![]() One person in a family who experiences physical abuse may learn to overcompensate and people-please to cope and not experience it again. How each person deals with abuse or trauma they’ve experienced directly or that has been handed down can be different. There are, however, some common ways that intergenerational trauma can show up in people’s lives. There are many types of intergenerational trauma and it can manifest in different ways. Not only are the coping skills and mental health issues passed down, but the person dealing with the sexual abuse doesn’t get the family support they need to heal because of similar unresolved issues of their caretakers. What’s more, her own mother was also sexually abused as a child. As the mother struggles to help her she isn’t able to be there for her because of her own issues with sexual abuse as a child. This is then transferred to these grandchildren.Ī teenage girl has been sexually abused by a stepfather. They go on to have their own children and the now grandfather hovers over the grandchildren, is anxious about what they do and where they go. ![]() Then these children learn to worry about daily activities and develop their own anxiety about being safe. In addition, once he has kids he becomes overprotective and develops anxiety worrying about if his kids will be okay or if something terrible will happen to them too. As his life goes on he learns not to get close to people so he won’t experience such deep pain again. This continues from one generation to the next until the cycle begins to be broken.Ī young man witnesses the violent and sudden death of a sibling. They then have children of their own and both the parent and the grandmother are emotionally distant from them. Her children then learn to be emotionally distant from others too. As a result, she continues to be distant and seemingly ‘cold’ to her own children. And, as mentioned, many are suffering from it and aren’t aware.Ī Jewish woman who is a Holocaust survivor has learned to cut herself off from emotions and feelings in order to survive the atrocities she and her loved ones experienced. There are different types of multigenerational or transgenerational trauma. Much like cultural habits or customs are passed down, these difficult to deal with traits associated with the trauma are also passed down. Essentially, when it comes to intergenerational trauma, the coping skills, mental health issues, and life skills developed from the tragedy or trauma are passed down from one generation to the next. And many of them aren’t even aware it’s happening. Intergenerational trauma impacts many people today. Having a parent or caretaker with an alcohol or substance use disorder.Having a parent or close relative incarcerated.Experiencing childhood abuse including physical, emotional, and sexual.Experiencing the sudden and/or violent death of a family member.Today, we understand that the following events and situations can also lead to this type of ongoing trauma: Relatives and members of American Indian tribesĪs more and more is learned about the real impact of intergenerational trauma, it’s clear that far more than just the members of these groups and their relatives have been impacted and continue to be.Relatives of Japanese-American encampment survivors.When it comes to intergenerational trauma and research into it, the focus was first on the following groups: Who Experiences Multi-generational Trauma? However, the good news is that despite the many people in the family who can be adversely impacted by intergenerational trauma, each person impacted can heal and break the cycle associated with the original trauma. Today, we understand this is far from the truth. Many times, people mistakenly believe that only the person who lived through or experienced the traumatic event is impacted and suffers. ![]() When this type of trauma has occurred, the children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren can be impacted. This type of trauma can impact many people in the family including descendants further down the line than just the children of the people who have experienced the trauma. Intergenerational trauma, also known as multi- or transgenerational trauma, is defined by the American Psychological Association (APA) dictionary as “ a phenomenon in which the descendants of a person who has experienced a terrifying event show adverse emotional and behavioral reactions to the event that are similar to those of the person himself or herself.”
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