It also helps us to understand entrenched racial inequities in physical, psychological, social, and economic outcomes. It acknowledges how the past impacts the current reality of historically oppressed and marginalized communities. Recognize unaddressed and unhealed historical harm is a root cause of today’s social injusticesĪddressing generational trauma is critical to achieving social change and creating a more just and equitable world. Learn more about the impact of ACEs by watching Nadine Burke Harris’s TED Talk. As a result, parents and caregivers impacted by generational trauma may expose children to early adversity, continuing the cycle. Survivors of trauma are at higher risk of substance use, incarceration, domestic violence, child abuse, self-harm, and suicide. Communities impacted by generational trauma may get stuck in a vicious cycle of cause and consequence. Offspring are taught to share in the ancestral pain of their people and may have strong feelings of unresolved grief, persecution, and distrust.Ĭhildhood trauma (aka adverse childhood experiences or ACEs). Traumatic events become embedded in the collective, social memories of the population. Vicarious trauma through the collective memory, storytelling, and oral traditions of the population. Original trauma through loss of culture and language and first-hand experiences of discrimination, injustice, poverty, and social inequality. Secondary and subsequent survivors of generational trauma may also experience: Trauma rewires the brain and can cause increased vigilance and suspicion, increased sensitivity to threat, a sense of a foreshortened future, increased risk-taking, mistrust of authority, and loss of identity. Individuals who have experienced trauma are at a higher risk of poor physical and mental health. This is known as the epigenetic inheritance of trauma. There is some evidence to suggest that trauma is passed down through the genes by altering chemical markers, which can affect how offspring respond to and handle certain conditions. Trauma affects brain development, the immune system, and even our DNA. This experience produces a legacy of physical, psychological, social, and economic disparities that persist across generations. Instead, it is the experience of long-term, mass trauma - often condoned by or perpetrated by the State - that is universally lived through by a population over time. A single catastrophic event does not characterize this form of generational trauma. Joy Degruy’s work on Post Traumatic Slavery Syndrome), Native American survivors of genocide and colonization, and other historically oppressed populations. Today, an emerging body of research reveals that generational trauma affects descendants of enslaved African-Americans (see Dr. Or, it can be caused by mass atrocities such as colonialism, slavery, war, famine, and genocide. It can be caused by stress and abuse at the individual level. Simply put, it is trauma that has been passed down from generation to generation. The term is often used interchangeably with collective, historical, or intergenerational trauma. Generational trauma is a relatively new concept that was first recognized in the 1960s when psychologists began to study the mental health of children of Holocaust survivors. When in doubt, use the term preferred by the person you are speaking with or referring to. Many now prefer to use their tribal name. In some countries, you may hear the terms “Aboriginal,” “First Nations,” or “First Peoples.” In the U.S., you may hear the terms “Native,” “Native American,” “Indigenous,” “American Indian,” among others. As a result, there is not a universally preferred term to express one’s identity. They represent different customs and cultures with unique histories. In the U.S., there are 6.8 million Native Americans from more than 600 tribal nations. There are more than 467.6 million Indigenous people belonging to 5,000 different groups in over 90 countries around the world. Before we get started, what term should I use?
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