Trauma
Generational trauma, also known as intergenerational trauma, refers to the transmission of emotional and psychological trauma across multiple generations. This phenomenon suggests that the effects of traumatic events extend beyond those who directly experience them, influencing the lives of their descendants. First introduced by psychologists in the 1960s, the concept highlights how unaddressed trauma can extend throughout families, affecting future generations’ mental health and overall well-being.
The complexity of generational trauma lies in the fact that even if someone was not personally exposed to a traumatic event, its effects can still ripple through their life because their ancestors endured it. This trauma can be passed down biologically and psychologically, affecting descendants' lives. Families with a history of childhood or religious trauma and mental illness can continue passing it on, appearing as addiction, depression or a cycle of violence.
Dr. Rachel Yehuda, director of the Traumatic Stress Studies Division at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, conducted a study in 2015 that concluded that children of Holocaust survivors went through epigenetic changes affecting them on a genetic level. Epigenetic change is when an outside environmental force such as trauma triggers a gene to become active or inactive, causing alterations in behavior, stress response and even an increased likelihood of developing certain diseases. Depending on the severity of the trauma, prior generations can hand down these epigenetic chemical markings to their children, which can then be passed on to each following generation. This marking does not cause a genetic mutation but does alter the mechanism of the gene's expression.
In Feb. 1942, former President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which forcibly relocated and incarcerated Japanese Americans. With poor living conditions, many of the Japanese Americans suffered both mentally and physically. Many of the camp survivors were reluctant to discuss the past which led to their children suffering with their own identity and heritage which continued to the future generations. However, one of the most important things to know about generational trauma is how to end the cycle. Margaret's Place Counselor Lara DeSanto discusses the importance of ending the cycle of violence.
“We believe that there’s not just one type of violence, there can be physical, verbal and intergenerational violence,” DeSanto said. “Something that I focus on a lot with students in Margaret’s Place is how can we break the cycle of unhealthy relationships that gets passed down from generation to generation so that we can have healthier relationships and stop the cycle from continuing.”