It has been agreed on by researchers that human evolution is a genetic
response to environmental change. ( EG: The instinctual training of veterans PLUS survival skills and trauma inflicted on them in combat) This postulation asserts that, in order
to survive as both individual and as a species, humans must make rapid, and
permanent changes, and these must be heritable to ensure species survival.
(and lets face it... survival was the greatest fear of our fathers in battle! Jungle warfare, battle of coral balmoral etc etc.)
This kind of genetic memory or epigenetics is a hot topic in both
research and argument. Most researchers agree that PTSD can be passed to
the next generation. THAT BEING US.... THE CHILDREN OF VETERANS!!! (No matter what war your parent/s served!) An emerging field of researchers and practitioners agree that an individual
may be born with a genetic predisposition to having a higher-than-‘normal’ risk
of developing PTSD and/or any of the associated conditions after even a
mildly traumatic event. Current trends indicate researchers and mental health
practitioners are willing to embrace the perspective that PTSD can be inherited. Those that do, argue that a severe stressful event which
occurred in the individual’s immediate environment (AKA...WAR!) can produce an alteration in our genetic information which is passed on to subsequent generations. They
argue that genes exist in each of us that are responsible for the modulation and appearance of specific and ranging conditions, both physical and mental,
and that a significant environmental event can produce a neurotransmitter that
locates these genes and switches them on or off, creating a type of “genetic
memory” (Ridley, 2003).
Check out the link below and have a good read. It deffinatly helped me understand a whole lot more about my PTSD as the daughter of a veteran!
http://eprints.qut.edu.au/13794/
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