author_by_night | Memories...

Phobias may be memories passed down in genes

Personally? I buy it, and a NOVA feature also suggested nightmares could be genetic as well. According to the study, when children have bad dreams, they usually involve animals; as they grow up, they end up being more along the lines of "modern' problems. I know I used to have dreams about dogs chasing me, even though I never had any remote fear of dogs. (Although the NOVA feature didn't suggest they were memories so much as primal "warnings", a way to sort of help prepare us for what could happen.)

But even if we think about some of the things that scare children, like thunder - there was a time when thunder actually posed a pretty serious threat. Monsters could be anything lurking in the night - animals, enemies, even just superstitions that linger in our subconscious. Or animals - my Dad tried a test on my dog when she was a puppy, where he'd howl like a wolf; my dog immediately knew it meant something, but not what. Obviously it's instinct, a sort of built-in memory, but I think people forget we have them too, because we're rational, and rationality tells us "yeah, someone just howled, but it's obviously a game and why on earth does it bother me so much?" Unfortunately phobias are when rationale goes out the window, and when our Dad howls like a wolf, we get freaked out and can't explain why. I have phobias - I know logically that they're silly, but my reaction does not match what my brain is telling me.

Some phobias could possibly be linked to something specific as well. I've often wondered if one of my ancestors wasn't tortured by their feet, because my aunt, grandmother and I do not like our feet being touched - when I was little I would freak out, now I just don't... love it. My Mom doesn't mind it, but she hates wearing socks. So that makes me wonder. On the contrary, perhaps we just have sensory sensitivity.

I'll also admit that I have notions about certain things that make me ponder the possibility of genetic memory overall. I have an ancestor who I admire greatly; what do I know about him? Very, very little, and yet I'm certain someone told me he was an exceptional man. Maybe I just built it up in my head - I am a writer. Maybe not.

Does anyone else have thoughts on this? Feel free to debunk me entirely. :) Also, if you think you've ever had an actual genetic memory, I'd love to hear it. (I've enabled anonymous comments as well.)