4/12/2024 0 Comments Intergenerational complex traumaI also began to experience rejection from the Black community that caused pain and sadness. Although I had many peers who looked different from me, I still felt a divide and it wasn’t imagined. I remember growing up in a middle-class, predominately White neighborhood wondering if I would ever be fully accepted. Intergenerational trauma impacts how one reacts to stress, regulates mood, behavior, and even can impact DNA by impacting how genes function which is known as epigenetic change.By Támara Hill, LPC, author of The Racial Trauma Handbook for Teensĭo you believe you or your family have experienced racial and/or family intergenerational trauma? Sadly, I can attest to this within my own community and extended family. Research suggests that there are biological consequences from intergenerational trauma, in addition to psychological and behavioral impacts. Descendants may have struggled with their mental health throughout childhood, reporting that they have “always felt depressed, irritable, etc.”Įxamples: mistrust of people or systems due to oppressive and abusive practices, heightened emotions responses such as being over-protective, fearful, and anxious (e.g., parenting) due to own traumatic events. Descendants can show symptoms of intergenerational trauma such as anger with triggering events, self-destructive behavior, depression, survivor guilt, internalized oppression, and low self-esteem. If an ancestor within the family has experienced extreme and prolonged stress from trauma, that stress from the first generational family member passes down through the family history. Generational trauma (also known as inter-generational trauma) refers to trauma that is passed down through generations in families and can also be seen in societies. Examples include slavery, genocide, colonialism, forced relocation, and other historically traumatic events.Įffects-of-historical-trauma includes chronic emotional and physical pain, high mortality rates, depression, anxiety, substance use, child abuse, and intimate partner violence. The term “historical trauma”, first introduced by Dr-Maria-Yellow-Horse-Brave-Heart is described as a “cumulative emotional and psychological wounding” from massive group trauma across generations. Historical trauma is intergenerational trauma experienced by a specific cultural group that has a history of being systematically oppressed. Sometimes, shared pain leads to solidarity that promotes healing because individuals may defend against a common experience and find meaning in their grief together. Those who are directly responding and listening to others’ accounts of trauma such as first responders, supportive friends, family, and community members can experience vicarious-trauma. Watching the news and scrolling through social media can trigger emotionally charged responses. It can also have an important impact on decisions such as the way in which one works, goes to school, or parents.Ī person does not need to be directly experienced a collective traumatic event to be impacted on some level. The effects-of-collective-trauma can change the ways in which one thinks, feels, and acts. Natural disasters, war, genocide, slavery, famine, pandemics, recession, acts of terrorism and community violence are examples. Families may share collective traumatic events in addition to entire societies. Let’s look at three different types of traumas: collective, historical, and generational.Ĭollective-trauma refers to a shared traumatic event(s) that involve large groups of people and can be transmitted across generations and communities. Understanding different types of trauma can help healthcare providers take into consideration a more holistic approach to healing as part of trauma-informed-care.
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