Dr. Bob Beare Profile picture
May 19 16 tweets 5 min read Read on X
Trauma isn’t just in your head—it’s in your body.

Science shows trauma can alter gene expression, shape stress responses, and even be passed down to future generations.

Here’s how to break the cycle and rewire your system for good (by a PhD psychologist):🧵 Image
U.S. National Academy of Science called trauma "An unrecognized epidemic".

• 75% of people worldwide are affected by it
• 70% of adults in U.S.A have experienced trauma in some way
• 66% of kids have experienced 1 traumatic event by the age of 16
Generational trauma isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a biological reality.

Your nervous system is shaped by the stress responses of your parents and grandparents.

But here’s the good news: You can rewire it.

Here's what inherited trauma can look like:
First, let’s define the problem:

Generational trauma is the unconscious transmission of fear and stress from one generation to the next.

It happens through:
• Parenting styles
• Stress and trauma
• Unprocessed emotions
• Epigenetics (yes, trauma can alter your genes) Image
The traditional view:

“Just talk about it. Go to therapy. Heal through understanding.”

But here’s the truth:

Awareness alone won’t heal you.

Because trauma isn’t just psychological—it’s physiological.
You don’t just “think” about trauma.

You feel it in:
• Chronic stress and anxiety
• Gut issues and autoimmune diseases
• Tension in your body
• Uncontrollable emotional triggers

This isn’t just mindset work. It’s nervous system work. Image
The science backs this up:

• Trauma changes the brain’s amygdala (fear center)
• It alters cortisol (stress hormone) levels
• It’s even passed down through DNA (epigenetics)

Meaning? You inherit your ancestors’ unresolved stress.

But you don’t have to keep it.
Just because you inherited trauma through DNA it doesn't mean you can't heal it.

Healing your trauma doesn't just transform your life—it changes future generations.

The best part? It can be healed at any time.

The best 2 solutions I've seen (from 25 years of experience): Image
1) Become Aware Of Inherited Mindsets

• "People are evil"
• "Love only leads to pain"
• "Everyone is looking out for themselves"

These phrases show unhealed trauma passed down from generations.

Become aware of your family's unhealed patterns of trauma. Image
2) Talk Therapy alone takes too long

Trauma doesn't only live in your head. It also lives in your nervous system.

You can try to think or talk your way out of it, but the problem will always stay.

To solve it, you have to address the problem from its root cause—the body.
The real solution? Healing at the level of the nervous system.

Here’s what actually works:
1. Polyvagal Regulation – Teaching your nervous system safety
2. Inner Child Work – Reparenting yourself to break old patterns
3. Somatic Therapy – Releasing stored trauma through movement & breath
4. Daily Nervous System Resets – Small habits that rewire stress responsesImage
In my 25 years of experience:

Breaking generational trauma isn’t about “thinking positive.”

It’s about rewiring your body to feel safe for the first time in generations.

You don’t just heal for yourself—you heal for your children and their children.
If you're ready to change the patterns of inherited trauma and stress for good,

Check out the 7-day body-based course based on 25+ years of experience as a PhD psychologist.

Join here (available for a limited time): offers.drbobbeare.com/inner-work-mas…
Thanks for reading

For more psychology content like this,

Drop a like and follow me @DrBobBeare
👉Thanks for reading.
👉If you enjoyed this, please follow me and repost the first post (below).
👉Reply with your thoughts on body-focused healing.
Same old relationship struggles?

Same carreer blockades?

Inner Work Mastery is a 7-day, body-based system to help you finally break the cycle.

Check it out here: offers.drbobbeare.com/inner-work-mas…

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More from @DrBobBeare

May 21
You don’t just remember trauma.
You relive it—every single day.

In your posture.
Your reactivity.
Your inability to relax.

Here’s what The Body Keeps the Score reveals—and how to finally heal it (by a PhD psychologist):🧵 Image
Trauma isn’t what happened to you.
It’s what happens inside you when you don’t feel safe.

