For quite some time now, I have been committed to understanding and unfolding inherited trauma from an intergenerational lens and the impact this has not only on our psychological well-being but also on our emotional and physical health.

As a Mind Body Medicine practitioner, I am fascinated by the relationship that we as individuals have with ourselves and our spirit. So often in medicine, we view the body as separate from the mind and spirit, yet we know that if you have a physical injury or wound and ignore it, it will likely get worse, causing more pain, become infected, and have long-term effects on your health. Why do we view this so differently for emotional wounds? Many of us are taught at a very young age to bury our unraveled emotions, which inevitably causes more harm to ourselves, our friends, family, and community, and what we see are patterns perpetuated throughout family members and passed on across an entire lineage. This is intergenerational trauma.

BECOME THE CYCLE BREAKER

Very recently, I came across the bold, brilliant, and beautiful work of Dr. Mariel Buqué, PhD, a Columbia-trained, trauma-informed holistic psychologist. Dr. Buqué’s book “Break the Cycle: A Guide to Healing Intergenerational Trauma” is a necessary read for anyone not only wanting a deeper understanding of the complex emotional wounds that are unhealed within family systems, but also those that are then passed down from one generation to the next. Dr. Buqué gracefully explores the scientific research, stories, and therapeutic exercises to not only help her readers identify the reinforcing ancestral patterns within their family dynamics but more importantly give tangible tools for becoming the “cycle breaker” and preventing these patterns from being passed on any further to future generations.

In this powerful book, you will explore how intergenerational trauma affects your physiology, ways to implement spiritual emotions in your daily life such as compassion and forgiveness, the landscape of family estrangement, and when possible tools for reconciliation before resorting to estrangement, as well as the deep connections between your individual experiences and those that echo your ancestor’s pain.

What I love about Dr. Mariel’s approach is the emphasis on small, consistent mindful actions & practices for building resilience, transforming stress, and reshaping the nervous system. Curious if this is the work for you, but not sure where to start? Consider the questions below and how they will impact your mind, body, and spirit. Perhaps you simply think about them or maybe even use them as a prompt for journaling and opening a dialogue of communication between you & your soul.

• How do you know when you are pouring from an empty cup?
  

  

• How do you show yourself ongoing self-love?
• How will you uphold healthy boundaries?
• What aspects of your shadow are you choosing to embrace?
• What will help you feel most centered when you feel upset?
• What is the one thing you can always say to your inner child?
• How will you break generational wounds in your family?
• How do/ will you cope when you feel most hurt?
• What do safe places look like for you?
• How are you planning to liberate yourself from past wounds?

Over the years these questions have offered me an abundance of insight & reflection and are questions that I find myself returning back to whenever entering a new season of life. My hope is that even just one of these questions will provide illumination for your own journey forward.

xx
With love & gratitude, xx Dr. Tiffany

* This post was originally printed in the Village Medicine Seattle’s Wellness Quarterly Magazine, 2Q24 Edition. Read and download the full publication

About The Author

Dr. Tiffany Jaramillo is a Naturopathic Physician and practitioner at Village Medicine Seattle. Tiffany loves empowering, educating, and reconnecting patients to their inner wisdom. Learn more about Dr. Jaramillo