I agree with the statement that suicide is an inter-generational response to trauma. As human beings we are comprised, affected and influenced by many different things, starting from conception or even before conception, such as inheritance genetic material or historical trauma, environmental and spiritual influences. I feel that ancestry, genealogy individual or collective spirt can be damaged or affected by passed events, which can manifest in the physical and in the present. Our sprit is part of us it connects us to the past, others, our environment and other living things. They are all interrelated and it makes up who we are, where we have come from and drives our future. I feel that we are deeply connected to our ancestors and relatives they are part of us they are why we exist and what has happen to them affects us, as well as what happens to us affects our …show more content…
While, Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart (2003) description of trauma encompasses historical trauma, which involves “cumulative emotional and psychosocial wounding over the lifespan and across generation” as the result of collective group trauma (Brave Heart, 2003). Brave Heart (2003) expressed that historical trauma can often manifest in self-harming behaviour, suicidal ideation, substance abuse, low self-esteem, anger, emotional instability, difficultly expressing feelings and diminished coping abilities (Brave Heart, 2003). The historical trauma theory I feel is supported by epigenetics. There are many genetic disorders and increased probability to certain health risks that are carried down through generations such as breast cancer, down syndrome asthma, depression obesity and hemophilia (National Human Genome Resarch Institute, 2016). If those diseases are transferable through the generations, I can’t see why trauma or suicide to cope with trauma would not be transmitted
Lanius, Ruth A., et al. The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease: the Hidden Epidemic. Cambridge University Press, 2011.
Historical trauma is described to be an experience or event that have caused a generation or individual harm.
I was coming home from work, stepping inside I noticed everything was silent. I noticed my family downstairs solemly waiting for me. A strange feeling overcame, while my Dad told me to sit down. He gave each of us a stern look and somberly announced that my brother tried to get his rifle and commit sucide. Overcome by the news, I found myself speechless this similar situation has happened before. My brother is suffering from schizophrenia and has attempted many times to commit sucide. This mental illnesss is genetic in my family, it has not been easy to deal with. I chose this topic for reasons why one will commit sucide in his or her youth. I find if one has trouble with family, living in a poor neighborhood or inherits a genetic mental illness it can influence youth sucidality.
Physical wounds can often heal, but psychological wounds will scar the brain and thus the pain from the trauma can last a lifetime. Trauma, from war, can change the way a person thinks and functions, resulting in a myriad of personality disorders, specifically, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Depression. The Holocaust survivors were victims long after the war ended and suffered the long-term effects, this trauma from Auschwitz also had a secondary effect on the generations to come. Maus is a prime example of how our present is the result of our past and how our experiences can shape and redefine who we are.
Childhood Trauma is defined as “The experience of an event by a child that is emotionally painful or distressful, which often results in lasting mental and physical effects.” (The National Institute of Mental Health). Childhood trauma is an epidemic that seems to be running its way throughout the world. Childhood trauma is a worldwide problem that can affect anyone and everyone. People tend to just try and help the problems that occur due to the childhood trauma, but not the problem itself. Many of these issues will also follow the child into their adult years and will cause negative effects. This paper will discuss the negative outcomes for a child who suffers from childhood trauma, and the negative outcomes that can follow them into adulthood.
In a study released by Brown University, their psychology department shed some light on common myths and facts surrounded suicide. These m...
When faced with a life altering situation although Molly’s characteristics and personality aid her in courageously defying them, the effects of facing this traumatic event will lead to long term psychological repercussions. When severe harm is inflicted on a person’s psyche, it is viewed as an emotional trauma (Levers, 2012). The emotional harm inflicted on Molly’s psyche originates from different dimensions; like her upbringing, her trauma is multidimensional too. As a child of the Indigenous community, whose ancestors and elders were killed violently in inter-group conflicts, and whose children were forcefully removed from families, Molly is would experience intergenerational trauma (Atkinson, 2002). Intergenerational trauma is trauma passed down from one generation to another; as a close knitted community group, the grief experienced by family members of losing their loved ones, would have been transferred across generations (Atkinson,
Native Americans have endured the lengthiest form of genocide in modern history. While it is not this paper’s purpose to explore the traumas experienced by Native Americans via colonization and more modern policies which perpetuate Native American trauma, it is important to understand that those experiences have direct impact on these communities. Yellow Horse-Brave Heart (1999) reports that the Historical Trauma Response, which is a collection of symptoms that result in members of a group that have experienced trauma, reveals negative health outcomes that include: Increased suicide rates, mental health disorders, somatic complaints without medical merit, and obsession on trauma, guilt, and grief. Poupart (2003) explains that as First Nations
Lawrence Hill Books, c2009 Bracken, Patrick and Celia Petty (editors). Rethinking the Trauma of War. New York, NY: Save the Children Fund, Free Association Books, Ltd, 1998.
Norris, Fran H. “Epidemiology of Trauma: Frequency and Impact of Different Demographic Groups.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 60.3 (1992): 409–418. Print.
In 1972, Albert Cain laid the ground work for the psychology of those coping with suicide in his work Survivors of Suicide. Up to that time, there had been almost no research of the topic of suicide survivors. (McIntosh, 2003). The classification “Survivors of Suicide” (SoS), attributed to Cain in his 1972 book Survivors of Suicide, refers to friends and family left behind in the aftermath of a loved one’s self-inflicted death (McIntosh, 2003). In his foreword to the book, Edwin Shneidman, the founder of the American Association of Suicidology and cofounder of the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center, referred to the “survivors of suicide, as the largest mental health casualty area related to suicide” (McIntosh, 2003). The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention estimates six survivors for every suicide. According to their statistics, over 36,000 Americans die from suicide every year (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention [AFSP], 2011). This leaves over 216,000 Americans to cope in the aftermath of suicide in addition to those still coping from previous years.
"The History of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)." Morefocus on Psychiatric Disorders. Web. 01 Mar. 2011. .
Before elaborating on what causes suicide it should be understood what we mean by cause. The Oxford English Dictionary defines cause as “a person or thing that gives rise to an action, phenomenon or condition.” This essay will in part examine the methods employed by suicidal patients though this is secondary to whatever caused them to make this decision. The essay will consider the epidemiology of suicide (also regarding suicide clustering) followed by the potential genetic risk factors. This will be followed by the psychological factors such as depressive disorders, and finally the environmental risk factors such as low socioeconomic status and substance abuse.
Trauma relates to a type of damage to the mind that comes from a severely distressing event. A traumatic event relates to an experience or repeating events that overwhelmingly precipitated in weeks, months, or decades as one tries to cope with the current situations that can cause negative consequences. People’s general reaction to these events includes intense fear, helplessness or horror. When children experience trauma, they show disorganized or agitative behavior. In addition, the trigger of traumas includes some of the following, harassment, embarrassment, abandonment, abusive relationships, rejection, co-dependence, and many others. Long-term exposure to these events, homelessness, and mild abuse general psychological
In life, many things are taken for granted on a customary basis. For example, we wake up in the morning and routinely expect to see and hear from certain people. Most people live daily life with the unsighted notion that every important individual in their lives at the moment, will exist there tomorrow. However, in actuality, such is not the case. I too fell victim to the routine familiarity of expectation, until the day reality taught me otherwise.