Understanding Intergenerational Trauma: How the Past Shapes Our Present—and What We Can Do About It
We often think of stress, anxiety, or emotional overwhelm as personal challenges—unique to our own lives, choices, or immediate environments. But what if some of what we carry isn’t entirely our own?
Emerging research in trauma psychology suggests that the emotional imprints of previous generations can live on through behaviors, beliefs, and even biology. This phenomenon, known as intergenerational trauma, it’s how past wounds—whether spoken or unspoken—can subtly shape how we lead, relate, and respond to the world.
Over the years, our collective experience working with individuals across different backgrounds has revealed a shared truth: people often carry emotional burdens that aren’t entirely their own. Through trauma-informed coaching, we help create space to recognize those inherited patterns and support clients in working through them—gently, intentionally, and at a pace that feels right. We don’t fix what’s broken; we understand where certain responses come from and learning how to move
What Is Intergenerational Trauma?
Intergenerational trauma refers to the transmission of distress, unresolved grief, and survival patterns from one generation to the next. It may originate from systemic oppression, war, displacement, addiction, or abuse—but even in the absence of these overt events, emotional pain can echo across time through silence, family dynamics, and inherited coping strategies.
Unlike acute trauma, which stems from a specific event, intergenerational trauma is often diffuse. It might show up as:
- Recurring family conflict
- Persistent shame or anxiety with no clear origin
- Overcompensation or emotional detachment in relationships
- Deep-seated fears about safety, control, or abandonment
What makes this particularly challenging is that these patterns are often normalized within families or cultures. We learn them as children and repeat them as adults—without realizing their deeper roots.
Why This Work Matters—No Matter Where You Come From
Emotional pain doesn’t always begin with us, but we’re often the ones left holding it. Whether you’re a parent trying to raise your children differently, someone navigating difficult relationships, or simply feeling weighed down by emotions you can’t explain, these patterns deserve your attention.
Intergenerational trauma doesn’t care about job titles or backgrounds. It shows up in subtle ways—in how we handle conflict, how safe we feel in our own skin, and the stories we believe about love, safety, or worth.
This work is for anyone ready to explore what they’ve carried—and what they’re ready to release. It offers a chance to look honestly at inherited patterns, shift what no longer serves you, and build new ways of relating that are grounded in clarity and care.
The Psychological Framework Behind This Work
Intergenerational Trauma Coaching blends elements of family systems theory, attachment theory, and somatic trauma-informed practice. While coaching does not replace therapy, it provides a structured, forward-moving space to explore patterns, rewrite narratives, and build emotional capacity.
Research from the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, epigenetics, and polyvagal theory all point to the ways trauma can affect physiology, emotional regulation, and relationship dynamics across lifespans and family lines.
For example:
- A 2018 review in Nature Neuroscience discussed how traumatic stress can alter gene expression and stress reactivity in subsequent generations.
Read the study - Findings from the ACE Study linked early family adversity to long-term health, mental wellness, and workplace outcomes.
More on ACEs
These insights are reshaping how professionals understand resilience, leadership, and even productivity—not as personality traits, but as outcomes of relational and emotional histories.
Moving Toward Awareness and Change
Healing in this context isn’t about assigning blame to previous generations. It’s about creating space to reflect on the beliefs and behaviors that were passed down, and choosing which ones still serve your life today.
In coaching, we often begin by mapping emotional patterns and exploring the “rules” a person inherited about love, safety, success, and worth. From there, we work to build new internal scripts rooted in self-trust, emotional clarity, and conscious boundaries.
While this journey is deeply personal, the outcomes often ripple into every area of life: how someone leads a team, navigates intimacy, raises children, or shows up for themselves in moments of uncertainty.
What You Can Begin to Notice
If you’re curious whether intergenerational trauma might be at play in your life, here are a few reflections to explore:
- Are there emotional reactions you experience that feel outsized, automatic, or difficult to explain?
- Do you find yourself repeating relationship patterns you once swore to avoid?
- Are certain behaviors or beliefs deeply ingrained—even if they don’t align with your current values?
- Do you feel pressure to be the “strong one” in all areas of your life, without support?
Becoming aware of these threads doesn’t mean you need to unravel everything at once. It simply opens the door to greater clarity and choice.
The stories we inherit are powerful. But they don’t have to define the future we create.
Through Intergenerational Trauma Coaching, we can begin to understand the emotional legacies we carry—and more importantly, we can begin to choose what we carry forward. This work offers the opportunity to shift not just personal outcomes, but generational ones.
And that kind of change is worth exploring.
You Don’t Have to Do This Alone
Integrating Lifestyle Medicine into your daily routine is powerful, but it becomes even more effective when guided by someone who understands the psychology behind behavior change. Coaching with a licensed mental health professional or behavioral health expert doesn’t just offer accountability—it offers a space for deeper reflection, emotional insight, and personalized support.
Many people struggle not because they lack information, but because their habits are shaped by stress, unresolved patterns, or emotional fatigue. A mental health-informed coach helps bridge that gap by addressing not only what to do, but why certain patterns exist in the first place.
For example, perfectionism might make it hard to rest. Guilt might get in the way of prioritizing nutrition. Burnout might dull motivation to move your body. These aren’t surface-level problems—they’re emotional narratives that deserve attention. And through collaborative coaching, they can be gently examined and reworked.
With the right support, Lifestyle Medicine becomes more than a checklist of healthy habits—it becomes a personalized, sustainable way of living that’s rooted in self-awareness and emotional balance.
While the demands of professional life may not ease anytime soon, the way we meet them can shift. Lifestyle Medicine gives us tools to show up for our responsibilities without compromising our health in the process.
It invites a different kind of success—one rooted in clarity, energy, and sustainability—and that begins with redefining how we care for ourselves in the midst of doing important work.
