Generational trauma, which is trauma that involves multiple generations (and is sometimes “handed down”), is closely tied to addiction. Both deeply affect individuals and families, creating a cycle that can be hard to break. There is often fear and shame tied to past trauma, but understanding and accepting this link can help enable recovery and healing. Many people in recovery have experienced the effects of generational trauma in their lives.
Understanding Generational Trauma
Generational trauma, sometimes called intergenerational trauma, is the trauma that is passed down through family lines. This trauma could involve an event from the past that changes a person, such as an accident or being sent off to war. It could also refer to ongoing substance use disorders or abuse.
Trauma is usually an invisible scar, but there is no doubt that it can influence many facets of a person’s life, often without knowing it. Trauma can cause mental health issues, physical health issues, and ongoing problems with coping throughout life. Many people have no idea that their trauma, and the way they cope with it, can also be passed on to loved ones.
How Is Trauma “Passed Down” To Others?
Trauma can change the way a person thinks, feels, and reacts. They may be emotionally guarded or struggle with symptoms of PTSD. Much of this emotional baggage influences loved ones in their vicinity. Trauma can cause learned behaviors, such as using drugs or alcohol to cope with sorrow. It can be passed down with family stories, with hard lessons about survival and shared fear. For example, trust issues are commonly passed down because there is a shared belief that not trusting people can keep you safe.
Our parents and grandparents are a sum of their experiences, and when there is trauma, that experience can shape their worldview. It can also create coping mechanisms that are unsafe or unhealthy. While they are meant as a survival tactic, sometimes these coping patterns lead to behaviors that are self-sabotaging, such as excessive drinking to get sleep or using drugs to escape feelings of anguish or despair.
Not all generational trauma is obvious. It can be challenging to recognize how past trauma can shape a family life today. People in your family may experience PTSD symptoms such as anxiety or depression. They may use escapist behaviors, such as alcohol abuse or sexual promiscuity, to bury their feelings.
Understanding that trauma is the root of a lot of these destructive behaviors allows people to forgive themselves and each other, allowing space to grow and change.
Addiction and Intergenerational Trauma
As mentioned earlier, many people turn to escapist behaviors, such as alcohol and drug use, as a coping mechanism. Substances can change a person’s mood, help alleviate their feelings of stress, and otherwise make them feel better, if only for a few minutes. However, addiction is both a coping mechanism and a driver for new trauma. People often find that their addiction adds pain to their lives. Addiction causes a whole new list of problems for people, and the escape itself becomes poisonous.
Substance use and trauma also go hand in hand due to the dangerous lifestyle that addicted people often live. There’s more gun violence in neighborhoods where alcohol and drugs are prevalent. People with substance use disorder (SUD) are also almost four to ten times more likely to perpetrate abuse on their loved ones. At the same time, about 75% of people with SUD experienced trauma themselves as children. Recognizing, understanding, and breaking these patterns is key to having a healthy, safe family.
People with addiction often use substances to numb pain and deal with a difficult background. Confronting trauma, processing it, and learning to integrate it with the rest of their lives is an important part of the recovery journey.
Healing Addiction and Trauma in Family Life
Addiction is often called a family disease since it can affect every facet of a person’s life. A lot of the behaviors that families adopt while coping with addiction are learned behaviors and coping skills. These coping skills can get in the way of growth and healing when they are no longer helpful but may be hurtful.
Breaking the cycle of generational trauma and addiction begins with awareness -understanding how your family’s past has shaped your present challenges. This recognition is the foundation for meaningful change, and people can begin to work on changing the patterns that have made them so weary as they try to cope.
Therapy is a powerful tool in this journey, providing a safe and supportive environment to unpack deep-seated wounds and build healthier coping skills, thought patterns, and behaviors. Skilled therapists and counselors can guide a person in recovery through this process, helping them navigate the complexities of both trauma and addiction.
Healing Trauma, Self, and Families
Healing is such an important thing for families in recovery to focus on. The guidance of compassionate therapists, peers, and support group members can be instrumental. Families benefit from therapy as well as groups like Al-Anon.
Families are incredibly resilient and must lean into that resilience to grow together. It will require open and honest communication. It can strengthen bonds and help loved ones work towards collective healing.
Support groups, community organizations, and rehabilitation centers—especially those with trauma-informed care—provide essential understanding, structure, and guidance for those navigating addiction and its roots.
Therapists can also teach powerful tools to cope with life’s struggles. Mindfulness and meditation are powerful tools for managing stress, anxiety, and cravings, helping individuals build self-awareness and emotional regulation. Creative outlets like art, music, and writing also provide therapeutic ways to process emotions and explore the complexities of generational trauma. These practices offer pathways to healing and self-discovery.
Generational trauma has strong effects, especially when addiction is involved, but the challenges are far from insurmountable. By acknowledging these patterns, seeking professional help, and embracing therapy and support systems, families can begin to break free from the cycle of pain. Recovery is a journey toward healing, creating a brighter future for themselves and future generations.
About the Author
In Scott Huseby’s previous career, he built his North Carolina company Huseby & Associates into one of the largest and most respected litigation support companies in the United States. But life had another calling waiting for him…
After finding the miracle of recovery himself, he took ownership of Costa Rica Recovery to help others on their journey to sobriety. Now, you can find Scott doing what he loves best – helping others recover in San José, Costa Rica.
Learn more about Scott and Costa Rica Recovery by calling 1(866) 804-1793.
