Intergenerational Trauma Explained: Signs, Science & How to Heal Through Somatic Therapy
Intergenerational Trauma
Healing Through Somatic Therapy
In a well-known epigenetics study, researchers exposed rats to a mild electric shock paired with the smell of cherry blossom. Shockingly, their pups — who were never exposed to the shock — showed the same fear response.
This reveals something profound: intergenerational trauma, also known as ancestral trauma, can live in the body across generations.
In this article, we’ll explore:
what intergenerational trauma is
how trauma is passed down (epigenetics, nervous system, environment)
signs and symptoms
Indigenous wisdom and resilience
how somatic therapy supports healing
Healing is possible. Through neuroplasticity, the body can reorganise. The nervous system can shift. Trauma patterns can be completed and released with safety and support.
What Is Intergenerational or Ancestral Trauma?
Intergenerational trauma (also called ancestral trauma, historical trauma, or collective trauma) refers to the emotional, psychological, and physiological effects of trauma passed from one generation to the next.
This may arise from:
war, colonisation, or displacement - the African Transatlantic slave trade, political partition and forced migration
cultural oppression and assimilation
family violence or addiction
chronic stress, poverty, or instability
We inherit more from our ancestors than eye colour or height — we inherit nervous system patterns, survival states, and emotional imprints.
Signs and Symptoms of Intergenerational Trauma
You may sense trauma inside you that has no clear origin. This is common.
Signs of ancestral trauma include:
Emotional and psychological signs
lingering grief without an obvious cause
anxiety, hypervigilance, or shutdown
difficulty regulating emotions
repeating relationship patterns
Family and relational patterns
similar struggles repeating across generations
inherited beliefs about safety, love, or worth
feeling loyal to your family by repeating their struggles
Body-based symptoms
chronic tension
unexplained somatic pain
a sense of “carrying something that isn’t mine”
Many people feel this as a body memory rather than a story.
How Is Intergenerational Trauma Passed Down?
1. Epigenetics and Trauma
Research by Dr Rachel Yehuda shows that children of Holocaust survivors have altered cortisol patterns — the hormone responsible for calming the stress response.
Trauma can influence how genes express themselves, especially in the stress-response system.
2. The Nervous System and Early Attachment
Traumatised or stressed parents may struggle with:
emotional attunement
eye contact
physical affection
rupture-and-repair
For babies, this is deeply distressing. We are born wired for connection — it is how our nervous system learns safety.
3. Behavioural and Environmental Transmission
As Gabor Maté says, “We recreate the stress we know.”
If a parent lived in:
conflict
emotional instability
scarcity
mistrust
chronic stress
…then the child’s nervous system often mirrors that.
4. Family loyalty
Children often carry burdens that are not theirs, out of love.
Intergenerational Resilience — The Forgotten Inheritance
Trauma is not the only thing passed down. Resilience is inherited too.
I once lived with an Indigenous community, and I will never forget seeing four generations sitting together, peacefully grooming each other’s hair. Four nervous systems, co-regulating in harmony.
This is also stored in our bodies:
safety
compassion
touch
belonging
community wisdom
Life loves life.
Indigenous Wisdom for Healing and the Next 7 Generations
Many Indigenous cultures have long known what science is only now naming.
The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) speak of the Seven Generations Principle — to remember the seven genrations before and that our choices today affect the next seven generations.
This wisdom holds that:
healing is communal
the earth is an ancestor
we are shaped by those before us
and we shape those who will follow
Indigenous teachers often say trauma “takes your breath” or leaves a dark spot. breath, somatic experiencing, and presence work all help restore that lost life force.
Can Intergenerational Trauma Be Healed?
Yes. Healing intergenerational trauma involves:
recognising repeating patterns
feeling the sensations held in the body
completing survival responses
releasing inherited stress patterns
connecting to ancestral resilience
creating new nervous system pathways
Somatic therapy helps the body finally do what it couldn’t do in the past:
release, repair, reorganise, and return to safety.
How Somatic Therapy Supports Healing
In our work together, we gently explore:
body sensations
inherited patterns
ancestral wounds
stuck emotional cycles
generational resilience
I provide a safe, compassionate space for your nervous system to unwind and reorganise — reconnecting you to your natural, unbroken essence.
If You’re Reading This, It Might Be Your Time
If you’re becoming aware of intergenerational trauma, it may be because you are the one in your lineage ready to transform it.
If not you… then who?
If not now… then when?
You are resilient — even if you can’t feel it right now. I’m here if you’d like support.
Book a free consultation to begin your healing journey.
