threat world

[03:51] 3 ways inherited stress shows up in your life

[04:45] Prenatal stress and amygdala development

[05:30] When your system's preparation doesn't match your current environment

[06:00] Epigenetics: How stress passes through generations

[06:30] Holocaust survivor research: inherited trauma without direct experience

[07:15] The Dutch Hunger Winter study: multi-generational effects

[07:50] How epigenetic marks work on DNA

[08:15] The HPA axis and stress hormone regulation

[08:36] What this means practically: recognizing inherited stress patterns

[09:30] The good news: epigenetic changes are reversible

[10:00] Neuroplasticity and nervous system rewiring

[10:30] How your work affects the next generation

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