At first blush, the concept of generational trauma may seem far fetched. But when you break it down, the truth becomes clear: it is indeed real. Trauma is very real, and as it turns out, that trauma can be passed down through generations. Inadvertently, most of the time.
Generational trauma can show up in many forms, including repeated family patterns, emotional triggers that feel bigger than you, and inherited beliefs about everything from money to relationships to parenting to safety. In this post, we will explore more about what generational trauma is and how to effectively heal from it. When you heal, you also heal your family lineage. Talk about powerful!
Healing generational trauma is about breaking survival patterns that are no longer serving you. If left unaddressed, these dynamics and ways of being can truly sabotage your life. Not to mention, wreck your nervous system, hijack your stress response, and leave you feeling confused or lost over the long term. Sounds dramatic, I know. And it is.
As I mentioned, when you break down what generational trauma actually encompasses, most people see that it is real. They can see examples in their own life or family, and with other people they know. But there are also now research studies supporting this idea of trauma transmission across generations. It has been shown to influence gene expression related to stress regulation in particular.
For example, one recent systematic review suggested that second generation descendents of individuals who experienced collective trauma like war, genocide, or oppression had physiological, identity, and relationship changes. There appeared to be a “biological embedding” as well as social psychological effects related to the intergenerational trauma.
Generational trauma is a trauma response, coping pattern, and/or belief system passed from one generation to the next. It can manifest via emotional or behavioral transmission, as well as through genetic or environmental pathways. The most common effects are psychological and emotional, in the shared family group or future generations. Other terms for this are transgenerational trauma and intergenerational trauma.
Some of the most common causes of generational trauma are:
Let’s cover three of the main mechanisms by which generational trauma energies operate.
When someone is traumatized or distressed, the way they behave and move changes. If this person is a parent or caregiver, the children involved are affected. The way they are treated, even if not intentional or not abusive, imprints upon the young, impressionable mind, heart, and body.
Children are too young to discern parental motives or nuances; thus, they internalize emotional responses and coping strategies. For example, they think it’s their fault or unconsciously develop certain beliefs as a result.
Trauma impacts caregiver responsiveness, shaping attachment style. When the adult is not available, emotionally and/or physically, the child often develops a sense of insecurity around relationships. This style of attachment may be considered anxious, avoidant, disorganized, or insecure. Then in later relationships, the pattern persists (often unconsciously). It can come out through a lack of trust, emotional withdrawal, demanding reassurance, or any other number of ways.
Sometimes trauma energy manifests more subtly, through reactions or lack thereof. A chronically stressed parent or caregiver has an impact on the child’s stress response going forward. The nervous system is the part of our biology that is most sensitive to stress and trauma, and it may become dysregulated in both parent and child. An example of this would be having high anxiety or irrational fear of some kind, such as social phobia, agoraphobia, or OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder).
Yes, by definition generational trauma is trauma passed down through a family line. It can be passed through biological transmission, environmental transmission, or cultural transmission. But keep in mind that inherited trauma responses are adaptive survival strategies, not permanent identity traits. They can be healed and transformed, which we will get into a little later in this post.
Here are 7 examples of how generational trauma may affect subsequent generations.
You probably have an intuitive sense about if or what generational trauma patterns may be affecting your life. Some people believe that we can remember (even if vaguely) past lives, karma, or ancestral imprints. Of course, this tends to be more prevalent in empaths, highly sensitive people, and those who are very open spiritually. Certain people are born with this ability, while others develop it. Psychic, intuitive, or clairvoyant gifts can be a double edged sword, and must be managed responsibly. For more about inner knowing as an empath, read this blog here.
If you’re drawn to it, you can do an exercise to start to tap into any downloads or intuitive information around generational trauma. Sit in meditation and ground yourself. Ask your higher self, God, the angels, etc. to show you what you need to know. You can also free write or journal on the topic and see what comes out.
The Akashic records are a tool that some people use as well. Certain spiritual philosophies believe that the records contain all the information about your soul and its lives. You can look into this if you’d like.
