Generational Trauma: Uncovering Mother Wounds

mother daughterPhoto byCottonbro

(This article contains affiliate links benefiting author.)

Generational trauma is a form of trauma passed down to subsequent generations through environmental factors such as psychological transference and attachment behavior according to attachment theory. New research reveals that transmission is not only through parenting behavior but also encoded through epigenetic markers on genes.

We inherit the unconscious minds of our parents. It is clear that a parent's unprocessed shame results in (often well-intentioned) shaming of their offspring. Children of war and holocaust survivors have had nightmares of their parents' experience. Victims of familial abuse can similarly transfer unhealed PTSD to their children and even grandchildren.

It's commonly known for example that addictive, codependent, and abusive behavior gets handed down transgenerationally. It can sometimes skip a generation. It's unclear how the repressed traumatic past experiences of a parent can enter into the mind and soul of the child.

However, testing revealed that pregnant women, who had been close to the World Trade Center during September 11th, 2001, gave birth to babies who had elevated levels of cortisol. Thus maternal PTSD affects the embryo in utero contributing to biological risk for PTSD. Twin studies show that there is a 30% increase in vulnerability to trauma that's passed on biologically in the nervous system.

Trauma sensitizes the nervous system to react and overreact in predictable, dysfunctional patterns. These trauma responses can hijack can hi-jack our life and relationships. Some additional effects are:

1. Carried shame

2. Constriction of emotions

3. Denial and silence about traumatic events

4. Parentification where the child takes on parental responsibilities

5. Enmeshment between parent and child

6. Anxiety

7. Escapist behavior, such as addictions and promiscuity

8. Parenting with shame, guilt, and abuse

9. Child has a heightened sense of responsibility

10. Increased stress and distress

In addition to trauma during pregnancy, mothers are usually responsible for most early parenting. Her experiences and those of her ancestors are transmitted epigenetically and in a symbiotic relationship with her infant and developing child. Read about the mother wound experienced by a child of a traumatized mother who may as a result have a mental illness.

© 2024 Darlene Lancer