What Is Generational Trauma? Causes, Examples, and Breaking the Cycle

What Is Generational Trauma?

Generational trauma is trauma that extends from one generation to the next. In generational trauma, the traumatic effects experienced by a person or group who is directly traumatized are transmitted to their children.

Generational trauma can impact individuals and groups of people. For example, a survivor of childhood abuse may pass down certain effects of this trauma to their children. Or, an entire group of people who directly experienced war, for example, may pass on the effects of this experience to future generations.

The transmission of trauma can be based on different influences including the shared family environment someone lives in, social factors such as learned behaviors, and cultural factors. Research is also examining genetic changes that may occur to cells based on stress and trauma which may contribute to generational trauma.

Generational Trauma Examples

Generational trauma is often a collective experience that impacts a group of people based on a shared experience or cultural identity, for example, refugees, war survivors, genocide survivors, or domestic violence survivors.

Generational trauma can also result from systemic discrimination, racism, or oppression. A direct survivor of trauma may experience trauma symptoms and then may directly or indirectly transmit these symptoms to their children.

In general, trauma can lead to trauma responses or behaviors that are aimed at helping someone survive and are adaptive in the short term yet are not necessarily helpful or adaptive in the long term.

Generational trauma can lead to increased interpersonal conflict, a sense of mistrust of others, isolation, feelings of loneliness, and difficulty feeling safe in objectively safe situations. Other possible symptoms of generational trauma include:

• Low self-esteem

• Anxiety/Hypervigilance

• Depression

• Difficulty processing emotions

• Unhealthy attachment and relationship styles

Symptoms of generational trauma may also manifest as physical concerns such as headaches, high blood pressure, chronic pain, or GI distress.

This Washington Post article provides an overview of generational trauma.

Breaking The Cycle of Generational Trauma

It takes time and effort to break long-term cycles of behaviors brought on by generational trauma, yet it is possible. To do so, it is important to build awareness of, acknowledge, and understand the trauma.

By learning to recognize trauma symptoms and the impact the trauma is having on you, and can then learn helpful ways to respond to and cope with them so that these symptoms have less of a negative impact on you and those around you.

For example, it can be helpful to learn and practice how to identify and express emotions, communicate openly and honestly, and set helpful boundaries with others.

To learn more about helpful coping skills for trauma, please contact us at CBT Denver.