Additionally, peruse this list of generational trauma themes to see what resonates in your own life:
Here are some real time examples:
You do have the power to break generational trauma, both for yourself and future generations. This is exciting and empowering, yet also a massive responsibility if you choose to take it. But it doesn’t necessarily need to be a long, debilitating healing process. Even just learning a few healthy relational and emotional skills can take you far, and get the ball rolling. One step at a time.
Check out the following core aspects of how to heal generational trauma. Investigate what calls you and what you have the capacity for. Take a step back if you start to feel overwhelmed or drained. You want to find a balance of working through things while also not getting so consumed that it takes over your life. I’ve always said there is a fine line between healthy self work and believing you always have to “fix” something. That in itself can become addictive and destructive. For help with this, read my blog here.
In addition to your own intuitive knowledge and experiences, an option is to look into genealogical research, genogram mapping, or asking about family histories. If anyone is available and open in your family, feel free to approach them and see what they share.
Many people either don’t feel comfortable doing this or don’t have connections to ask. Feelings of abandonment may or may not be relevant here. For help healing abandonment trauma, read this blog.
In moments of panic, sadness, or grief, regulating your nervous system can be profound. Examples include breathing techniques like box breathing (in 4, hold 4, out 4) or 4-7-8 breath, and grounding. To ground, imagine a cord going down from your root into the center of the earth. Breathe into it, and sit or lie down while taking deep breaths. If possible, walking barefoot or sitting on grass is ideal too.
Emotional literacy refers to the ability to recognize, understand, and express your emotions. Changing learned behaviors around suppressing emotions or denying truths is often a big part of healing generational trauma. You can work on this with a therapist or on your own. Key pieces include: learning to use specific feeling words to name your emotions, journaling on your feelings, and using mindfulness practices like meditation to witness your emotions and thoughts.
Trauma focused therapy is one of the most effective ways to start breaking the cycle. CBT, cognitive behavioral therapy, helps you notice and replace your negative or fear-based thoughts and perceptions. One devastating side effect of trauma can be the way it warps your ability to expect good things or assign positive intent to other people’s actions.
EMDR is a trauma healing modality that is excellent too. It involves bilateral stimulation while sharing with a therapist about traumatic experiences. The most common type of bilateral stimulation is side-to-side eye movements. It is thought to help the brain process the trauma so it doesn’t affect you as strongly anymore. If you resonate with the idea of somatic healing, read this blog about releasing trauma from the body.
You can work with your beliefs and ultimately adjust them. The tricky part is that most people don’t realize what they actually believe unless they investigate it. Inherited beliefs are inevitable as we grow up and experience our families and society, and trauma unfortunately almost always leads to counterproductive ones. My blog here gives you the framework on how to shift them.
I also have a blog, here, which teaches you how to set healthy boundaries in your relationships. Boundaries keep you safe and autonomous when relating with others. They are also a way to transform unhealthy coping mechanisms from your family system.
As I noted above, attachment style is usually affected by trauma. But you can learn to behave more securely, meaning you value yourself as well as others. When you work on your self-worth first, then boundary setting skills, you can shift toward healthy trust and away from fear or insecurity. Research the literature behind it too, if you’re interested.
Creating new family narratives can be done by you internally, where it centers around telling your own story in an empowering way (you can literally write about it too, in a book style or other format). Or, you can work together with family members to put together photos, stories, poems, collages, etc. as a legacy project.
For support identifying signs of repressed childhood trauma in adults, read my blog here next.
If you have kids, or even with kids you know or through written advice, you can contribute to a healthier future. Model what it looks like to love yourself and others, set boundaries, treat people with kindness AND self-respect, and regulate your nervous system.
By working though, or even just being aware of, everything in this blog post, you are literally transforming your family’s DNA and rewriting the story. Bit by bit, family dynamics heal and set up future generations for success rather than trauma. Congratulations and thank you for your service!
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