There is a tendency to reserve the term “trauma” for a very specific set of circumstances, often the most drastic and painful, such as loss and abuse.
That’s why it’s common to hear the terms “childhood trauma” or “relationship trauma.”
But what about lesser-known traumas? Those that we rarely talk about, yet can have an equally important impact on our lives?
In this article, I will discuss all types of trauma- the less talked about trauma, such as ancestral trauma and financial trauma, as well as a more commonly discussed trauma – childhood trauma.
Ancestral trauma
We are energy and therefore we inherit all the habits and patterns of the generations that came before us.
This includes their beliefs, fears, programming, and all the emotional baggage that they did not heal.
When we experience trauma, we take on different personalities because we’ve created beliefs that it’s not safe to be us at that moment.
Life becomes harder with each generation that’s carrying the trauma. And it becomes harder to live the life that we desire.
One of the main red flags to be aware of if you suspect that you suffer from ancestral trauma is low back pain.
If you are living with low back pain and any other physical condition that does not go away no matter what you do, then you could be suffering from ancestral trauma.
Or maybe you have not been able to create the income that you desire. This could also mean that you could be carrying the ancestral energy that’s holding you back.
In addition, if it’s hard for you to find the love of your life or to stay in a relationship, ancestral trauma could be blocking you.
What to do about it
To heal ancestral trauma, you can reframe your story.
I recently had a client who was sexually abused. When we were reframing her story, we uncovered that there might have been other generations that were also abused in that family.
It was all being passed down. So, when we cleared the trauma, she’s no longer triggered when having conversations about the abuse.
If you clear it, your children will not carry this. By clearing it for yourselves and your ancestors, you are also clearing it for your children.
Financial trauma
It is important to distinguish between financial trauma and financial stress. For many of us, stress or worry about money is a part of everyday life.
It is universally recognized that the cost of living is on the rise and that our salaries do not always reflect the lifestyle we desire, hence the angst over our financial situation.
But for many people, it can cause very real emotional and physical symptoms. In other words, financial trauma.
Characterized as a dysfunctional response to chronic financial stress, indicators of financial trauma are often similar to those experienced by people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
They manifest themselves in multiple areas of the affected person’s life, often making it difficult for them to feel successful, secure, or financially comfortable.
It only takes a prolonged period of financial stress for the trauma to take hold and be easily passed from generation to generation through unconscious belief systems
It can take a while to take charge of emotions and triggers on this issue.
But once you begin to realize that many of your interactions and judgments about others are related to your financial trauma, it will set you free.
For example, the need to rush to pay the bill, even though it is not expected of you, is not a simple gesture of generosity, but the result of trauma.
If your traumatic reaction is to feel sorry for yourself or to make people happy, this may manifest itself as not charging enough for your services.
If this is your situation, I would encourage you to think about your limits, to determine where your insecurities about money came from and who you inherited them from.
What to do about it
At this point, you might be thinking to yourself, “Okay, but what can I do?”
Well, financial trauma is like all other forms of trauma – you have to untangle it, question it, and release it, and that takes work, a lot of work.
Take note of what’s going on in the body, then use your body to help regulate your nervous system.
You can do this by slowing down your breathing and becoming aware of your five senses: what you see, what you hear, what you feel, what you smell, and what you taste.
As you do this, explore the narrative that arises around money matters for you. Then, ask yourself what is the source of these beliefs.
For example, something might crop up around value and you might ask yourself where you learned that initially, which can help you separate yourself from that belief.
Gradually, your beliefs will start to change.
I’m not saying that you won’t feel anything about money, but you will understand what the beliefs are and how they created a lens for the world.
Childhood trauma
Traumatic childhood experiences include emotional and physical abuse, verbal humiliation, sexual abuse, loss, and death.
Childhood trauma can damage the developing brain, predisposing it to autoimmune and chronic diseases decades after the trauma has occurred.
Recognizing that chronic stress in childhood can play a role- along with genetics and other factors- in the development of disease and relationship difficulties in adulthood can be extremely liberating.
The emotional wounds we suffer from in childhood can carry over throughout life, even into adulthood.
That is why we have to learn to detoxify ourselves from all these emotions, to learn to deal with emotions healthily and completely.
One behavior indicative of childhood trauma includes always ending up in toxic or destructive relationships.
Do you identify with the phrase “I always end up with people who are not for me or who hurt me?” This might mean you experienced trauma as a child.
Some people who have experienced childhood trauma also avoid ties. This attitude could be reflected in the phrase “I don’t want ties or I want to be single forever”.
Avoiding connections or staying isolated means not getting involved and facing the fear that something could go wrong.
What to do about it
Write down your deepest feelings and thoughts about the emotional upheavals that have influenced your life.
When writing, let go, really let yourself go, and explore the events and how they affected you.
You can link this experience to your childhood, your relationships with your parents, the people you loved, or that you love now.
Write nonstop for at least twenty minutes a day.
Trauma can cause physical pain
The trauma that we carry and refuse to let go of can constrict the muscles and nerves, causing physical pain.
Unless we fully understand and heal these traumas first, we will not be able to heal the physical pain that it caused.
If you are suffering from trauma, you can enroll in my private coaching. This program would be perfect if you are a caretaker, find no joy in living, or are living with physical and emotional pain that is holding you back.
