- What do we understand by trauma?
- Are some people more prone to experiencing trauma?
- Is it possible to never overcome childhood trauma?
- How can I tell if I have trauma? Are there any symptoms that indicate it?
- Can experiencing a traumatic situation be a risk factor for developing physical or neurodegenerative diseases or mental disorders?
- Can traumas be inherited?
- Is professional help always needed to overcome trauma, or can support from one's environment be enough?
- How do we know when it's time to address trauma without retraumatizing the person?
- What is the best therapy to address post-traumatic stress?
- Can internal family systems therapy work for post-traumatic stress disorder?
- Is having one trauma addressed in the same way as having a series of traumas?
- How can I overcome a deeply buried trauma when the fear of confronting it is so great that it prevents me from even trying?
- Can sharing with other people who have gone through a traumatic situation help me?
- Are there different criteria for assessing trauma in people with autism and intellectual disability?
- Are there differences between traumas experienced in early childhood and those that occur in adulthood?
- Is there any way I can protect my daughter from complex situations becoming traumas?
- Should I explain the trauma I experienced to my children, or should I hide it?
- Can traumatic childhood experiences shape a person's identity and emotional responses?
- What is the relationship between childhood trauma and attachment style?
- Can having been bullied trigger trauma?
- Could an untreated trauma now limit my ability to be a mother?
- Can phobias be a consequence of trauma?
- What can I do to help a loved one who has experienced a traumatic situation?
- Is there any training available on how to address trauma for healthcare organizations and centers?
Can traumas be inherited?
The intergenerational transmission of trauma refers to a process by which the traumatic experiences of parents are currently negatively affecting their children by interfering with their socio-emotional development. These offspring may exhibit psychological sequelae. This transmission could explain the persistence of these sequelae and the negative mental health outcomes in vulnerable communities, even decades after the violence has ceased.
When a traumatic event occurs, such as abuse, relational patterns are profoundly affected . This can lead, for example, to families where parents have suffered abuse exhibiting more hostile parenting styles, fear of normal child behavior, explosive anger, and harsh parenting. However, this is not always the case, as studies also show that these parents can compensate and even become more effective figures in their relationships.
This topic has been widely discussed, and not always from a scientifically grounded perspective. Current studies indicate that what we inherit are the epigenetic changes caused by trauma in our ancestors, up to three generations back. This means that we don't inherit the trauma itself, but rather the vulnerability or susceptibility it generated in our ancestors. The latest studies focus on determining which structures or mechanisms might be affected, such as inheriting a larger amygdala. This alteration could make us more susceptible to having, in general, more intense alert reactions and, therefore, a greater likelihood of developing trauma in even less stressful situations, which we would perceive as more threatening.
Aside from this explanation based on genetics and biology, there is another consideration based on behavioral studies. Traumatic response patterns can be inherited through vicarious learning . In this sense, it wouldn't be inheriting the trauma itself. During childhood, if our primary caregivers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, we may end up internalizing ways of functioning or responding to certain situations that are, in reality, unconscious traumatic reactions from our caregiver.