Image Credit:  Full Circle Therapy

Inter-Generational Trauma

A new idea that's been around for thousands of years

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Val's Take

• I think when we think of "Inter-Generational Trauma" we think of Modern examples such as:
  • ​Genocide of Indigenous People in the US.
  • African American Slavery & Jim Crow
  • Jewish Survivors of the Holocaust but beyond that Centuries of Discrimination and Terror

 

• I'm going to post some of the Studies regarding Inter-Generational Trauma ---- but sometimes there is a lot of SKEPTICISM about that.

 

• The point I want to make is THERE WAS NO SKEPTICISM in the ANCIENT WORLD --- TERROR & TRAUMA were TOOLS OF WAR meant to IMPACT GENERATIONS.

Biological pathways for historical trauma to affect health:

​A conceptual model focusing on epigenetic modifications (2019)

Abstract

Despite their unique histories, environments, and lifestyles, historically subjugated populations consistently show poorer health outcomes compared to the general population.

The theory of historical trauma, which argues that a collective trauma experienced by one generation can negatively impact the wellbeing of future generations, is a potential framework to understand the adverse health outcomes seen among populations with histories of subjugation.

However, the biological pathways through which historical trauma actually impacts health have been unclear.

In this paper, we present a cumulative, two pathway model that describes how historical trauma can impact health in contemporary generations.

The first pathway suggests that personal exposure to trauma or stressors, which are more common among populations that have experienced historical trauma, can induce epigenetic modifications that can contribute to the development of poor health.

The second pathway posits that poor health can occur through intergenerational epigenetic modifications in response to parental and grandparental trauma or stressor exposures.

Taken together, these pathways can provide insight into the higher rates of adverse health outcomes among individuals from populations that have historically endured collective trauma.

 Importantly, the potential reversible nature of epigenetic modifications suggests that these trauma-induced epigenetic effects are not necessarily permanent and that improvements in environmental conditions could reduce the high prevalence of poor health among historically disadvantaged communities.

​This paper explores the use and significance of rape as a weapon in Roman warfare as context for interpreting the references to rape in the earliest reflections on the revolt, Josephus’s Jewish War and 4 Ezra, proposing that the limited number of these references in Josephus in particular relates to his larger goal of reconstructing Jewish identity (especially in terms of masculinity) in post-revolt Rome.

Elise Lau
Epigenetics & Transgenerational Trauma (2018)

Integrative Psychiatry Institute
Interview with Dr. Rachel Yehuda --- Research Leader in Transmission of Intergenerational Trauma 

03:34​ Dr. Yehuda’s Early Work
06:39​ Discovering the Intergenerational Trauma Link 15:09​ Cortisol Receptor Sensitivity in PTSD
17:21​ Experiencing Change and Growth
19:20​ The Interest in PTSD Research
23:09​ Understanding PTSD
26:09​ Approaching PTSD in Therapy
28:34​ Treatment Options for Trauma
33:35​ PTSD: Finding the Best Treatment Option that fits

Calgary United Way
The #UNIGNORABLE​ issue of intergenerational trauma | Truth and Reconciliation (2019)