Ep 14. Genetics Of Migraine: Epigenetics Tells Us - You Are Not A Prisoner Of Your Genes!

In this episode, I share how the false belief that my genetic makeup had sealed my fate deeply affected my life choices. We’re often told that migraine, depression (a common sidekick to chronic pain), and other dis-eases are due to our genetics. But decades of research in epigenetics have shown that while certain genes can be activated, they can also be silenced—essentially turned off—so symptoms can be reversed.

I’m passionate about raising awareness of this, especially for those in their childbearing years who feel trapped in a life sentence of chronic pain. I discuss how environmental factors and life stressors influence gene expression and debunk the myth of being predestined for certain genetic conditions.

I also open up about my personal journey, and how understanding epigenetics and neuroplasticity helped me reclaim control over my health. This episode is for anyone who feels held back by a genetic diagnosis, offering hope and practical insights on how to alter the course of their symptoms. Tune in to discover the power of epigenetics and neuroplasticity—and how you can take charge of your wellbeing.

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00:00 Introduction and Trigger Warning
00:23 Understanding Epigenetics and Migraines
01:21 Personal Struggles with Depression & Genetic messaging
03:52 Challenging Genetics as Your Fate
04:27 The Power of Neuroplasticity
04:56 The Words We Use Matter
07:03 Full Quote by Dr. Schubiner - Not All Genes Are Created Equal
07:20 Genetic Tendency Of Migraine Can Be Turned Off
07:54 Factors Affecting Gene Expression
08:49 Final Thoughts and Empowerment

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Education and techniques discussed in this Podcast originate from many sources, countless hours of research, training, and self-healing unless otherwise noted.

Music credit: MomotMusic, Kyrylo Momot
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Disclaimer: Information provided by Migraine Oasis & Karen Ash is for general informational & educational purposes only & is not a substitute for medical advice, psychotherapy, or counselling. Utilizing any of the education, strategies, or techniques in the podcast is done at your own risk. Consult with a physician before engaging in any suggested movements. If in immediate danger, call a local emergency number or go to the nearest emergency room.

