African American Trauma: More than Meets the Eye
African American Trauma
When I am addressing the current condition of the Black collective in America, and I mention “intergenerational transmission of trauma,” as it is associated with the slavery experience, I will generally meet a nullifidan response. Basically, individuals who do not understand how trauma impacts the body and mind will have a difficult time comprehending how trauma can be transmitted intergenerationally.
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The average person tends to see a condition, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, as a mental condition, and they will omit or overlook the influence of the physiological implications associated with trauma. The truth is that PTSD is first initiated through a physiological response to a traumatic event (Kolk B. V., 2014). Additionally, very few people understand the impact of cumulative adversity[1] (Seo, Tsou, Ansell, Potenza, & Sinha, 2013) on a group of people who are consistently exposed to a wide spectrum of potentially traumatic events. Basically, it is extremely difficult to heal the wounds from trauma when a person is consistently experiencing new traumatic events.
As technology and the understanding of epigenetics increases, we are also learning that there are genetic influences that have the capacity to facilitate the transmission of trauma across generations.
In this brief treatise, I simply want to identify and introduce some of the common physiological responses to trauma, and how they can be transmitted to the progeny of the person who experienced the trauma.
Because PTSD is such a commonly used term that it is rarely understood in its totality, I will use it as the primary condition to bear out my position on the intergenerational transmission of trauma. It is important to understand that this is not meant to be a comprehensive exploration of trauma, or its generational perpetuation. I am simply attempting to create the foundation on which those who seek empirical and pragmatic evidence to support the idea of generational trauma will be able to begin the process of compiling data and analyzing it.
The first thing that we must do is develop a clear understanding of the definition of PTSD, which is defined by the Diagnostics and Statistical Manual 5 as the displaying of certain characteristic symptoms following exposure to one or more traumatic events. Some of the characteristics associated with PTSD include, but are not limited to emotional reactions (including helplessness, fear and horror), elevated startle response, hypervigilance, problems with concentration, reckless or self-destructive behavior, sleep disturbance, fear of a foreshortened future, etc. (Staff, 2013).
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Something else worth noting concerning PTSD is that the person being traumatized does not have to be directly involved in the traumatic event. For instance, there are people who have never been to New York City who suffer from some level of PTSD as a result of the events that occurred on 9/11. Additionally, susceptibility to traumatic influence depends on a number of different factors.
One component of the PTSD matrix that has always given me cause for concern is the high comorbidity rate associated with PTSD. Individuals who suffer with PTSD are 80 percent more likely, than those without PTSD, to be a victim of a dual-diagnosis, having extraneous symptoms that meet the diagnostic criteria for at least one other mental disorder (e.g., depressive, anxiety, substance abuse disorders, bipolar disorder, and more) (Staff, 2013).
Following is a list of physical responses to trauma.
- Sudden sweating and/or heart palpitations (fluttering)
- Aches and pains like headaches, backaches, stomach aches
- Increased use of alcohol, drugs or overeating (self-medicating)
- Constipation or diarrhea
- Easily startled by noises or unexpected touch (elevated startle response)
- Increased susceptibility to colds, viruses and other illnesses
- Changes in sleep patterns (sleep disruptions), interest in sex and appetite
*Note: Each of the above physiological symptoms have the capacity to cause harmful secondary symptoms as well, creating a cascading physical effect.
Here is a small portion of the emotional responses to the exposure to a traumatic event.
- Diminished interest in everyday activities or depression
- A loss of a sense of order in the world; expectation of doom and fear of the future
- Shock and disbelief
- Grief, disorientation, denial
- Fear and/or anxiety
- Emotional swings — such as crying and then laughing
- Irritability, outbursts of anger or rage, restlessness
- Worrying or ruminating — intrusive thoughts of the trauma
- Nightmares
- Flashbacks — an experience in which the victim reacts as if the trauma is happening all over again
- And much more…
(Levin, 2003)
According to Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, arguably the foremost expert in trauma experience and trauma memory, when people who have been traumatized are presented with certain stimuli, such as sounds, images or thoughts related to their particular traumatic experience, the amygdala portion of the brain reacts with immediate alarm, even when the original experience may be 10 or more years in the past (Kolk B. V., 2014).
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This startled response will trigger a cascade of stress hormones and nerve impulses that can drive up the person’s blood pressure, oxygen intake and heart rate — preparing the body for fight, flight or freeze mode. The problem is that most of these instances in which these stimuli are presented are not threatening events; however, the physical consequences of the constant elevation of stress hormones are real.
Basically, their body re-experiences rage, terror and helplessness, as well as the strong impulse to fight or flee; however, these feelings are virtually impossible for the individual to articulate. Trauma, by nature, pushes a person to the edge of cognitive or mental comprehension, separating the person from any language based on common experience.
Shifting to One Side of the Brain
For the last 30 years, there has been a growing amount of literature that has sensationalized the idea of left-brainers (those who function from the platform of logic and reason) vs. right-brainers (those who are more intuitive, creative and artistic). While this idea seemed more novel than scientific 30 years ago, there is a growing wealth of empirical data that reveals that the left and right brain speak two different languages — the left is linguistic, analytical and sequential, while the right is emotional, intuitive, spatial, visual and tactual. Basically, the left side of the brain facilitates the ability to speak in a lucid form, and the right side houses the capacity for experiential expression, communicating through facial expressions and body language.
In the womb, it is the right side of the brain that develops first, and it actually allows for the non-verbal communication between mothers and infants. The primary indication that the left side of the brain has come on line is when the infant begins to understand and respond to verbal expression.
The manner in which the left and right side of the brain processes past experiences is dramatically distinct as well. The left brain has the capacity to store and recall facts, statistics and facts of specific events, allowing us to recall events, while placing them in sequential order. The right brain stores the memories of touch, sound, smell and the emotions that these stimuli evoke. The right brain responds to voices, gestures and facial features, as well as places that have been experienced in the past.
