Breaking the cycle of generational trauma
From a TEDx talk by Dr Candice Jones
This talk focusses on how trauma can impact individuals medically, emotionally, and mentally as well as how it can be passed down from one generation to the next. Dr. Candice Jones, a general paediatrician, addresses the steps necessary for identifying and breaking the cycle of trauma within families for health and wholeness:
Have you heard the saying, "Hurt people hurt people"?
You know what else is true? Hurt people often hurt the ones they love. As a paediatrician, I've seen children hurt in so many different ways by the adults who love and care for them. That's why I'm always talking to caregivers about ways to prevent childhood trauma.
In my clinical practice, I screen for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and I provide trauma sensitive care. I also give workshops to the community on ACEs resilience and healing. When I encounter children who experience trauma and explore their family dynamics, I often see generations of adversity.
An example is Brian and his little sister Sarah. At such a young age, they had already experienced their mother battling drug addiction, being in and out of foster care and now living with their maternal grandmother who had her own share of past trauma. She strongly believed that what the kids needed when they were misbehaving was old school discipline - spanking yelling and shaming. Nothing she did improved their behaviour. Brian was in primary school and already getting into fights, labelled hyperactive and disruptive in the classroom and Grandma said he was a terror at home. Sarah had developmental delays and behaviour problems as well. She was five but behaved more like a two-year-old. What Sarah truly needed was love, patience and guidance. Their story highlights how trauma can pass down through generations.
There are three R's which can help break the cycle of generational trauma; Recognise, build Resilience and Restore.
Brian and Sarah experienced prolonged repeated trauma with very little nurturing and protective caregiving. The science of childhood trauma tells us this created toxic stress elevating the body's stress hormones like cortisol and damaging and dysregulating their brain and body systems and even setting the stage for Brian and Sarah to pass these dysfunctional processes onto their children. Also toxic stress may lead to families with health conditions and even early death. The good news is our brains can rewire, our bodies can heal and genetic changes are reversible.
Instead of passing down hurt, we need to pass down healing by:
1. Recognize the symptoms of trauma you may be experiencing
Has something bad happened to you and you find yourself fearful, sad, hopeless or depressed? Are you experiencing panic, anxiety? Finding yourself irritable or angry? Are you finding it difficult to complete the task at hand - your focus is gone? Are you self-medicating your pain? These are symptoms of trauma. Recognize this and ask for help. Finding a qualified mental health therapist can help address the symptoms of trauma.
2. Resilience
Resilience is simply the ability to overcome adversity and you can build resilience by surrounding yourself with systems of support. This could be your family or friends or a significant other. It could be your therapist and a support group, or your church family and your pastor, or a coach or a teacher. Having healthy relationships can provide the safe, stable, nurturing connections and positive experiences your brain and body needs to reset. Also finding a sense of purpose and practicing gratitude can help.
Having healthy relationships, safe environments and positive experiences helps get through tough times and heal. It doesn't mean that the trauma doesn't hurt or you don't remember it but what it means is that you don't break and you can flourish through good and bad times.
3. Restore
Restore the brain and body through healing practices. California's first Surgeon General and ACE champion, Dr Nadine Burke Harris, advises that we eat a well-balanced healthy meal, drink plenty of water, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, get adequate amounts of sleep and regular exercise. Get out in nature, take a walk, sit on a park bench and chat with a friend, breathe deeply. She also supports the value of healthy relationships and mental health Intervention when needed.
Recognize, build resilience and restore - the three R's work together to regulate a dysfunctional stress response system and enhance the brain and body's healing powers. We all will experience something traumatic in life and as much as we try to prevent it, children will experience adversity too. According to psychotherapist Kristen Langley Oba, "We repeat what we don't repair". You can break the cycle of trauma in your family. You can repair and pass down healing and you can build up the next generation.
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From a TEDx talk by Dr Candice Jones, 31/05/2023