Eyes That Remember: Ancestral Trauma, Iridology, and the Impact on the Nervous System

 

The theory of ancestral family patterns, combined with Iridology—the analysis of iris color, structure, and signs—offers a way to see how previous generations may shape our physical, emotional, behavioral, and mental traits. In this article, I draw on ancestral patterns, epigenetic research, and Iridology to explore how trauma may pass through generations and influence my parents’ and my own stress responses. I have long wondered why I am the way I am, with trauma as a central theme, so I look at my inherited genes, possible trauma before birth, and the trauma I have lived through to better understand my story. As an Iridologist and Naturopath, I explore how Iridology, together with current research on trauma, might illuminate the ways my family history is written in my nervous system—and in my eyes.

The Blueprint 

Bigler (2024) explains that at conception, the egg and sperm combine to create a unique set of DNA that shapes traits such as eye color, body build, and how the brain and organs function. This DNA is often called a “blueprint” because it carries the instructions for how the body and nervous system develop and respond to stress.

During Pregnancy 

Chronic stress during pregnancy raises the parent’s stress hormone cortisol. The placenta usually removes much of it, but with long-lasting or intense stress—especially later in pregnancy—more cortisol reaches the baby. This extra cortisol can change how the baby’s stress system develops, making it more easily triggered and slower to calm (Lester, Conradt, & Marsit, 2016).

Epigenetics 

Epigenetics is the study of how genes can be turned on or off without changing the DNA itself, like a dimmer switch on a light. Stonawski et al. (2018) describe how our environment—food, toxins, stress, trauma, and relationships—can move these switches. When stress is extreme or prolonged, the stress system keeps turning on and releasing cortisol. Over time, this can alter how stress-related genes function, making the nervous system more reactive and slower to settle.

My Parents’ History 

My father began as a troubled teen who was encouraged to enlist in the Korean War to avoid prosecution. He then spent a few years driving an ambulance and later served as a police officer for ten years. He also lost his beloved mother while he was a teen. Years of alcoholism after witnessing horrific wartime scenes, traffic accidents, and crime left him with deep, unacknowledged trauma. He did not realize he had choices in life; it seems that era simply did what it thought was right. Before he was ready, his children were adults and out of the house.

My mother was a popular girl who was never adopted by her own mother’s cousin, even though her mother had died giving birth to her. Her father abandoned her, and years later, he returned and attempted to abduct my oldest sister. My mother was treated as “the extra” among her three cousins, who were regarded as the real daughters. In her teens, she went out with friends on graduation night, and the boy driving—drunk—crashed into the old Felton Bridge, severely injuring her head and face and leaving her disfigured for the rest of her life. As an adult, she spent her days working full-time, caring for three girls, and managing a difficult marriage with an alcoholic.

My parents showed patterns of anxiety, anger, over-control, over-work, and emotional numbness. They were good parents and providers, though, who worked hard and hid their past and their pain to stay grounded in the present, where their children were.

My History 

After age five, I began absorbing the unresolved energy from their relationship. I started gaining weight, withdrawing from big social events, and I was FEELING EVERYTHING—the formative years of a highly sensitive person (HSP). Having an overactive nervous system is no surprise, especially given my lymphatic iris, which has a neurogenic structure, suggesting potential nervous system weakness.

From an Iridology perspective, the collarette is interpreted as a timeline of consciousness, where life events are reflected in the iris through its structure. I learned this concept in IIPA’s Level III Timerisk training (D. Lo Rito, personal communication, June 2024). Dr. Lo Rito explains, “The border of the collarette or BC reflects the presence of time…the BC is like a portrait of the psyche where the events in our lives are displayed.” When examining this timeline and calculating counterclockwise by 40 degrees for each month of pregnancy, I can vividly see a significant rarefaction of fibers in my left iris (associated with my mother) during the month my father abandoned her while she was pregnant with me—another piece of supporting evidence for my theory of ancestral family patterns combined with Iridology.

In addition to ancestral and prenatal imprinting, my personal life experiences further shaped my nervous system. I was robbed at gunpoint four times while working at banks in my twenties, had a life-threatening childbirth with my son, and went through a very long, abusive marriage. Each of these experiences added layers to the stress patterns my body already carried.

Conclusion 

By bringing together research on epigenetics and prenatal stress with my family’s history and the interpretive, holistic lens of Iridology, I can see how trauma in previous generations may be reflected not only in my behaviors and emotions but also in how my body carries and expresses stress today. For Iridologists, this perspective invites us to consider not only the physical signs in the iris but also the stories and ancestral patterns behind them—eyes that remember what the nervous system has never forgotten.

References

Bigler, A. (2024, May 13). How are physical features and health conditions inherited? National Institute of General Medical Sciences, Biomedical Beat Blog. https://biobeat.nigms.nih.gov/2024/05/how-are-physical-features-and-health-conditions-inherited/

Lester, B. M., Conradt, E., & Marsit, C. J. (2016). Epigenetic basis for the development of depression in children: The role of prenatal stress and early maternal caregiving. Child Development, 87(1), 135–144. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12477

Stonawski, V., Frey, S., Golub, Y., Moll, G. H., Heinrich, H., & Eichler, A. (2018). Epigenetic modifications in children associated with maternal emotional stress during pregnancy. Zeitschrift für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie, 46(2), 155–167. https://doi.org/10.1024/1422-4917/a000515