How to Heal From Intergenerational Trauma
Key takeaways:
Intergenerational trauma is trauma that is passed down from one generation to the next. It can shape behavior and biology in individuals, families, and communities.
Many types of traumas deeply affect those who experience them firsthand. But left unhealed, the legacy of these traumas can be felt long after they occur.
Talking to a mental health professional can help you better understand how trauma is affecting your life. With the right support, you can create a happier, healthier life for yourself and future generations.
Intergenerational trauma has roots in the past and affects the current generation. It can be tied to a single damaging event or a series of ongoing traumatic experiences.
The effects of this trauma can impact mental, physical, and/or social well-being for entire communities. But fortunately, with the right support, you can heal the cycle.
What is intergenerational trauma?
Intergenerational trauma refers to unresolved trauma that can be unknowingly passed down from generation to generation. Intergenerational trauma leaves its initial mark on the individuals who experienced it firsthand. But left unresolved, it affects the next generation as well. This is because trauma impacts mental and physical well-being in ways that shape biology and behavior.
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Intergenerational trauma can stem from things that occur both inside and outside your immediate family. Most often, it occurs among people whose ancestors’ lives were shaped by things like:
War
Famine
Genocide
Colonization
Violence
Poverty
Oppression
Discrimination
Racism
Natural disasters
Unexpected loss
Suicide
Abuse
Neglect
Domestic violence
Assault
Substance misuse
Untreated mental illness
How does the cycle of intergenerational trauma affect families?
Without breaking the cycle, intergenerational trauma can affect families in a variety of ways. This can range from how you learn to cope with emotions to your physical health.
For example, if your grandfather was raised in an emotionally abusive home, as a child he may have learned to suppress his feelings to cope. In turn, he may have been emotionally absent while raising your father. This likely shaped the way your father raised you, and so on.
This example illustrates the ways that trauma impacts emotional connection and parenting. It represents the “nurture” part of the “nature versus nurture” equation related to childhood development.
Trauma has a role in shaping the biological or “nature” part of our development, too. Research shows that trauma can change the brain’s structure and cause shifts that can put you at a greater risk of developing:
Major depression and other mood disorders
Autoimmune diseases
Lung disease
Heart disease
Viral hepatitis
Sleep issues
Substance misuse
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
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Signs of intergenerational trauma
Every person experiences trauma in their own way. But there are some common signs of intergenerational trauma. If you or someone you care about is experiencing any of the following, consider speaking with a mental health professional.
Denial: Being unwilling to discuss or acknowledge the trauma
Depersonalization: A sense of detachment from yourself, sometimes called an “out-of-body experience”
Isolation: Preferring to spend time alone
Memory loss: An inability to recall the traumatic event and/or what happened immediately before and afterward
Nightmares: Sleep disturbances related to the traumatic event
Psychic numbing: An inability to feel emotions, especially empathy for others
Hypervigilance: Feeling constantly "on guard" for reminders of the traumatic event (either real or imagined)
Substance misuse: An attempt to numb uncomfortable feelings or memories associated with trauma
Fixation on death: Unwanted and repeated thoughts of death, dying, and/or suicide
Unresolved grief: Feeling stuck and unable to move through the stages of grief
How to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma and begin healing
At its core, trauma involves a loss of safety. Intergenerational trauma is complex because it often occurs in a context where we’re supposed to feel the safest — with family. This can create a confusing dynamic, where your caregivers may be both unsafe and a source of security. It’s one of the reasons intergenerational trauma tends to repeat.
So how can you resolve the cycle and begin healing? The first and most important step is to educate yourself. By starting to understand how intergenerational trauma affects people, you can gain perspective on your history. Then you can also begin to see yourself as separate from your trauma.
As you explore the role of trauma in your life, you might uncover some insights that can be hard to face. This is challenging emotional work. And it's common to have anger, frustration, and sadness during this process.
But you don't have to do it alone. A trauma-informed therapist can help you experiment with new ways of coping. With the right support, you can interrupt old patterns and heal from intergenerational trauma.
Mental health resources and support
As you explore your options for mental health support, look for a culturally competent therapist who specializes in treating trauma. You might consider trying individual therapy, but group therapy can also be helpful for survivors of trauma.
Start your search for providers by asking for a referral from your current healthcare provider or someone you trust. If that’s not an option, try searching for a therapist or group using an online directory. You can filter your search by location, specialty, and many other details.
A note about family therapy and trauma: Sometimes, people seek therapy as a family to address intergenerational trauma. While this can be transformative if everyone agrees to participate, it's not necessary. You don’t need your family to attend therapy with you to work on intergenerational trauma. You can find relief and healing from individual therapy.
The bottom line
Intergenerational trauma affects countless individuals, families, and communities. It can be caused by large-scale societal traumas like war, natural disasters, and racism. But it can also involve individual family traumas like abuse, neglect, or addiction. And often, there's a connection between the two types.
While you can't change the past or erase the ways trauma has shaped your history, there is hope for healing. You can begin to get relief by gaining awareness of the effects of intergenerational trauma on yourself and your community.
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References
Administration for Children & Families. (n.d.). Trauma.
Bryant-Davis, T. (2019). The cultural context of trauma recovery: Considering the posttraumatic stress disorder practice guideline and intersectionality. Psychotherapy.
Curry, A. (2019). Parents’ emotional trauma may change their children’s biology. Studies in mice show how. Science.
DeAngelis, T. (2019). The legacy of trauma. Monitor on Psychology.
Harris, N.B. (2014). How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime. TED.
Henderson-Smith, L. (2021). Intergenerational trauma and its impacts. National Council for Mental Wellbeing.
Perry, B. D. (2002). Childhood experience and the expression of genetic potential: What childhood neglect tells us about nature and nurture. Brain and Mind.
Rosseau, D. (2019). Breaking the cycle - Intergenerational trauma. Boston University.
TraumaProfessionals. (n.d.). What is intergenerational or historical trauma?
Yehuda, R., et al. (2018). Intergenerational transmission of trauma effects: Putative role of epigenetic mechanisms. World Psychiatry.
For additional resources or to connect with mental health services in your area, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357. For immediate assistance, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, or text HOME to 741-741 to reach the Crisis Text Line.
