Not trusting others to care for your kids.Trying to push away kids’ negative emotions.Shutting down or blowing up when kids are loud, aggressive, etc.Overcompensating by giving kids everything they want.Being overly protective or controlling of your kids.Constant fear or guilt of acting like your own parents did.Understanding that trauma is behind some of these behaviors can help us recognize them for what they are as they happen, and help us slowly work toward healing so that these habits aren’t perpetuated. The trauma we and our families have endured aren’t always present in obvious ways, but can show up in our daily mindset and parenting habits. Physical and emotional abuse, repressed anger, untreated mentalĭepression, anxiety, low self-esteem, self-destructive behaviors War, PTSD, poverty, alcoholism, domestic violence Here’s an example of how unhealed trauma in one generation can show up in future generations. As a result, unresolved trauma in one generation can cause them to behave in ways that unintentionally further traumatize their children or grandchildren. It can spark substance misuse disorders, clinical anxiety, depression, and a host of other factors that deeply affect our parenting. These genes can be expressed in new ways, potentially making future generations more prone to developing conditions such as PTSD, obesity, an elevated stress response, or any number of other physical and mental health issues.įurthermore, exposure to trauma can impact the way we relate to and connect with others. Studies have shown that traumatic events can cause a chemical change in a person’s DNA, which is then passed down to their offspring (and future generations). Being around substance abuse or domestic violence.Injury, illness, disability, untreated mental illness.Persistent racism, oppression, or discrimination.Natural disaster, epidemic, pandemic, violent events.But this type of inherited trauma can be rooted in other types of extreme, prolonged stress, including: You may have heard of generational trauma stemming from large-scale, long term traumatic experiences such as living through slavery in the United States, or enduring the Holocaust during World War II. Negative emotional baggage that is passed down from one generation to the next, stemming from unhealed trauma in the past. Remember this: Trauma only becomes generational if it goes unresolved! Caring for ourselves and processing our own trauma helps us take better care of our kids, and helps prevent the cycle from continuing. It may be too late to prevent horrible events and behaviors of the past, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late to heal. How do we break the cycle and stop more trauma from being passed down to our kids? If our parents, grandparents, or even earlier generations had traumatic experiences that they never healed from, the resulting pain and dysfunction can be passed down to us-and even affect our parenting skills.
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