It is often said that history repeats itself. This can be seen in how certain events seem to play out over and over throughout time. The rise and fall of civilizations. The creation of new technology and innovations. The causes of conflicts.
The repetition can go deeper, though, down to a personal level. People who lived through the Great Depression became less trustful of banks and so did their children who were not born until sometime later. Children of abusers sometimes become abusers themselves.
This is called generational trauma, historical trauma or multi-generational trauma, according to Evan Starkman, who explores the issue in his article “What Is Intergenerational Trauma?” for WebMD.com.
“When your brain learns adaptive behavior necessary to keep yourself and your family safe/alive, these adaptions may be passed on to future generations and be challenging to unlearn,” explains Amy Marschall, PsyD, in her article “Understanding Intergenerational Trauma and Its Effects on Mental Health,” for verywellmind.com.
The causes of generational trauma are varied. Personal trauma such as abuse, shared trauma of a culture or race, major traumatic events or even natural disasters can all lead to a problem that continues from one generation to the next. While most of these potential causes are things that affect many people, not every person will experience it in a way that allows it to be passed on to the next generation. The most common expression of generational trauma is the same as someone experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Its symptoms can look the same, such as anxiety, substance abuse, relationship troubles and more.
“However, because the individual did not directly experience the trauma themselves, they will not experience flashbacks or intrusive memories,” according to Marschall. “They experience trauma symptoms and trauma responses from events that did not occur to them; rather, the response is inherited genetically.”
People who develop generational trauma may not even realize that something that happened to their parents or grandparents might be the cause of their problem.
“How your parents talk with you about the traumatic event (or fail to talk about it) and the way your family functions seem to play important roles in whether trauma gets passed down. For example, a parent’s experience of trauma might affect their parenting skills and play a role in their children’s behavior problems,” says Starkman.
This differs from a learned behavior that parents teach their children like looking both ways before you cross the street or always locking the door behind you when you leave the house. Learned behavior is also not necessarily negative.
Researchers are now investigating whether trauma can affect the way your genes function, which would be something that could be passed on to future generations like any other genetic trait. It is called an epigenetic change, and it affects how the body reads a DNA sequence. However, it does not actually change the DNA as a mutation would.
“When someone experiences trauma, their DNA responds by activating genes to help them survive the stressful time,” states Marschall. “Genes that prime us for things like a fight, flight, freeze or fawn response will activate to help us be ready for future dangerous situations. We then pass these genes on to our offspring in order to prepare them for possible traumatic events.”
There is still much that needs to be learned about who can develop generational trauma and what the causes are. Most studies have looked at those who have experienced historical trauma, such as Holocaust survivors and their descendants. More studies need to be conducted on those who have experienced other types of trauma, such as rape or starvation.
“Our genetics do a great job of keeping us safe even if this does not mean keeping us happy,” according to Marschall.
Untreated, generational trauma can lead to medical issues like increased risk of heart disease and stroke. It can also increase thoughts of suicide and self-harm. Once the causes and ways to identify generational trauma are known, effective treatments can be developed.
Starkman suggests that if you think you may be experiencing generational trauma to seek therapy with a therapist who is respectful of the suspected source of trauma, whether it is poverty, race, culture, etc.
For the long-term, creating a place where the trauma does not exist will eventually allow the genes that have been activated to turn off or the learned behavior to be forgotten. In abuse situations, this is often referred to as “breaking the cycle of violence.” While the lasting change can take time to happen, eliminating the trauma will create an immediate positive effect.
That is good, since trauma survivors take much longer to get past their trauma.
On the flip side, generational trauma may also help you understand your ancestors better to empathize with them and, perhaps, grow a little closer to them.
By James Rada, Jr.
