Trauma can have a long-term impact on physical as well as mental health over time, but there are ways to cultivate resiliency, according to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Karestan Koenen.
Koenen, professor of psychiatric epidemiology, spoke about the health impacts of trauma on the Jan. 6 episode of a podcast called “The Biology of Trauma.” Koenen discussed a number of topics, including:
How research has uncovered links between trauma and diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease
How major cohort studies that showed the connections between diet, exercise, and disease typically didn’t measure trauma
How coping mechanisms that help people survive trauma—such as avoidance, hypervigilance, and staying busy—can take a toll over time and interfere with progress
How epigenetics research—looking at how genes respond to environmental factors—may eventually help pinpoint health issues before they become chronic conditions
How practices such as yoga, breathwork, and meditation can help heal trauma
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