Trauma & Its Effects
If your friend saw something really scary and couldn’t stop thinking about it, what kind of experience did they have? Provide an example as well.
A trauma
This is something really upsetting that affects your feelings or body and examples would be being in a war, seeing a car accident, or hearing really bad news.
True or False: Your DNA can change its shape and behavior without actually changing the letters of your genes.
TRUE!!!! DNA is a light switch as epigenetics decides if the light is on or off
The war we’re talking about happened in this country.
Sri Lanka
What’s one way Tamil people heal from war trauma?
Through stories, music, dance, or community rituals.
What do we call it when trauma is passed down from parents to children over time?
Intergenerational trauma
Imagine your parent went through a war a long time ago, but now you sometimes feel anxious and don’t know why. Could their trauma affect you even if you weren’t born yet?
Yes! Trauma can be passed down in families, even through biology.
What’s the name of the science that studies how things like stress, food, or feelings can affect how your genes work without changing the DNA itself?
Epigenetics
Tamil people who went through war often dance, sing, and tell stories as part of healing. What’s 2 reasons that’s helpful?
It connects them to their culture and helps them express emotions
Why is it important for people who have experienced trauma to stay connected to their culture, language, or community?
It helps them feel safe, understood, and gives them strength to heal. This is because people hold on to their roots like music, food, or traditions and it helps them remember who they are, even after painful events.
Besides Tamil people, name one group that experiences intergenerational trauma and explain how they experienced it.
Indigenous communities, Holocaust survivors, African American families, refugees, etc.
Can your brain and body remember fear even if you’re not thinking about the scary thing anymore? Explain why!
Yes! Trauma can stay hidden but still affect how you feel or act
What’s it called when stress adds a “do not disturb” tag to your DNA?
DNA methylation
True or False: Even after the war ended in 2009, Tamil children still feel the impact today.
True! - trauma doesn't have an expiration date.....
What’s the name of the “gene-editing” tool scientists are exploring to help fix trauma at the DNA level?
CRISPR
How can a parent’s trauma affect their child, even if the child didn’t experience it?
Through how they parent, their emotions, or even changes in their child’s stress biology. EXAMPLE - If a parent is always afraid or sad because of their past, the child might grow up feeling the same without knowing why.