Epigenetic changes

Epigenetic changes

Can we really control who we are and who we become?

By now almost everybody knows about roles of genes and DNA, we know there is a strong force in our genetic material to become that special person. Everybody is special but sometimes we are not very pleased with results and no matter how much we try, it seems like results are always the same. Can we learn to live with what we have, accept that personality or invest more time and effort to change it?

As a Geneticists, one must think that not much can be done. If you want to change your physic you have to change habits, activity levels and exercises. If you want to change your personality- this comes with a lot more trouble: education, understanding yourself and trying to understand others, developing social skills, widening our views but above all-raising our conscience.

Epigenetic changes happen on top of our DNA-it literally means something is controlling our genetic material from above, not within it. This means environment can significantly influence our becoming but not necessarily.

Raising a child-influence of epigenetic

Here comes example: giving a child great environment to grow happy and healthy will result in stable and fulfilled personality. On the other hand, will depriving one of this result in psychopath? Not really.. it depends on their set of genes and their activation/silencing. If second child has great potential, it will find its way and prosper (as long as it is safe environment).

We see a lot of children being surrounded with love and support and still developing anxiety, insecurities etc. Is it because their inner personality is just like that and there’s nothing to be done to change it completely but rather just to adapt them to live with it? Or kids need some struggle to thrive and prosper. some challenges and to learn how to rely on themselves?

Is this part of epigenetic and can we influence our genes to activate in direction we want to prosper?

Epigenetic changes influence health outcome

One study with identical twins in pre-diabetic condition show how much epigenetic changes can influence outcome of their health status. One twin changed its habits and lost about 10% of his body mass which resulted in reverse outcome-he was no longer in pre-diabetic stage while the other twin didn’t change his lifestyle and soon started medication for diabetes. This tells us clearly that our decisions sometimes can make significant changes. Despite the fact that twins have same set of genes , still their activation is different and it happened with the change in habits of one twin.

Observing several generations and how epigenetic changes transfer to them, conclusion is  surprising because we can clearly see that even a second generation remembers what first has been trough. For example, great stress in one generation, being trough war or similar devastating circumstances will reflect in the next two generations and maybe even further. Can trauma be passed?  Or is it all about the resilience? Unlocking this knowledge can give us more detailed explanations how people change and adapt.