18Forty Podcast

Rachel Yehuda: Intergenerational Trauma and Healing [Divergence 1/5]

Mar 26, 2024
Rachel Yehuda, a prominent professor of psychiatry and neuroscience known for her groundbreaking work on intergenerational trauma, delves into how trauma is transmitted across generations. She discusses the emotional ramifications for descendants of Holocaust survivors and explores resilience within the Jewish community. Yehuda highlights the role of Jewish holidays in fostering intergenerational strength and reflects on the challenges of navigating family dynamics while preserving cultural identity. Tune in for a profound exploration of trauma, healing, and collective resilience.
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INSIGHT

Trauma Can Be Passed Beyond Genes

  • Intergenerational trauma describes inheriting parents' trauma effects via family dynamics, not just genes.
  • Rachel Yehuda found offspring report biological and behavioral signs resembling PTSD even without direct exposure.
INSIGHT

Hypervigilance And Caretaking Traits

  • Adult children of Holocaust survivors show heightened threat detection and an ongoing sense that 'the other shoe will drop.'
  • Yehuda links that vigilance to caregiving roles and career choices like mental health and advocacy.
INSIGHT

Trauma Transmission Can Be Wisdom

  • Traumatic legacies can transmit survival strategies—ancestral wisdom—useful in real danger but mismatched in peace.
  • Yehuda frames this as a Jewish cultural practice of remembering trauma to reinforce survival, not to be trapped by it.
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