Scientists Are Discovering How Trauma Can Be Inherited
Traumatic experiences can be shared across generations. Is there a way to stop the legacy of pain?
A boy and his baby brother hide in a forest for months, sleeping in a hole dug underground. They must keep silent to avoid attracting the attention of the soldiers who have invaded their village; but one day, the baby starts crying and won’t stop. Terrified, the boy tries to hush his brother, holding him tight, but the baby cries and cries. The boy holds him tighter and tighter, desperately trying to make the baby stop crying, trying to save both their lives, but his brother won’t stop. Until suddenly he does. The little body goes still, and the baby never makes another sound.
A generation later, the boy has a daughter. She is very successful, known nationwide for her work. But she suffers from asthma and has trouble breathing, especially when she becomes panicked. She is deeply fearful of abandonment and death. One might wonder: Was her father’s trauma passed on to her, manifesting itself in her physiological and psychological issues?
Scientists and therapists are now trying to understand how trauma — broadly defined as severe psychological distress following a terrible or life-threatening event — is shared across generations, whether the…
