Free Intergenerational Trauma: The Ghosts of Times Past by Thomas Hodge

Introduction
     
    Many of the people that I have talked about intergenerational trauma typically start the conversation with the question, “What is intergenerational trauma?” It is not surprising that many people do not fully understand it, and many people tend to deny that it even exists. Society has had several different types of trauma brought to its attention over the last century that it was unaware of and did not believe previously existed. It is important to understand trauma and trauma-related disorders in order to fully grasp how intergenerational trauma affects individuals.
    At the turn of the 20 th century, the majority of society did not give credence to the effects of PTSD. In the 1940s, the first definitions of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder were written down. The first scientifically effective treatments were developed in the 1960s. In the 1980s and 1990s, the effects of combat-related PTSD were shown on television and in mainstream media as a result of the large numbers of Vietnam Veterans that were being affected by the disorder. Since then, research has also shed light on non-combat related PTSD such as domestic violence, refugees, sexual crimes, discrimination, and childhood trauma related types of PTSD. When one compares the length of time that trauma-related disorders have been studied compared to various other medical disorders, one realizes that we know relatively little about trauma compared to other conditions. The American Psychological Association defines trauma as “an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape or natural disaster.” One will often display shock immediately after the event and tend to even deny the event occurred. Exposure to trauma also leaves long-lasting effects such as unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, strained relationships and even physical symptoms like headaches or nausea.
    There are several mental health diagnoses that occur as a result of exposure to trauma. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) receives the most media coverage among the psychological disorders that occur as a result of trauma. PTSD is commonly noted by the presence of four clusters of symptoms. Those symptoms include re-experiencing the event, heightened arousal, avoidance, and negative thoughts and feelings. The DSM-V has divided PTSD into two subtypes to better categorize the particular symptomology experienced by the individual. The first subtype is the PTSD Preschool subtype. This type of PTSD addresses the developmental differences for children who are of preschool age. It is important to consider the presentation of young children’s symptoms differently than those of adults due to the developmental differences between children and adults. The other subtype is the PTSD Dissociative subtype. This subtype is notable unique due to the individual’s experiences of feeling detached from one’s own mind or body. These individuals report feelings in which the world seems unreal, dreamlike, or distorted. In addition to PTSD, Acute Stress Disorder is commonly seen among individuals who have experienced trauma. Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) is different from PTSD in that symptoms last from to three days up to a month while PTSD requires symptoms to persist for more than one month.
    Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) is commonly seen among individuals that have experienced trauma. RAD is seen in children with the disorder become evident before the age of five. Children with RAD are emotionally withdrawn from their caregivers. They fail to seek comfort when distressed and fail to respond to comforting. These children have experienced patterns of extremes in their care that are typically evidenced by neglect with regard to their most basic needs, repeated changes of primary caregivers that prevent the formation of attachments, and being raised in usual ways that limit the ability to for attachments for the child. One should not that these symptoms are not be better account for by a