Transcript

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0:52

I just finished editing this episode and I wanted to mention . I have a trigger warning. I wanna mention that I do talk about my depression and that I was in a deep place that just did not want to carry on. And I want to just make sure that you're aware that this topic comes up and I want to, be conscious of people that may have a trigger around this, so that you can make a choice if you wanna listen or not. I am just working on this post and it was about migraine and how genetics factor in, but because of epigenetics, the study of how environment plays a role in the expression of certain genes and whether you can turn on or off those genes. So meaning it's not this automatic thing that just because somebody in your family has migraine, that you're going to get them. That the stressors in life, the stressors of your past adverse childhood events, the pressure that you put on yourself, the environment that you're in. All these different things, either activate migraine or not. And the good news, is that this can be turned off as well. So with epigenetics and the development of more understanding of that, this has come about in the last, say 20 years, it's been dramatically different, it's made a lot of headway. The point is, is that I really felt that I was destined for these migraines and I was destined also for depression because that ran in our family. That was a genetic thing that was, I was predisposed to that. I was, that was my lot in life. There was no surprise of my mother that I had a deep depression because every woman in her side of the family had depression issues, and she rattled through all the different people that I didn't even realize that she claimed were having this problem because of our crappy jeans from Nana's side, which was my great-grandmother. And I was just sitting here thinking to myself. Had I known that epigenetics was a thing or had I known that my fate wasn't sealed, would've I had made other choices? Would I have chosen to have kids? Not blocked that road for myself at 30, at 29, 30 years old to say, I will never have children because I would never want them to have the life that I'm having. I was so desperately depressed and I thought, I could barely get through a day I just felt life was so hard at that moment? But then once I started feeling better and I really, um, lifted outta that depression, then I started thinking, yeah, life had good in it and I saw the joy and I had a lot of good experiences and everything, but I still thought, no, that is an inevitable part of our path. In our family because as my mother said, every woman had this problem at some point, and then the migraine, and then the doctors telling me, yes, this is genetic. This is your heredity. This is an incurable disease that you have because of your genes. That one we blamed on my grandfather's side. I don't know why. Anyway, the eyesight wasn't because of natural aging that people were losing their eyesight and it getting worse in our family. It was because of my grandfather's side of the family and because we didn't eat enough carrots, so it was always something with our crappy jeans that was said all the time. So to think about this and the, the path in life that maybe is being decided on because you think that you have these certain genetics and you have this certain fate that you feel like is sealed, is just something that I want to express to anybody that doesn't know about epigenetics. That it doesn't mean that. And just because your stressors in life or whatever's going on in the environment have switched on this gene. Doesn't mean that it can't be switched off. And that's the whole point of neuroplasticity of the brain and that we can shift things in our environment. We need to look at it different things with different perspective. There's just so much power within that we don't realize that we have, because the message just keeps coming from either family members, like my mother perpetuated in me or from physicians telling you that it is going to be a certain way and it's incurable and it's a disease, and all these terms. That's why I'm so really careful on this platform of trying to watch the words that I use and not call it a migraine attack. It's an episode. It's an episode in time. I don't have a disease. Don't put that word on me. No. No, I don't care what they have to classify it as for the pharmaceuticals and the insurance and whatever to have it classified in a certain way to get FDA approvals and to get all the different things. But don't put that word on me because that word is a life sentence. Incurable disease. That gives me no hope. No hope for my future. And I honestly spent my thirties with zero hope and in so much pain coming out of it in my forties, but then going deeper and deeper into more and more migraine and just really thinking until I was 51, 34 years of suffering with migraine. That, oh my God, something's wrong with me. My genes are defective, and it just wasn't the case. I don't regret not having kids. I wasn't in the state of mind, that I appreciated life or could be a healthy person for a child to, to raise a child. I think I would've felt trapped. I would've resented it. My life turned out for the best and what's the point of going back and debating that anyway. But I think why I got so upset at the beginning is because I really felt that there was this path and this certainty to my life that was called out by my genes and the heredity and this fate. I was destined for these migraines. I was destined for depression, whatever else came along. And it just is just not the case. And so, yeah, I wanna just reiterate this whole concept of epigenetics and the fact that genes can be expressed, they can be turned on and turned off. Now this is in migraine, this is in depression. This is in some other things. This is not in the case of like the post that I was looking at or or writing was based on a quote from Dr. Howard Schubiner and he was mentioning in cases like cystic fibrosis or sickle cell anemia, these are diseases that are completely determined by the set of genes that you inherit. But the genetic tendency in migraine requires activation of those genes In the process that scientists call epigenetics, the study of the way in which the environment influences how genes are turned on or turned off or turned off. In other words, our environment and the stresses of daily life determine if the brain activates migraine or not. That was Dr. Howard Schubiner, in this might hurt documentary. I would go a step further. It's not just in your daily stressors. It has a lot to do with childhood adverse events, repressed emotions, traumas that we never dealt with that are stuck somatically in the body still. It has to do with tension that we put on ourselves. So whether it's lacking self-compassion or beating ourselves up all day, tough inner critic. A lot of people with chronic pain have these personalities that are just people pleasing and lacking boundaries and trying to do good, and they're all great personality traits, but they tip over the edge at some point and go into being at the expense of ourselves and our own wellbeing. Anyway, it's more than just the stresses of daily life. Stress is so many things. And it's so misunderstood as far as when you say it could be caused by stress. There's so much more to it and it's so much more complex. I just want to say your fate is not sealed. Migraine is not a life sentence nor is depression, nor are anxiety and all these other things and chronic conditions that are going on that are neuroplastic in nature. And I wish you well. And I hope that this catches you early enough to make choices in your life that you are comfortable with based on your empowerment and your your choice, not choice that's taken away from you by you feeling that you are predestined for something because you're not. I hope that helps somebody out there. So I did do some journaling after this episode because I realized that the emotion that came up in me obviously meant that something was still upsetting me about the situation. So I did try to feel into that after I stopped recording. Feel into that loss that I had or that feeling of that choice being taken away from me and the what ifs. While I have no regrets about me not having children, it wasn't just the genetics part that factored into that. I never found the person that I wanted to settle down with. There were so many different factors of why that choice was made. But what is so important to me to get across is that the women out there that are still in childbearing years and are thinking to themselves, oh, I've got this diagnosis of a incurable disease that's genetic, and this is now my lot in life. These are the people that I want to reach. If you're thinking, oh, how would I have nine months of a pregnancy and not be able to maybe take my medication? How would I get through a pregnancy? Or once I have a child, how would I raise it if I'm in bed all the time with chronic migraine and in pain so often? This is where the other parts of my work come in that I'm explaining migraine is a neuroplastic symptom and the pain is reversible and how we do that. So this is kind of twofold. Yes, understanding the fact that your genetics don't make it fate that those genes can be silenced. And the second part of this is the knowledge that migraine is a neuroplastic symptom, not an incurable disease, and that the pain can be reversed. Either way, you are not stuck in migraine, and that is my main point that I wanna get across here. So I hope you get something out of this episode, and I will see you soon.