I have heard of inter generational trauma. Is it similar?
yes, same thing. Inter = between. Between generations. Passed down from parent to child.
It can be as something like a traumatic thing happens to parent (maybe their parent dies young, they’re in an accident, they were in the holocaust or war experience etc), parent doesn’t have adequate support around them to help them cope, parent is therefore stressed or angry or withdrawn from the child, child experiences a scary aloneness growing up which leads to feeling unsafe and unsupported in the world, which can develop into abandonment issues, anxiety, depression etc.
When the child grows up and has a child, and still suffer from unaddressed mental health issues, that child also has a scary experience in childhood because mum/dad is preoccupied with mental health issues and not really present with them and might find themselves ‘triggered’ by the child’s needs as they didn’t get their needs met in childhood. (Read Dr Tsbary to understand this - The Awakened Family book). And so the cycle continues. All kicked off by one original traumatic event generations ago.
The Biblical concept is probably ancient wisdom based on people’s observations of what could happen between generations, before they had a scientific understanding of attachment theory and trauma etc. And they assigned the cause to man’s wrongdoing or a curse from God because they didn’t know any better. That’s why I recommend the doctors above as they will give you a modern understanding without the woo.
Meghan comes from LA/Californian culture where incidentally a lot of these doctors are from - they are much better versed in psychology and psychotherapy concepts over there than we are in the UK, so this is common parlance to her. I believe Harry and Meghan have mentioned having their own therapy in the past so Harry will have become familiar with psychology concepts too.
I don’t like the way they’re going about things and I do think she’s indoctrinated Harry a bit rather than letting him have his own journey and make up his own mind. And they’re both going through the anger phase (the Bible talked about that too - the story of the prodigal son - and I think on MN it plays out as going ‘no contact’). But I do see why they’re calling out the dysfunction in the royal family. It is inherently traumatic for people to have a role thrust on them from birth with no choice and agency in the matter if they don’t want to do that role. Gabor Maté talks about his own experience of being a workaholic to avoid his childhood ear trauma and how that had an effect on his son Daniel. H&M could have called it out a much more balanced and less sensationalist way and not divided people. I think some people sense the truth in what they say so support them, and other people are understandably turned off by the method in which they’ve done it and by the narcissistic/anger phase they’re in.
IMO! :)