The Impact of Intergenerational Trauma

The impact of intergenerational trauma is a topic that has come to the fore as we process what is happening with families, refugees, and soldiers in Ukraine with the devastating images alive in the news we receive from another part of the world. First, there is the question of how this traumatic experience will affect each person experiencing this directly. Second, how will the aftershocks affect each person in the future in the generations after this war?

We can see through the history of Europe that the residue still lingers from previous wars and traumatic experiences. This is true in the United States as well as in the trauma endured by Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanic Americans. Historically, immigrants fleeing from other parts of the world over time bring their own trauma history into the mix in the repetition of the victim-perpetrator cycles. It is this intergenerational trauma that continues to impact life on the emotional, physical, mental, and spirit levels.

Impact of Intergenerational Trauma on the Emotional Level

Adverse Childhood Experiences are sources and evidence of intergenerational experiences. The overlapping correlation with traumatic events with health, wellness, learning, and well-being becomes more apparent when looking directly at the roots.

https://www.acesaware.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/ACE-Questionnaire-for-Adults-Identified-English.pdf

Intergenerational Trauma can be expressed through fear, depression, hyper-vigilance, worry, PTSD, codependency, anger, inability to attend or focus, and memory issues. It can also result in pervasive social anxiety with an inability to engage with others in a way that nourishes your needs for safety and trust. Addressing the roots of these de-energizing reactions needs compassion, safety, and trust to heal these wounds at their source.

Impact of Intergenerational Trauma on the Physical Level

Intergenerational trauma physical manifestations can be expressed through loyalty to your Family System as well as mobilized energy blocked in your body can show up as eating disorders, addiction, a lack of vitality, pain, heart disease, diabetes, or cancer. The energy of a traumatic experience through unresolved epigenetic memory creates continuing stress behaviors that impact descendants from your ancestors to your parents, and then to you. These behaviors influence gene expression as a response to the stress in your environment.

Impact of Intergenerational Trauma on the Mental Level

Bruce Lipton, the author of The Biology of Belief, proved through his research on stem cells that genetic expression is managed by epigenetic (above the genes) factors related to your environment. The expression of the genes is impacted by stress, blockages, and interruption of energy flow within your body-mind-spirit system. The good news is that you have the power to change your environment and your perception of your environment now. This change happens when you change your resonance with beliefs and attitudes about life created by negative earlier experiences and generational patterns stored within your system. This has a rippling effect on righting your ability to turn towards nurture and support with your thoughts, your communication, and your relationships.

Impact of Intergenerational Trauma on the Spirit Level

Spirit Level is the core essence of Self or your true self. This is your potential for wholeness that is cultivated under ideal cultural and social circumstances. When personal, family, and systemic trauma experiences go unresolved, this creates a disconnect from your ability to express your truth with your communication and your actions. It results in numbing your ability to be able to listen to your inner guidance and body sensations.

The important message here is that restoration of the information within the web of life can happen over time. Even now, countries that are providing food, shelter, and transportation for refugees from Ukraine are offering the support and nurture so needed at this time. Therapists are creating spaces for children for art therapy now.

In this time, it is an invitation to offer ourselves the compassion needed to heal both our personal and collective wounds of the past. By doing so we create a healthy environment within, around us, and collectively.

Resonance Repatterning® sessions are a wonderful tool to update your body-mind-spirit system so that you can experience greater integrity in your wellness and well-being. The process works by identifying roots of intergenerational trauma so that you can feel more present, and live a more authentic and expanded version of your True Self.

Kimberly Rex, MS is an Advanced Resonance Repatterning® practitioner, Person-Centered Expressive Therapist, and Wellness and Well-being Life Coach. She works with people all over the world via Skype, phone, and proxy.

Find out how Resonance Repatterning benefits your life. Set up a personal session or sign up for a free monthly newsletter with articles, natural healing modalities, and exclusive group sessions here.