“Transgenerational trauma, the idea that trauma can be transferred through generations, has been documented in an array of people – the descendants of those enslaved, survivors of war, victims of abuse, and refugees. The event in and of itself can’t be passed down, of course. Rather it is the lingering symptoms that descendants inherit. The mother’s anxiety or drug abuse, the father’s violent outbursts or depression. Behaviours that children witness and adopt or are disturbed by, creating a vicious circle of distress. The”