Healing Family Trauma
written by Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.”
We all have some trauma inherited from our family history. If your parents or grandparents were Japanese Americans at the outset of WWII and placed in camps after Pearl Harbor, your family trauma is passed down to future generations. If your family endured physical abuse, your family trauma is passed down. In Emotional Inheritance, Galit Atlas confirms, “Contemporary psychoanalysis and empirical research have expanded the literature on epigenetics and inherited trauma, investigating the ways in which trauma is transmitted from one generation to the next and held in our minds and bodies as our own.”
Familial trauma is as old as ancient Scripture. Cain kills Abel, but one can argue that the distress from Adam and Eve’s fall from the garden negatively affected how their sons responded to conflict and familial jealousy. Throughout the Hebrew Bible, generational damage is carried from generation to generation. Galit Atlas continues, “They [parents, grandparents, etc.] affect our mental and physical health, create gaps between what we want from ourselves and what we are able to have, and haunt us like ghosts.”
All of us have voices in our heads, whether conscious or unconscious, influencing our decision-making. If our multi-generational history believed itself to be physically strong but mentally ignorant, it would be harder for future generations to trust their ability to learn and grow intellectually. If your family history includes, like mine, suicide, future generations will listen to that experience and include it in their emotional responses. Yet, knowing our family history and the trauma carried forward will help name and break the mentally unhealthy patterns.
Today, reflect on your family history. If you still have previous generations living, then ask about the uncomfortable family history. If you are the eldest generation in your family, reflect on and share your family trauma as far back as you can remember. The more you name the pain, the less power they have over those you love. Ask God to enhance your memory and guide your thoughts with courage and trust that God will not only heal you but also block further generational trauma. When our knowledge and God’s wisdom meet, transformation occurs, and healing is a reality.
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