8:00 a.m -6:00 p.m
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RMZ Ecoworld, Bellandur, Outer Ring Road
If Trauma Can Be inherited, So Can Resilience and Hope.
The Legacy of Trauma: How It Can Be Passed Down Through Generations
The victim of trauma is not the only one who suffers from it. Emotional scars reverberate over generations for many families, impacting not only the individuals who experienced the tragedy but also their offspring and even their grandchildren. Events like suicide, neglect, childhood abuse, and addiction can have a long-lasting effect on how families operate and how children develop, regardless of whether they ever personally experience those traumatic events. This is demonstrated by research on intergenerational trauma.
Understanding Intergenerational Trauma
When a parent's painful experiences have an impact on their children's emotional and psychological growth, this is known as intergenerational trauma. This transmission can occur in a number of ways, ranging from the parent's actions and feelings to the surroundings in which a child is brought up. It's possible for a parent who made it through a difficult childhood to unintentionally transmit the psychological scars of their suffering. This can show itself as anxiety, overprotection, neglect, emotional detachment, or even addictive behaviours, among other subtle but potent manifestations.
Emotional Inheritance: Beyond Genetics
Although our mental health predispositions can be influenced by our genetic makeup, emotional inheritance accounts for a large portion of the effects of trauma. Children may receive and internalize coping strategies such as emotional disengagement or hypervigilance from parents who have experienced childhood trauma. Children live in the shadow of their parents' unresolved anguish even if they are not directly affected by trauma. A father's avoidance of emotional intimacy, a mother's fear of being unsafe, or a parent's incapacity to manage stress in a healthy manner are all examples of subtle clues that the child may pick up on.
Trauma's Influence on Parenting Styles
Parenting styles are frequently profoundly shaped by trauma. Significant childhood trauma might cause parents to unintentionally project their anxieties or unresolved feelings onto their kids. As in the case of a parent worried about averting another catastrophe, such as addiction or suicide, they could become overly controlling or protective. Because of this overprotection, the child may grow up in a safe but chaotic environment where they are unable to learn how to deal with difficulties or set limits on their own leading to children not being resilient, disciplined, or emotionally stable. On the other hand some parents may overcompensate by neglecting their children or becoming emotionally aloof in an attempt to protect themselves from potential emotional harm. These kids could feel abandoned, emotionally aloof, or incapable as they grow up.
Breaking the Cycle
The good news is that the cycle of intergenerational trauma can be broken.
We help our clients recognise and address the deep emotional wounds passed down through generations, both parents and children can break free from the cycle of intergenerational trauma. With awareness, support, and healing, families can begin to build healthier, more resilient futures.
Trauma may be inherited, but so too can resilience and hope.
By choosing to confront the past and make conscious changes, you can give your child the gift of emotional freedom and stability —
Something far more powerful than the weight of unresolved trauma!
Connect With Your Therapist Now
Sunanda Kolhe, PhD
Trauma and Attachment Informed Therapist
Neurobiology of Trauma, Attachment & Chronic Stress
Founder and Director of Manushee
Raheela Baksh
Trauma-Informed Voice Therapist, Somatic Voice Healer & Boundary work
