Despite impacting the lives of many people and having a profound influence on the human experience, trauma is a phenomenon that we are still endeavouring to fully understand. The continuing destigmatisation of mental illness means that as a society, we are talking about trauma more than ever (even if in many parts of the world provision and availability of care is yet to catch up with changing attitudes), and one such conversation centers on the impact of generational trauma.
What is generational trauma?
“Trauma affects genetic processes, leading to traumatic reactivity being heightened in populations who experience a great deal of trauma”
Gayani DeSilva, MD, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Author
Trauma can influence people’s lives in many ways. It may appear after one shocking event that shatters a person’s sense of security and faith in the world, or develop over an extended and formative period of time into complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, such as in some cases of childhood abuse. As with most mental health issues, the experience of trauma is extremely individualised, with some recovering from an upsetting event within weeks, while others feel its ramifications for years.
The experience of generational trauma is distinct from the prevailing understanding of trauma in that, rather than experienced directly, it is inherited from those who came before us in the family tree – passed down from one generation to another.
Generational trauma is still a relatively new field of research, but it was first observed by Canadian psychiatrist Vivian M. Rakoff, MD and her wider team during the 1960s, where it was recorded that the children of Holocaust survivors experienced high rates of psychological distress. By the eighties, it was demonstrated that this wasn’t confined to those directly parented by survivors either, with the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors overrepresented by about 300% in psychiatric care referrals.
This research has also extended in Canada to First Nation, Inuit and Métis people who experienced the oppressive impact of so-called “Indian residential schools”, which were active for over a century. The studies, published in Transcultural Psychiatry in 2014, discovered a greater likelihood in the children (and in some cases grandchildren) of those who attended the schools of suicide attempts, psychological distress and learning difficulties.
It appears that anyone can be affected by generational trauma, but the impact appears to vary, with some traumatic incidents not affecting later generations at all. When traumatic events are experienced as a community and culture there appears to be a particular vulnerability to passing this trauma on, but the research is complicated by other factors – such as in cases where experiences of racism and discrimination are ongoing.
It is difficult, for example, to separate the potential of first-hand experiences of racism to create trauma in the African American community to the generational trauma caused by previous decades of oppression and enslavement, although generational trauma is extremely likely to affect this community. Despite some gaps in our knowledge, however, we are learning more about the ways in which trauma may be inherited.
How is trauma passed down through families?
There are a variety of ways that researchers believe that trauma can be transmitted from parent to child, and it’s likely that they all play a role to one extent or another. There appears to be familial, social, cultural, neurobiological and possibly even genetic factors at play, with the possibility of stress-induced epigenetic changes affecting those who have survived traumatic events.
Epigenetics refers to environmentally driven molecular processes that can turn genes on or off, and there is evidence to suggest that people pass down these epigenetic changes – perhaps, in evolutionary terms, to increase their chances of survival in a world their parents are experiencing as harsh and dangerous. In one study that looked at 32 Holocaust survivors and 22 of their children with those of matched controls, it was found that Holocaust survivors and their children showed changes in the same location of the same gene – the FKBP5, a stress- related gene linked to PTSD and depression – while controls did not.
But it isn’t only within our genetics that trauma can be transmitted across generational barriers. It may be that parents pass on knowledge and life lessons that once helped them survive (perhaps that asking for help is dangerous, or that you must never appear vulnerable) but which do not serve their children as well, conversely decreasing their chances of coping well in life. This perpetuates trauma through learned behaviours, as children observe fear and mistrust in their parents and learn about the world through this context.
While it is important that the children in a community learn about their history, being taught about the horrors of the past which directly affected their ancestors (and people they know and love) may also have an impact. Children of Holocaust survivors, for example, could have been exposed to disturbing information earlier than children from other communities, and have to intellectualise truly terrible events in a far more personal way.
How Yoga Can Help Us Heal From Generational Trauma
Generational trauma manifests in emotional distress, vulnerability to mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, and the development of PTSD. These issues play out across our mind, body, nervous system and social connections, and yoga acts across each of these levels to help relieve the experience of trauma.
As explained by clinical psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk, MD, author of The Body Keeps the Score, “when people are traumatized, they become afraid of their physical sensations; their breathing becomes shallow, and they become uptight and frightened about what they’re feeling inside”. Trauma becomes a key part of the way we interpret the world because our brains and bodies are attempting to protect us, prompting a state of hyperarousal which heightens anxiety and disrupts our ability to enjoy life.
In cases of generational trauma these feelings can be layered with other emotions, such as an overwhelming desire to protect the family members who went through something so awful, or feeling fraudulent for perceiving so deeply a trauma which wasn’t their own. It can lead to deeply held beliefs which perhaps are unhelpful, but have their roots not only in the childhood of sufferers but reaching back through the family’s history.
Yoga opens people up to a new way of experiencing their body, where they can decrease the stress of hyperarousal, start to truly feel and acknowledge their body’s sensations and slowly befriend themselves. It can help them engage with thoughts and feelings that they may habitually avoid, by soothing the nervous system to a baseline physiological state which means that certain memories or ideas become less triggering.
Through consistent yoga practice, people can develop the resilience and emotional calm to start challenging beliefs which they may have always held as true, such as “no one can help me with my problems” or “I have a duty not to burden others with my feelings”. With tools such as breath work to reduce panic, and greater self awareness, it becomes easier to explore vulnerabilities while still feeling safe, and process the trauma that has been handed down to them.
In our in depth exploration of yoga for trauma, we explain the research behind the therapeutic impact of yoga, and some of the neurobiological mechanisms which facilitate its potential to help people recover from trauma. These mechanisms are just as relevant for people living with generational trauma, with yoga improving “functioning of traumatized individuals by helping them to tolerate physical and sensory experiences associated with fear and helplessness and to increase emotional awareness and affect tolerance.”
There isn’t the requisite evidence to say that the healing we gain through yoga might undo the epigenetic changes that appear to play a role in generational trauma. However, it is theoretically possible that by lessening the state of hyperarousal and emotional distress, yoga may help parents reduce the likelihood of transmitting trauma to their children through learnt behaviour. Yoga can also be practiced as a family, giving children the tools of calm and resilience that will support them throughout life.
