A groundbreaking approach to transforming traumatic legacies passed down in families over generations; by an acclaimed expert in the fieldDepression. Anxiety. Chronic Pain. Phobias. Obsessive thoughts. the evidence is compelling: the roots of these difficulties may not reside in our immediate life experience or in chemical imbalances in our brains—but in the lives of our parents; grandparents; and even great-grandparents. the latest scientific research; now making headlines; supports what many have long intuited—that traumatic experience can be passed down through generations. It Didnt Start with You builds on the work of leading experts in post-traumatic stress; including Mount Sinai School of Medicine neuroscientist Rachel Yehuda and psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk; author of the Body Keeps the Score. Even if the person who suffered the original trauma has died; or the story has been forgotten or silenced; memory and feelings can live on. these emotional legacies are often hidden; encoded in everything from gene expression to everyday language; and they play a far greater role in our emotional and physical health than has ever before been understood. As a pioneer in the field of inherited family trauma; Mark Wolynn has worked with individuals and groups on a therapeutic level for over twenty years. It Didnt Start with You offers a pragmatic and prescriptive guide to his method; the Core Language Approach. Diagnostic self-inventories provide a way to uncover the fears and anxieties conveyed through everyday words; behaviors; and physical symptoms. Techniques for developing a genogram or extended family tree create a map of experiences going back through the generations. And visualization; active imagination; and direct dialogue create pathways to reconnection; integration; and reclaiming life and health. It Didnt Start With You is a transformative approach to resolving longstanding difficulties that in many cases; traditional therapy; drugs; or other interventions have not had the capacity to touch.