While we certainly cannot take back traumatic events of the past and take away the pain that your parents, grandparents, and ancestors endured, you can make an active effort to break the cycle of ancestral trauma and improve the mental health experience for future generations to come.
The Inherited Trauma Release process works by locating the individuals in a family tree at the source of ancestral trauma and releasing it from the family system. It works on an energetic level and feels similar to the energy movements in Reiki, bringing about a lasting feeling of calm as the process takes place.
War, natural disasters, genocide, and slavery can all cause generational trauma. When these traumatic experiences are passed down from generation to generation, they affect how people think, feel, and behave.
Make prayers to your Ancestors and speak your desire to heal the wounds in your Family, and your DNA. Burn the plant offering with this prayer. Know that you are supported by your ancestors in this endeavor, and feel their love and support. Read the Release Intention and Burn it into the Fire.
To foster ancestral healing, it's important to invite our ancestors into our hearts. In deep meditation and prayer we can begin to form bonds and make connections. It's important to know where your people are from, what languages they spoke, and what cultures they were immersed in.
Make contact with your ancestors. Heal hereditary traits and characteristics that have compromised your physical, emotional and mental health. Incorporate your ancestors' wisdom into your spiritual path. Clear karmic baggage so your descendants inherit only positive karma.
Intergenerational trauma is believed to pass from one generation to the next through genetic changes to a person's DNA after they experience trauma. There is some evidence that these genetic markers are passed on to a person's offspring.
A growing body of research suggests that trauma (like from childhood abuse, family violence, or food insecurity, among many other things) can be passed from one generation to the next. Here's how: Trauma can leave a chemical mark on a person's genes, which can then be passed down to future generations.
When you heal ancestral trauma, you help stop patterns and other issues from passing to future generations. It is important to note that it is not to blame or disempower parents, as ancestral trauma is something they cannot control. You are taking the step to acknowledge trauma and change things for future generations.
Grief can be stored in various parts of the body, such as the heart, lungs, throat, and stomach. People may also experience physical sensations like heaviness in the chest or tightness in the throat when experiencing grief.
Trauma is not physically held in the muscles or bones — instead, the need to protect oneself from perceived threats is stored in the memory and emotional centers of the brain, such as the hippocampus and amygdala.
It disrupts your memory storage processes and changes the way your brain works. Trauma left untreated can have a big impact on your future health. Trauma can lead to physical and emotional distress, which can lead to more serious health conditions, such as heart attack, stroke, obesity, diabetes, and cancer.
Adverse childhood experiences can be passed from generation to generation as if they were genetic. But breaking that generational trauma is complex. There aren't easy solutions. It involves an intricate web of understanding the issue, preventing and treating the root issues.
Ancestral healing is the process of revealing and releasing inherited wounds and traumas that have been passed down by our ancestors. Anyone researching their heritage will uncover both positive and negative issues that pass through the bloodlines from one generation to the next.
“It's more than just family heirlooms that get passed down,” says psychotherapist Chase Cassine, L.C.S.W. “It's psychological things, too.” People born into families with generational trauma might struggle with relationships, their sense of self, communication, and their overall mental health and well-being, he adds.
Anyone can experience intergenerational trauma, and some may argue that everyone experiences this phenomenon to some degree. However, people from marginalized groups — such as People of Color and those in lower socioeconomic classes for generations — may have more pronounced experiences with intergenerational trauma.
The effects of exposure to trauma in childhood have repeatedly been linked to the development of maladaptive personality traits and personality disorders [1,2,3,4]. In contrast, much less is known about personality related problems that may arise in adulthood.
Examples of Generational Trauma
Historical examples of groups affected by generational trauma include Black Americans, Holocaust survivors, and Indigenous communities, among others.
So, for a 1% DNA result, you would be looking at around seven generations. This would go back to your x5 great grandparent. While this may be confusing to you, it's not. You have 50% DNA from each parent, just like your parents have 50% DNA from both of your grandparents, and so on.
Research shows that the hippocampus is smaller and less active in people who've experienced trauma, which can create issues around memory and problem-solving. This can make it hard for you to distinguish between the past and present, keeping you in a constant state of hypervigilance or strong emotional reactivity.
The first step to breaking a karmic cycle is to forgive yourself for past mistakes and traumas. In order to move forward, you need to be kind to yourself. Rather than blaming yourself, reflect on why something may have happened, and then acknowledge what you learned from the experience (no matter how awful).