DNA Methylation
- Jan 13
- 4 min read
“The capacity to blunder slightly is the real marvel of DNA. Without this special attribute, we would still be anaerobic bacteria and there would be no music.”- Lewis Thomas, American Bioethicist.
“And no Starwars.”-Karuna Chawla.
DNA. Deoxyribonucleic Acid. Every cell in the body carries the same DNA. A skin cell and the brain cell have the same DNA. But they are different because they just read different chapters. So, think of your DNA as a huge instruction book. And now imagine every cell in your body having the same instruction book. But here is the catch! Not every instruction is read all the time. Because on certain pages of the book there are sticky notes stuck blurring out some words or instructions. These sticky notes carry a chemical tag called a methyl group. They stick to your DNA. And the tag tells the cell-“Do not read this instruction right now. Until I tell you to”. This is DNA Methylation in simple terms.
This mechanism can turn your genes on or keep them off without changing the DNA itself. An easier metaphor is to think of a cell as a piano. Your DNA are the piano keys. And now on some keys there is a soft cloth, so those keys are not played or touched. The keys are there but not allowed to make a sound. So, nothing in your DNA has changed- only how loudly and when it must speak.
But why does it matter to our existence? It is this methylation that helps to decide on behalf of the cells what to become- brain, skin, liver, lungs, fascia, lymph, tendons, heart etc... because different cells need different instructions to form different body parts. A skin cell and a brain cell have the same DNA, but methylation tells them- “You read this part and you stay quiet about this part”.
This is how one single genome can create so many kinds of cells.
So, how is this related to trauma? We all know that Somatic Experiencing® therapy is all about one truth- The body feels before the mind understands. It is not our minds as we believe but our bodies and brains that are always scanning the environment and asking questions like-
Safe or unsafe?
Supported or alone?
Allowed to express or threatened?
Our environments heavily influence DNA methylation. Stress, nutrition, trauma, parenting, safety or threat all add or remove certain sticky tags on our DNA. Genes related to and influenced by stress responses, inflammation, vigilance, depression, hostility get turned up or shut down or as explained above- tagged chemically depending on what the body has learned to expect from our predictive, past loving, repetitive, lazy and selfish brain. This is not a psychological phenomenon. Its biology adapting itself to the chemistry of safety. A deeply somatic physical cellular strategy operating with the morphological environ around it. DNA methylation is a certain memory at the atomic and cellular level. There is no story, no images, no pictures in this instruction manual of our DNA. Just pure orders to behave-
Be ready
Don’t relax
Save energy
Be on guard
This is dangerous
Brace yourself
The body does not remember events clearly, as the brain tends to not only be selfish and lazy but also to lie and blur facts to an extent that at times it can make you believe that which is distorted and not real. But what the brain and body really remember are states. Not actual traumatic experiences, but how you felt and how you were made to feel.
Childhood trauma is especially powerful and more impactful to the human psyche and soma than adult abuse because in early life of a human being, the human genome is quick and sensitive to respond to its environment. This heightened sensitivity means that experiences, both positive and adverse, can result in long-lasting changes to physical and mental health, learning, and behaviour. It is the quality of the environment around us that determines the on or off switch for DNA methylation to happen. If a child in a stressed surrounding is constantly thinking and feeling- “Is this safe for me?” then methyl tags silence those genes involved in connection and rest. And over time due to the predictive nature of the brain, the negativity bias of the brain and morphic resonance survival patterns gets chemically, physically and biologically reinforced. This is why early childhood trauma erupts in adulthood and can feel like a late arrival because of the constant tagging mechanism building up and the brain repeatedly behaving from the past of the body’s experiences. This is a learned fate, and it can most certainly be changed to a learned optimism.
DNA methylation is as dynamic and fluid as the nature of life itself. When the body feels safe, feels nourished, senses real connections without judgements or harshness, and undergoes somatic releases, the genome gets new tags that say-
You are safe
Don’t tense anymore
This is okay
You are alive and well
You can let go safely
And this is when the body learns repair, stops being hypervigilant, growth genes get turned on, survival tags are deleted, excess weight is shed, the gut stops contracting and the breath softens.
Somatic Experiencing®, TRE (Trauma Release Exercises), Yoga and EFT work at the level where words and Psychotherapy cannot reach because DNA Methylation is how a live experience from the environment can become an embodied biology. Somatic safety is about teaching body a certain biology that it no longer must re-live its past. Healing is not about convincing your mind. It’s about proving and providing safety to your cells. Trauma is a writing in pencil and not bold ink. Neuroplasticity and Methylation are gifts provided by Mother Nature to us to live safely, freely and joyfully. What is needed is just simple awareness and attention towards the body.
Reference video to watch-
Bruce Lipton- the Biology of Belief.
