When people talk about inheriting characteristics, they’re usually talking about physical attributes. However, trauma is also passed down from generation to generation. Even though a child never experienced those traumatic events, they are impacted by them. Amongst particular ethnic groups, generational trauma can manifest due to a history of poor treatment. It is internalized and then shared over time through genetic and environmental factors.

This can create an insidious cycle that often goes misunderstood. Generations of people develop a particular perspective on the world but do not know why. Unless and until their behavior is identified as an outcome of ongoing trauma, it’s difficult to create change. 

How Generational Trauma is Passed Down

If pain is not processed and resolved, it is available to be passed on. How this happens is varied. For example, living with someone with unresolved trauma may expose you to them reliving that trauma. It sets a baseline. The conversations you have (or don’t have) play it out. Your family’s choices regarding social interactions and internal dynamics also tell the story.

Whatever is normalized in your home has the potential to shape your mental well-being — for better or for worse. These behaviors can change your genetic makeup, and ensuing generations can inherit such changes. This is further explained in #3 below.

4 Ways Generational Trauma Affects a Family

1. Negative Impact on Physical Health 

The suffering experienced by, say, your great-grandparents can make you more susceptible to physical illnesses today. If your ancestors lived under harsh conditions, it could’ve set the stage for a cycle that is not visible enough to have to been identified and stopped. 

2. Negative Impact on Mental Health 

Individuals who endure horrific events are known to be at a higher risk of conditions like anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. If not treated, these disorders can then be more prevalent in ensuing generations. Also, members of such families are influenced by how the people around them view and react to everyday life. 

3. Epigenetic Shifts 

As touched on above, your genes can be influenced by external events. Keep in mind, to the best of our knowledge, it’s not that the genes themselves are changed. Rather, your body reads those genes differently when it is under the influence of generational trauma. That said, if both parents have endured trauma, the epigenetic changes can get coded and ultimately passed down in a more physical sense.

4. Daily Behaviors and Choices

Trauma triggers our survival response. If it is never processed, trauma can keep us stuck in this hyper-vigilant mode. When you see the world as an inherently frightening place, it will change how you and your family behave. For example:

• Not trusting “outsiders”

• Not trusting each other

• Never talking about their feelings

• Living in denial that a problem exists

• Fostering a domestic environment that is more likely to provoke violence, abuse, and neglect 

• Emotional numbness

• Low self-esteem

• Viewing those who ask for help as “weak”

Stopping the Cycle

Connecting with a trauma-informed therapist is a giant step toward breaking the cycle. From there, you can take productive steps to break the patterns before they can be passed down again. This is accomplished in many ways, including:

• Learning healthy coping skills 

• Understanding the cause of your distress 

• Finding productive ways to express, process, and resolve the trauma

The more you know, the better equipped you are to heal and recover. Some family members may resist your efforts, but it is vital that you take the steps you need to take to thrive again. You will eat by example as you move along the healing path of ending the cycle.

Learn more about Trauma Therapy.