What is Generational Trauma?
Sometimes traumatic events have taken place in the lives of our ancestors. Think: historical persecution or genocide, war, displacement, slavery, racism and oppression, abuse or neglect, poverty, famines, etc. These events experienced by one generation, can influence our current emotional, psychological and behavioral patterns, even if we did not experience the original trauma ourselves.
How does this happen?
Over time, the way we cope, respond to emotions, our beliefs, and attachment and relationship styles that have been shaped by the trauma, influence how the next generation is raised. There isn’t just one path to this trauma getting passed down.
What are the ways in which this trauma becomes generational?
1. Family patterns and parenting – Trauma can shape how parents respond to their children. Children may internalize these patterns and parenting styles and carry them into adulthood. Examples of this include, overprotection, controlling, and unavailable parents.
2. Learned beliefs and narratives – parents often pass down beliefs about safety, trust, identity, and respect. Things like, “you can’t be weak”, or “people will abandon you” becomes the story you frame your life around.
3. Unresolved emotional wounds – if trauma is not processed or talked about, it can show up indirectly through anxiety, depression, substance abuse, anger, disassociation, and even physical illness. Children often absorb these things, especially when the trauma is not talked about. There is a great book by Bessel van der Kolk, called The Body Keeps the Score, if you are interested in learning more about unresolved trauma.
4. Biological and epigenetic factors – emerging research suggest trauma may influence how certain genes associated with the nervous system and the stress response are expressed. Things like a heightened stress response/sensitive nervous system and increased vulnerability to anxiety can be passed down through generations. Research is new and ongoing in this area, but it shows that trauma can be biologically passed down through generations.
The hopeful part…
Generational trauma can be healed. Just as trauma can be passed down, so can healing. Healing can begin through awareness of family patterns, processing unresolved trauma, developing new emotional regulation skills, creating healthier relational patterns, and openly discussing family experiences. Counseling can help differentiate between inherited family patterns and your own values. This can allow you to choose new ways of living and relating to the world and others.
