Science Says We CAN Blame Our Parents; But How Much?

I recently read an article (and many others) that reported that trauma has affect on the brains of victims; and this trauma is actually visited - PHYSIOLOGICALLY - on the children of trauma victims.

It's pretty intriguing.

• Trauma lives on inside the brain, and in the life of the victims...and their children

• This is a big factor in how emotions are triggered - even cross-generationally

• This is convenient blame-shifting - lessening our own responsibility for our emotions and how we manage them

The brain is amazingly elastic - in that it has the unique capacity to grow and change more than any other creature.  This means that while we may have some "hangover" genetics from the trauma of our relatives, we also have the ability to overcome them.

I cover this in my book in Chapter 8 - Managing the Moment where I present a Quick-Step Reset Method for Emotional Balance.  Here is a quote:

My response-ability is my responsibility.

This puts the reset responsibility back on the owner of the emotion – back on you.  You must take responsibility for your emotion.  People may illicit a particular emotional reaction from you.  People may trigger an emotion in you.  Although, no one can make you feel any particular way.  You are the one who is responsible for your emotion and its expression – either appropriate or inappropriate, either healthy or unhealthy, either bolstering or damaging.  A powerful axiom in my own life is this:  My response-ability is my responsibility.  This definitely applies to our emotions.  This is how we manage the moment. 

Here is the link to the article.

Here's a link to get my book.