30/07/2025
🔁 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗺𝗮 𝗥𝘂𝗻𝘀 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆... 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗬𝗼𝘂 🌱
Intergenerational trauma is trauma that doesn’t end with one person.
It’s passed down — emotionally, biologically, socially — from one generation to the next.
Until someone says: “𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲.”
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🧬 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗺𝗮?
It happens when the effects of unhealed trauma are passed from parents to children, often unconsciously — through:
▪️Genetics (Epigenetics): Trauma changes the way stress is processed in the body and brain.
▪️Parenting patterns: If a parent doesn’t know how to regulate emotions or form secure attachments, those patterns can be repeated.
▪️Worldview: Trauma shapes how people see others, safety, trust, and the future.
▪️Access to support: Past trauma often limits a family’s emotional or practical access to help.
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📚 It Can Look Like:
▪️High conflict or emotional disconnection in families
▪️Fear of closeness or abandonment
▪️Anxiety, depression, emotional shutdown
▪️Low self-worth and perfectionism
▪️People-pleasing or difficulty setting boundaries
▪️Over-parenting or under-parenting
▪️Substance use or other coping behaviours
▪️Repeating unhealthy relationships
Sometimes, the trauma isn’t a specific event — it’s the long absence of safety, affection, or emotional availability over time.
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🧠 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗺𝗮 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Children form attachment styles based on how their caregivers respond to their needs.
If a caregiver is unpredictable, emotionally unavailable, or frightening, the child may develop:
▪️Anxious attachment: Clingy, fearful of being left
▪️Avoidant attachment: Distant, overly independent
▪️Disorganised attachment: Confused, fearing both closeness and distance
These patterns can repeat in adult relationships — until they’re recognised and healed.
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🌟 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀
✅ Awareness – Noticing the patterns and being curious, not ashamed
✅ Supportive relationships – Healthy friendships, partners, and professionals
✅ Therapy – A safe place to grieve, process, and build new ways of relating
✅ Education – Learning about trauma, boundaries, nervous system regulation
✅ Gentle parenting – Shifting from reaction to intention in how we raise our children
✅ Self-compassion – Understanding that survival behaviours were once necessary
You don’t have to be perfect.
Just willing to try something different.
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💬 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗺𝗮 𝗶𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗙𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁 — 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿
At Calming Waves, we help individuals and families:
▪️Identify trauma and its impact
▪️Process difficult emotions in a safe, nonjudgmental space
▪️Rebuild self-worth, connection, and hope
▪️Learn new ways of parenting, partnering, and showing up in life
📲 Visit www.calmingwaves.com.au to take the first step.
You can break the cycle.
𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 🌿