What are stress & trauma marks?
Stress is the body's natural response to challenge. In the short term, it sharpens focus and prepares you to act. When stress is intense or ongoing, through grief, illness, injury, demanding work or difficult life events, the systems that manage it can stay switched on. Hormones like cortisol, sleep, appetite and immune activity may all be affected. This area looks at how psychological and physical stress may be reflected in your cells over time.
How your genes play a role
DNA methylation can act as a kind of biological memory. Research has found that chronic stress and difficult experiences are associated with methylation changes, including in genes that help regulate the body's stress response system. These marks can persist, which is why scientists sometimes describe them as a methylation memory. They are not fixed, and studies suggest supportive conditions may help these patterns shift over time.
Stress is often invisible, even to the person living with it. Seeing how it may be reflected biologically can be validating and can help you take your own wellbeing seriously. It is not a measure of resilience or character. Instead, it offers a gentle prompt to consider rest, support and recovery, and a meaningful starting point for conversations with a clinician or mental health professional who can help you interpret it with care.
What your report shows
Your Stress & Trauma Marks results are explained in plain language in your private EvoDNA account, alongside the other areas in your kit.
- Stress imprintAn estimate of how ongoing stress may be reflected in your methylation patterns.
- Stress response markersSignals from regions linked with how your body regulates its stress hormones.
- Context for your ageHow stress-related marks may relate to your broader biological aging.
- Recovery over timeWith repeat testing, a view of how these patterns change during calmer periods.
Each result comes with a plain-language explanation and practical points to discuss with your clinician.
Illustration only. Your report reflects your own genetic results.
Putting results to use
Many people use their results as a starting point for conversations with their clinician about:
Protecting your sleep is one of the most commonly discussed ways to support recovery from stress.
Time with people you trust is widely linked with emotional and physical wellbeing.
Breathing exercises, meditation or quiet walks may help settle the stress response.
A counselor or therapist can offer tools and space to work through difficult experiences.
Questions
Does a high result mean something is wrong with me?
No. It reflects how your body may have responded to stress, which is a normal biological process. It is a reason for care and support, not a diagnosis.
Can these marks fade?
Research suggests methylation patterns linked with stress can change over time. Rest, support and reduced ongoing stress may all play a part.
Should I share these results with anyone?
Many people find it helpful to discuss them with a clinician or mental health professional. They can place the results in the context of your life and wellbeing.