While it has become popular to categorize people as right-brainers or left-brainers, the truth is that under normal conditions, both sides of the brain functions synergistically — working together to experience, process, record and recall life experiences. However, having one side of the brain shut down, even temporarily can be extremely disabling. The deactivation of the right side of the brain will have an immediate and significant impact on the ability to properly organize and process an experience into logical sequences — making it impossible to effectively translate the experience so that it can be explained. This type of deactivation happens frequently during traumatic events.
Without proper sequencing, it is impossible for humans to identify cause and effect, comprehend the long-term implications associated with our actions, or create coherent goals and plans for the future. This state of reality associated with trauma can explain a substantial part of the behavior of the Black collective in general. Now, combine this one psycho-physiological response to trauma with other conditions, such as Collective Cognitive Bias Reality Syndrome (Wikipedia, 2014; Wilke & Mata, 2012; Wood, 2016; Wallace, 2015), epigenetic influences on trauma and traumatic susceptibility, etc. You will begin to understand the dilemma we are facing, or should I say, the dilemma we need to face.
The tendency of blacks to ignore or deny the presence of certain mental conditions may mask the presence of conditions such as PTSD, PTSS, depression and more, but it does not alleviate the impact. A substantial portion of our social and economic immobility can be directly linked to the existence of trauma. In fact, my work has produced multitudinous occurrences in which African American trauma was not the central focus, but proved highly prevalent in the findings.
Simply put, when certain stimuli remind a traumatized individual of their past experience, the right side of their brain begins to dominate the experience, causing them to believe that they are currently experiencing the event. In fact, traumatize people, who are not effectively treated, live their entire life through the paradigm created by that traumatic event that caused their trauma.
When a traumatized person has a triggered episode in which they relive the experience of their trauma, any young children who may be present will sense the heighten anxiety, tension, fear and terror, and while they may not understand why the person is behaving that way, they will develop a tendency to respond the same way when they sense that stimuli. In fact, when this happens, the brain’s circuitry will literally rewire itself to instinctively respond to that particular stimulus the same way each time. This is why some people cannot explain what triggered their anxiety attacks, because it is a learned behavior that has been passed down without explanation.
Of course, the intergenerational transmission of trauma is immensely more complex than what is presented here, but this should be sufficient to provide at least a limited perspicacity of how easily trauma can be passed down, as well as how trauma tends to perpetuate itself when not met with direct intervention measures. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace, Ph.D.
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Additional Resource by Dr. Wallace:
The Music is Life Program for Youth
The Mis-education of Black Youth in America
African American Inner-City Violence
The Invisible Father: Reversing the Curse of a Fatherless Generation
Epigenetics in Psychology: The Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma in African Americans
Molestation, Incest & Rape in African American Families
Racial Trauma & African Americans
African Americans & Depression: Denying the Darkness
The Feminization & Emasculation of the Black Male Image
African American Genocide in America
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Bibliography
Abraham, C. (2014). Transmission of Trauma 3. Dublin Business School .
Danieli, Y. (1997). International Handbook of Multigenerational Legacies of Trauma. The National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
DeGruy, J. (2005). Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing. Portland, OR: Uptone Press.
Gregoire, C. (2014, December 28). How the Effects of Trauma Can be Passed Down From One Generation to the Next. Huffington Post.
Kardiner, A. (1941). The Traumatic Neurosis of War. New York: Hoeber.
Kolk, B. A. (2001). Exploring the Nature of Traumatic Memory: Combining Clinical Knowledge with Laboratory Methods. Trauma and Cognitive Science Haworth Press, Inc.
Kolk, B. V. (1987). Psychological Trauma. American Psychiatric Press.
Kolk, B. V. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score. New York: Penguin Publishers.
Levin, P. (2003). Common Responses to Trauma — and Coping Strategies. Levin Journa of Pyschological Disorders.
Lloyd, D. A., & Turner, R. J. (2003). Cumulative Adversity and Postraumatic Stress Disorder: Evidence From a Diverse Community Sample of Adults. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry.
Mullan-Gonzalez, J. (2012). Slavery and the Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma in Inner City African American Male Youth: A Model Program—from the Cotton Fields to the Concrete Jungle. California Institute of Integral Studies.
Seo, D., Tsou, K., Ansell, E., Potenza, M., & Sinha, R. (2013). Cumulative Adversity sensitizes neural response to acute stress: Association with Health Symptoms. National Institutes of Health.
Staff, E. (2013). DSM-5. American Psychiatric Publishing.
Wallace, R. (2015). Collective Cognitive-bias Reality Syndrome. The Odyssey Project Journal of Research and Cognitive Enrichment!
Wallace, R. (2015). Epigenetics in Psychology: The Genetic Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma in African Americans. The Rick Wallace Social Research & Cognitive Enrichment Institute.
Wikipedia. (2014, April 15). Cognitive Bias. Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_bias
Wilke, A., & Mata, R. (2012). Cognitive Bias. Encyclopedia of Human Behavior.
Wood, J. M. (2016). 20 Cognitive Bias that Affect Your Decisions. Mental Floss.
Ximena, F., & Ximena, G. (2015). Pyshcological Trauma Transmission and Appropriation in Grandchildren of Former Political Prisoners of the Civic – Military Dictatorship in Chile (1973-1990). Journal of social Science Education.
[1] Cumulative Adversity: Cumulative adversity is simply the exposure to a wide spectrum of potentially traumatic events, which can result in either depletion — making the individual or group more vulnerable to being traumatized, or it can also foster resilience (Bonnano et al, 2011; Ryff, et al, 2012; Seery et al, 2010)