The Undercurrent of Mental Health
by Angela Stout
I will never forget the day when I witnessed my parents, married 62 years, who were in a minor spat, sticking their tongues out at each other. That image of them still makes me chuckle as it did back then. Though my parents were faithfully committed to one another and had a balanced life, they had times of frustration, disagreements, and pain to navigate. The way they handled life varied from their siblings and exhibited differently in their children’s lives as well. Several generations raised in stable and steady homes with parents who stayed together “until death do us part,” and yet each family had members that experienced life from a unique framework. What is the reason for these dissimilar outcomes? That question is complicated.
There are a myriad of factors and within each there are multiple connotations to explore. The following are only a few. Prenatal stress of the mother is implicated in contributing to epigenetic changes that may lead to psychological and psychiatric effects in the child (Dieckmann & Czamara, 2024). Changes in epigenetics can turn on certain gene expressions triggered by an event (Soga et al., 2021). Social connectedness or lack thereof affects mental and physical health, and morbidity (Holt-Lunstad, 2024). Childhood sexual abuse with statistics showing at least 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 20 boys being sexually assaulted – many by their own family members (Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention (CDC), 2024). These numbers are from those who reported, but many others feel too ashamed or embarrassed to speak of that trauma.
There are no cookie cutter ways to health, and individuals must be carefully treated with the intricate details that consider the entire being – mental, physical, social, spiritual, environmental, and the aspects of their history that shaped them today. Yet the good news is that your brain has the ability to create, reconfigure, and bolster new neural networks due to its neuroplasticity (Gazerani, 2025). Managing stress and becoming resilient in and through adversity is possible. With new skillsets, you can create new neural pathways to mental health and wholeness that lead to a more fulfilling life. And maybe one day, you too, may find that your worst confrontation ends in sticking out your tongue.
References
Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention (CDC). (2024, May 16). About child abuse. https://www.cdc.gov/child-abuse-neglect/about/about-child-sexual-abuse.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Dieckmann, L., & Czamara, D. (2024). Epigenetics of prenatal stress in humans: the current research landscape. Clin Epigenet 16, 20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13148-024-01635-9
Gazerani, P. (2025). The neuroplastic brain: current breakthroughs and emerging frontiers. Brain Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149643
Holt-Lunstad, J. (2024). Social connection as a critical factor for mental and physical health: evidence, trends, challenges, and future implications. World Psychiatry, 3, 312–332. https://doi.org/doi: 10.1002/wps.21224
Soga, T., Teo, C., & Parhar, I. (2021). Genetic and epigenetic consequence of early-life social stress on depression: Role of serotonin-associated genes. Front Genet, 11(601868). https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2020.601868