It’s the nervous system stuck on high alert.
It’s your body bracing for danger that’s no longer there.

"Trauma comes back as a reaction, not a memory." ~Bessel Van Der Kolk
Traditional psychology got a lot wrong.

They taught us to talk about trauma.
To analyze it.

But trauma doesn’t live in your logic.
It lives in your nervous system: Image
Read 10 tweets
May 20
You don’t over-apologize because you’re nice.

You over-apologize because your nervous system was trained to equate conflict with danger.

“I’m sorry” isn’t a habit.

It’s a trauma reflex.

Here’s how to break the cycle and reclaim your voice—(by a PhD psychologist): 🧵 Image
Up to 70% of adults have experienced at least one traumatic event in their lives (SAMHSA).

Even seemingly mild trauma can have long-term effects.

Over-apologizing is often a survival mechanism—not accountability or repair.
Dr Josh Mirmelli
When you grow up in chaos, your body learns to survive—not connect.

Your nervous system gets wired to scan for danger.

You become hyper-attuned to all mood shifts.

“I’m sorry” becomes your shield.
Read 17 tweets
May 16
You’re not “easygoing.” You’re not "too nice".

You’re stuck in a trauma loop of people-pleasing and overthinking.

You learned to stay safe by staying small.
Now you can’t tell what you really want.

Here’s the truth—(most therapists won't tell you): 🧵 Image
In my 25+ years as a psychologist, I've learned:

People-pleasing is the compulsive need to prioritize others' comfort over your own needs.

It's not kindness—it's a survival response developed in childhood when your authentic expression was unsafe. Image
The popular understanding frames people-pleasing as a bad habit..."Just say no."

This completely misses what's happening in your body and brain.

People-pleasing and overthinking are survival tactics developed to keep you safe.

They're not bad habits—they're trauma responses. Image
Read 16 tweets
May 15
Why has modern therapy failed so many people?

In the 1950s, Dr. Alexander Lowen made a radical discovery:

The root of emotional pain isn’t in your mind—it’s in your body.

His work flipped psychology upside down and changed how we understand trauma and healing forever 🧵 Image
Before becoming a psychiatrist, Lowen trained as a gymnast and dancer.

He didn’t just study movement—he felt its power.

This deep connection to the body gave him an intuitive understanding most psychologists lacked:

We are our bodies—not just minds with meat suits.
Lowen studied under Wilhelm Reich, a controversial student of Freud.

Reich believed repressed emotion = physical tension.

He called this “armoring.”

Lowen took this further—creating a new field called Bioenergetics, where the body becomes the doorway to emotional healing. Image
Read 19 tweets
May 14
If your nervous system is stuck in fight, flight, or freeze…
No amount of therapy, meditation, or journaling seems to help.

One small comment can still trigger panic, rage, or shut down.

Here’s how to rewire trauma patterns in 7 days—not years (by a PhD psychologist):🧵 Image
Most people think trauma healing takes years of talking about your past.

But what if that’s keeping you stuck in the very state you’re trying to heal?

Because trauma isn’t just stored in your memories.
It’s stored in your nervous system.
When your body perceives a threat—real or imagined—it triggers one of 4 responses:

- Fight
- Flight
- Freeze
- Fawn

This is your nervous system doing its job: keeping you alive.
The problem?

Most of us get stuck there daily, and these are called trauma patterns. Image
Read 13 tweets
May 9
Does the phrase “Inner Child” make you cringe a little?

You're not alone.

But that cringe is shame—born of trauma.

Neuroscience now confirms: 𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗬 𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗪𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗗𝗬.

Here’s why it matters — and how to heal: 🧵 Image
The ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) study found:

- 60%+ of adults have at least one ACE
- Higher ACE scores = higher risk for depression, addiction, and even cancer.

Until we heal, it stays alive in our nervous system.

And causes most of our problems.

Dr Amen explains:
We don’t grow out of childhood wounds.

We grow around them.

The pain goes underground and directs every move we make.

Dr. Tara Swart on the power of our unconscious wounds:
Read 17 tweets

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