“For many, it can be difficult to confront these experiences or consider the effects,” Lurie says. This might look like acknowledging that you’ve experienced something difficult and that you may be hurting others because of it. Lurie says that acknowledging that traumatic events or adverse childhood experiences have impacted you is a helpful first step to healing. Acknowledge the traumaĪccording to Myles, one of the main reasons for intergenerational trauma is that people don’t talk about it. Whether you’re navigating the emotional impact of your parents’ trauma or processing your own, breaking the trauma cycle can be challenging.īut it’s possible to heal and move forward. It happens because of things outside a person’s control, like: The cycle of violence in communities can be generations long. Sharnell Myles PsyD, psychotherapist and vice president of Embark Behavioral Health, says this is often the case for community-based violence. Intergenerational trauma can also happen at a systemic or institutional level. If unhealthy communication patterns were typical for you while growing up, it might take intentional effort to learn to communicate in a healthier way. Those methods of coping and interacting are then modeled to their children. They may have trouble asserting their needs constructively or directly problem-solving.

They may relate to each other in passive or passive-aggressive ways. Sometimes, children learn unhealthy patterns indirectly through interacting with or observing family members.įor example, if your parents experienced trauma they may tend to avoid distress and conflict altogether. In fact, many people will avoid negative interactions as adults as opposed to replicating those interactions.

It’s important to note that experiencing trauma does not necessarily mean a person will perpetrate abuse or pass on their trauma. “Their lives and experiences were irrevocably colored by the abuse they suffered, and without any attempts to process and heal, they may find themselves replicating the trauma whenever something happens to trigger them.” “This is part of why victims of abuse may go on to perpetuate that same abuse toward others, including their children,” Lurie says. If you’ve experienced trauma, you may not know what a healthy parent-child relationship looks like. It’s common for unresolved trauma to be passed along to children. “Trauma can inform nearly everything about the way we exist and engage with our worlds, including the ways we parent and model behaviors for children,” says Lurie. The effects of intergenerational trauma can impact many parts of your life, from how you see yourself to how you communicate with others.

Salvadoran intergenerational trauma