People believe that they are put in a biological prison because of their genes. Stress and trauma can be passed on to your children by epigenetics. Epigenetics is the sum of all your experiences expressed in your genes. Epigenetics has shown that your genes can be turned on and off, and expressed differently through changes in environment and behavior. People often think once they have been through a traumatic event that they aren’t the same person any more. They feel like there’s no healing from it. When they dwell on that and never truly heal from it, depression and anxiety can be passed on to their children through genetic changes. However, through your actions and responses in life, you can flourish beyond any traumatic event, and repair what's been broken in your genes.

Stress hormones play a huge role in how your brain and behavior develop. When a child experiences severe stress, it can lead to lifelong difficulties. However, scientists have discovered changes can be made as to how your genes function, and some genes are more flexible than others. These changes are reversible, and don’t actually change your DNA permanently. It changes the way your mind and body read your DNA sequence. Epigenetic changes can be positive or negative-–it’s about the work you put in yourself. It’s about the environment you keep yourself in. Trauma effects last, but your responses to them and the way you react and think is what changes your life. Don’t assume just because something bad happened that your entire life is over. If you truly think that, and don’t do anything to change it, you will get nowhere. Josh Anderson, a student from Pocahontas High School says, “Everything passes. With every experience, is a lesson. You can grow from it. It’s better not to dwell on it.”

The feelings that come with depression and PTSD vary from each person. As I was interviewing people, the differences I saw were intriguing. I interviewed two teen girls, a teen boy, two men, and a woman. The teens all stated that their feelings didn’t even feel real. It was all like a bad dream. One of the girls said she was in a state of shock, and everything felt like a blur. One man said that it felt very real and was extremely intense. However the other man said that it felt like a blur as well. The woman, however, felt both. She felt all the intense feelings and felt in shock, like everything felt unreal. When you look at the differences in these people, you realize how different people process things differently, but at the same time so similar. Each person has different coping mechanisms, and ways of dealing with things. However, without changes in your actions, you will get stuck in those same feelings. You have to make changes in your life and decisions, in order to make a change in your mental state. Mr. Green, the principal at Pocahontas High School says, “I would say that time heals everything, everybody goes through rough points in their life but over time things get better and you learn from the experience. Hopefully you can find a positive outcome from your situation one day to help yourself and others.”

One of the biggest reasons I chose this topic is because people don’t recognize how much teens are going through. High school students are likely going through a stressful time in their life, trying to figure out exactly who they are and what they wanna do. Teachers, coaches, and adults in general put a lot of pressure on kids and don’t even realize some of the things the child can be going through. Sometimes students get lucky and find a teacher who gives them more hope and faith in themselves. I recently went through something traumatic, moved schools, and met the teacher who inspired me to write this essay. I asked her about her experiences in life and how the negative things impacted her and here’s what Ms Lange, an english teacher at Pocahontas Junior High, said, “What a journey!! It made me understand how teens need more support in the world and that led me to education and being a teacher in general. All of these traumatic things happening to people; we are connected to the history of that, and around all these people with generational PTSD. We should always pay attention to our mental health as much as our physical health. We need to be aware that we should take care of ourselves. We live in a society where people don’t even realize these things, and we should do better about advertising services for people with PTSD.”

So your genes do NOT put you in any biological prison. Even though you may feel like there is no healing from what you have experienced, there is. The truth is, with a good mindset, you can heal from almost anything. When you set aside a certain memory from your life, to remember and acknowledge that it's there, but not let it control you, that is when you can flourish beyond any trauma. You cannot simply run from your past. Accept what happened, acknowledge it, know that it happened for a reason, and that is what can take you places you can’t imagine. It’s all about your mind. Ava Tilghman, a student at Pocahontas High School says, “Don’t let the past mess up your future. You are in full control.”