Healing the Inheritance: Understanding and Releasing Intergenerational Trauma

Karen Law
May 5
2 min read

Updated: May 9

How the past shapes our present, and how healing can begin with you

The Echoes We Carry

Sometimes the weight we feel isn’t just our own. Emotional patterns, unspoken fears, and survival strategies can pass through families like invisible threads. You might find yourself reacting in ways you don’t fully understand, feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or disconnected, even when life seems fine on the surface.

These experiences may be rooted in something deeper. Stories, wounds, and beliefs passed down from previous generations can shape how we move through the world. This is the quiet influence of intergenerational trauma.

What Is Intergenerational Trauma?

Four generations: Three adults and a child pose outdoors by hydrangeas. The child sits on an older adult's lap in a chair. All are smiling, with a vintage feel.

Intergenerational trauma refers to the way unresolved trauma can be passed from one generation to the next. This can happen through behaviour, emotional patterns, nervous system imprinting, or the stories we do or don’t tell.

You might notice:

A family history of loss, displacement, or violence
Repeating patterns of emotional suppression, hypervigilance, or disconnection
Difficulty feeling safe or grounded, even when your life appears stable
A sense of carrying burdens that aren't fully yours

Understanding that these responses may be inherited, not a personal failing, can be the beginning of healing.

Why Awareness Matters

Naming what has been unnamed in your family line is powerful. It brings light to hidden patterns and creates space for change. When we work with intergenerational trauma, the goal is not to blame or relive the past. It is to gently notice what has been carried and to offer it new possibilities.

You might be the first in your family with the opportunity to pause, reflect, and choose a different way forward.

You Can Be the Turning Point

When you begin to explore your own healing, you’re not just doing it for yourself. You’re interrupting old patterns and making space for something new, for yourself, your children, and generations to come.

Halved onion with brown skin and white rings on a white background. Two large slices alongside three smaller rings. Minimalist style.

Healing intergenerational trauma often unfolds in layers (think layers of an onion). We don’t dive into the deepest wounds right away because that wouldn’t be safe or supportive. Instead, we start with the surface-level patterns that are showing up in everyday life: anxiety, emotional reactivity, chronic tension, or relationship struggles. As your nervous system becomes more regulated and resilient, it becomes easier to explore what lies beneath… the early experiences, the unconscious beliefs, and, eventually, the inherited stories and burdens passed down through your family line.

Final Thoughts

Intergenerational trauma may be part of your story, but it doesn’t have to define your future. With the right support, it's entirely possible to shift longstanding patterns and create a new foundation rooted in safety, self-connection, and compassion.

💜 If you feel like you’re holding pain that isn’t fully yours, or you’re noticing repeating patterns that feel hard to shift, I can support you. Through trauma-informed approaches and nervous system support, it’s possible to break the cycle and begin again.