Intergenerational trauma takes a while to heal and mend, but, as was once said by Dawn Serra, “there is no timestamp on trauma. There is not a formula that you can insert yourself into to get from horror to healed. Be patient. Take up space. Let your journey be from within.”
What is Intergenerational Trauma?
According to Evans-Campbell (2008), intergenerational trauma can be defined as a “collective complex trauma inflicted on a group of people who share a specific group identity or affiliation – ethnicity, nationality, and religious affiliation. It is the legacy of numerous traumatic events a community experiences over generations and encompasses the psychological and social responses to such events.” The concept was first recognized in 1966, when psychologists began studying children and grandchildren of people who had survived the Holocaust. Evidence that has been found suggests that trauma does in fact alter people’s genes. With that being said, it is expected that genetic variations would be passed down between generations, predisposing the person to be sensitive ensuing stressors and trauma. Another way that trauma may be passed down from generation to generation is behaviorally. Meaning that, if someone suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, their child may learn and adopt certain ways of thinking from the parent.
The Impact of Intergenerational Trauma
Trauma does not often affect only one person in a family. It affects mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons. It affects the family as a whole. Some effects include –
- A fear of getting close to others
- Feelings of constant guilt and anger with no appropriate reason
- Feelings of detachment
- A lack of emotional involvement with others
- Being unable to separate the past from the present. So, while a person is living in the present, they are struggling to survive and to separate from their past feelings of guilt and grief
- Difficulties in emotional reactions and expressions
- Using suppression and denial as coping mechanisms
How Can It Be Healed?
One thing that is extremely paramount to consider is awareness. As simple as it sounds, once we publicly acknowledge the importance of understanding trauma and refrain from amplifying the stigma surrounding mental health, we are creating a safe space in which parents feel safe enough in to be honest. When you help a person understand the detrimental effects of intergenerational trauma on their family, they are more likely to assess the situation and strive for a change. Oftentimes, people do not even realize that they are victims of trauma, especially intergenerational trauma. Take, for example, a child protective worker who is dealing with a distressed mother with an even more severely distressed baby. Instead of soothing the baby first, research has shown that it is actually more effective for the worker to calm the mother, consequently having a more soothing effect on the baby. All in all, the most important thing is to talk about it. Say it out loud. It is real. It is something that can be talked about and solved. Parents of older generations often find it hard to speak up about their traumatic experiences, but, as soon as we normalize speaking up about such issues, we can normalize solving those issues.
When we heal ourselves, we can heal the next generation. Pain is passed through the family line until someone is ready to feel it, heal it, and let it go.