The Science of Generational Trauma: How Stress & Pain Are Passed Down
Generational trauma is passed down through ones ancestry and family of origin. Generational trauma can lead to mental health symptoms, including anxiety and trauma, that are inherited from directly and indirectly experienced wounds. Have you ever considered that the emotional pain your ancestors endured could be embedded in your very DNA, shaping how you react to the world and yourself today? It may seem surprising, but the inheritance of generational trauma is rooted in the science of epigenetics. Research has shown that trauma can alter gene expression, influencing how we process stress, pain, and emotional experiences.
Historically, we’ve understood trauma to be a psychological burden, but in recent years, we’ve learned it is much more than that. Trauma can be biological, and the emotional scars from previous generations can be passed on to current and future generations, creating a pattern of emotional pain that continues to affect families for generations. This knowledge gives us both understanding and personal agency: the ability to heal, not just for ourselves, but for those who came before us and those who will come after us.
Healing from generational trauma is a journey—one that involves not only understanding its origins but also learning how to break free from its effects.
How Trauma Affects the Brain & Body:
When we experience a traumatic event, our bodies react as if we are in immediate danger, that threat is imminent. The fight-flight-freeze-fawn response, a natural survival mechanism, kicks in. It’s meant to protect us by preparing our bodies to fight, flee, freeze, or fawn in the face of danger. These survival strategies can be life-saving tools when we face a real, immediate threat. However, when trauma becomes chronic, when the threat is ongoing or unresolved, our bodies stay in a heightened state, impacting both physical and emotional health.
Over time, chronic stress and trauma can have lasting effects on the brain:
The hippocampus, responsible for memory and learning, can shrink, making it harder to process information or recall memories.
The prefrontal cortex, responsible for decision-making and emotional regulation, can become less effective.
The amygdala, which governs fear responses, can become overactive, triggering an exaggerated fight-flight-freeze-fawn response even in situations that pose no real danger.
The impact of trauma extends beyond learned behavior. Epigenetics, the study of how environmental factors influence gene expression, has shown that trauma can alter our DNA, shaping how we respond to stress. This means the emotional pain your ancestors experienced may be embedded in your genetic makeup, increasing your sensitivity to stress and potentially passing these tendencies to future generations.
An example of the impact of epigenetics is the research conducted on Holocaust survivors and their descendants. Studies have found that the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors have a heightened sensitivity to stress, even though they themselves did not directly experience the trauma themselves. The trauma experienced by their grandparents were found to alter gene expression, passing on a heightened stress response to future generations.
Examples of Generational Trauma Manifesting:
Generational trauma rarely presents itself in obvious ways. Often, it shows up in patterns of behavior, unspoken emotional dynamics, and subconscious responses that are hard to understand. The emotional pain that has been passed down through the family can create cycles that repeat themselves in each generation.
1. Families with a History of War, Forced Migration, or Oppression:
Families that have experienced war, forced migration, or oppression often carry heavy emotional burdens. These are families that have faced displacement, loss of loved ones, violence, or even genocide. While the immediate effects of such events are felt by those who directly experience them, the emotional toll can be passed down to the next generations. Children born to survivors of war or displacement may grow up feeling a deep sense of unease or anxiety, without fully understanding why.
For example, a child of a parent who survived a war may develop intense fears of abandonment or distrust of authority figures, even in peaceful settings. This can happen because the parent, while physically safe, still carries the emotional scars of their experiences, which can unknowingly be passed down through their interactions and behaviors.
2. Emotional Suppression and Avoidance:
One of the most common ways generational trauma manifests is through emotional suppression. In families where emotional expression was suppressed for survival, perhaps because showing vulnerability or fear was seen as a weakness, this pattern often continues across generations. Children may be raised with the message that expressing emotions is unsafe, inappropriate, or a sign of weakness. This leads to a lack of emotional intelligence, making it difficult for individuals to recognize, process, or express their emotions in healthy ways.
This pattern of emotional suppression can create a cycle of disconnection, not just from others but also from oneself. Individuals may grow up learning to ignore their emotional needs, leading to issues such as depression, anxiety, or difficulty in relationships.
3. Patterns of Self-Sabotage or Repeating Toxic Relationship Cycles:
Another common manifestation of generational trauma is self-sabotage. This occurs when an individual unconsciously undermines their own success or happiness due to internalized beliefs and behaviors passed down through generations. For example, a person might subconsciously avoid success or self-fulfillment because they’ve learned that striving for more leads to pain or rejection. These patterns of self-sabotage can be found in the limiting beliefs and scarcity mindset inherited from pervious generations.
Similarly, toxic relationship cycles can emerge when an individual repeats patterns they learned from their family. This could be staying in unhealthy relationships, co-dependency, choosing partners who are emotionally unavailable, or tolerating abuse. These patterns are not intentional choices. These patterns are learned behaviors, shaped by the unhealed trauma of previous generations.
Healing Through Awareness & Intentional Change:
Healing generational trauma is not about erasing the past or blaming ones parents—it is about accepting your privilege to transform how you and future generations relate to inherited patterns, to move forward with a greater sense of awareness, compassion and intentionality. It is possible to heal and break generational cycles.
Therapy and Somatic Work:
An effective way to begin healing from generational trauma is through therapy. A compassionate, trauma-informed therapist can help you unpack the emotional and biological effects of trauma and heal from direct and inherited trauma. Effective trauma-informed mental health therapies include:
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
Brainspotting
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Comprehensive Resource Model (CRM)
Additionally, somatic approaches have shown to be an effective treatment for PTSD. Somatic approaches, such as SE (Somatic Experiencing), breathwork, and body scans, recognize that trauma is stored in the body and emphasize reconnecting with physical sensations. This form of therapy is considered “bottoms-up” treatment as it focuses on reconnecting with the body to develop a sense of safety, caring inquiry and emotional regulation.
Through somatic techniques individuals can release stored trauma, allow the body to orientate to its current safety, and develop healthier, intentional ways of responding to internal triggers.
Conclusion:
Generational trauma may feel like an unbreakable cycle, but does not have to be a permanent burden. Just as trauma is passed down, so is healing and compassion for yourself and others. You have full agency to heal the emotional legacy of your family, for yourself and future generations. This will take compassion, time, and intentional healing, but by understanding the science of trauma and making conscious choices to heal, it is possible to transform the story of inherited trauma.
Healing from generational trauma is one of the most powerful acts of love you can give to yourself, to those who came before you, and to those who come after you.
Is now the time for you to break free from pain that is not yours and create a new path for yourself? If you would like to learn more about how Kyrie Sedano, LMFT, an online therapist in California, could support your healing from generational trauma, please reach out to schedule a free initial consultation here.
