The Spiritual Science of Inherited Trauma and Addiction
By Jen Romanowski
I come from a long line of people touched by addiction. I have watched family members drink themselves into an early grave. I have seen the grip of drugs take lives. Eating disorders and self-destructive behaviors have crept quietly through my lineage, too, stealing joy and health. And then there is what I call addiction to chaos, the tendency to stay in unhealthy, even dangerous, situations far too long because chaos feels more familiar than peace.
For years, it felt as though these patterns were etched into my family’s DNA. They were not just bad choices or unlucky circumstances. They were shadows that seemed to stalk us across generations. At times, it felt like a curse.
Science Confirms What We Feel
What I once only understood spiritually, science now helps explain. Research in epigenetics shows that trauma does not just impact the person who experiences it. It can leave chemical marks on DNA, changing how genes are expressed and passed down through generations. In other words, the pain of a grandparent can shape the biology of a grandchild.
The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study revealed another layer of truth. Children exposed to abuse, neglect, or household dysfunction are far more likely to struggle with addiction, depression, and physical illness later in life. Trauma does not stop when childhood ends. It ripples forward.
Studies on intergenerational trauma echo this. Communities affected by war, displacement, or systemic oppression often show patterns of suffering that span decades. Addiction, anxiety, and illness are not just personal struggles. They are inherited burdens.
The Spiritual Truth Beneath the Science
While science explains the “how,” spirituality speaks to the “why.” To me, a generational curse is more than DNA or environment. It is a blend of inherited trauma, energetic imprints, and family karma. It is the weight of unprocessed pain passed down like an unwanted heirloom.
But here is the hope: when we enter recovery, we do not just heal ourselves. We become healers for the bloodline. I believe our recovery sends ripples backwards, offering peace to the ancestors who carried pain they never resolved, and forwards, creating a new inheritance for those yet to come.
Breaking the Cycle
My own recovery has taught me this truth. The moment I chose sobriety, I was not just saying no to a drink. I was saying yes to life, yes to healing, yes to rewriting a story my family had carried for generations.
Addiction had once felt inevitable, as though it was written into my fate. But recovery showed me something different. Addiction is not destiny. Cycles can be broken. What once appeared as a curse can transform into a calling, the sacred work of healing not just for myself but for my lineage.
A Ritual for Ancestral Release
Because October is a time when the veil between worlds grows thin, it offers a powerful opportunity to release what no longer serves us. Here is a simple ritual I practice to honor my ancestors while breaking ties to patterns that have weighed my family down:
- Find a quiet space and create an altar with a candle, a photo or symbol of your family, and any objects that connect you to your lineage.
- On a piece of paper, write the patterns you wish to release, such as addiction, chaos, fear, or shame. Speak them aloud with honesty and compassion.
- Burn or bury the paper, asking Spirit to transmute these energies into healing and wisdom.
- Close with gratitude: thank your ancestors for the lessons and affirm your choice to create a new path for those who come after you.
Choosing a New Legacy
I have come to see my recovery as an act of sacred service. Every time I choose healing over harm, I am not just saving myself. I am tending to my ancestors and protecting my descendants. I am saying: the suffering stops here.
If you feel the weight of family addiction pressing on you, know this: you are not doomed. You carry the power to break cycles, to rewrite destiny, and to transform a curse into a blessing.
I often return to this affirmation:
“I am the one who breaks the cycle. My healing is my lineage’s healing. Addiction ends with me.”
And with each day of recovery, I feel that truth becoming more real, in my body, in my family, and in the generations still to come.
