FINALLY !!!!!

FINALLY!
My answer to: “The Lifelong Effects of Early Childhood Adversity and Toxic Stress”

In 1994, after writing my manuscript about my abused childhood, I asked: Does childhood abuse have long-term effects? Every psychologist I spoke to said: “Children grow out of it.”

I knew they were wrong. My trauma never left—it lived in my body and mind, ruining concentration, fueling anxiety, and shaping every day of my life.

As an adult, I was dismissed as “neurotic,” a “hypochondriac,” or blamed for not forgiving my abuser—or for not believing in God.

Hundreds of hours of cognitive therapy changed nothing. Talking is left-brain work. Trauma lives deeper—in the parts of the brain talking can’t reach. Antidepressants can only mask symptoms. Neither fixes damaged genes.

In 2000, I wrote to 36 universities in the U.S. and Europe, asking if children could have PTSD or abnormal cortisol levels. Only one replied: “Children have no PTSD.”

I pushed further—writing to President Clinton:
https://sieglindewalexander.com/category/letters/

In 2004, I asked the same universities if abuse alters gene function. Silence.

Now science is catching up.

Yet much research still blames poverty, ignoring abuse that exists in all social classes.

Why the silence? Fear of exposing cultural traditions? Fear of facing personal wounds? Or because abuse continues without consequence?

My DNA tells the story.
I have:

  • Markers for inflammation (interleukin)

  • rs7294919: linked to reduced hippocampus volume

  • SNP in the oxytocin receptor: less empathy under stress

  • rs1360780(T): higher depression risk & poor antidepressant response

This explains my psoriasis, low cortisol, diabetes, lack of focus, and lifelong aversion to touch—every symptom rooted in fear.

We need action:

  • Fund epigenetic research to repair damaged gene switches.

  • Educate doctors to look for causes, not just medicate symptoms.

  • Identify “toxic stress” in struggling students instead of writing them off.

  • Support psychologically injured adults—because untreated trauma is passed down, biologically and behaviorally.

If we keep ignoring the science, we’re not just failing individuals—we’re building a weaker, sicker society.