Breaking Generational Cycles with Gina Birkemeier

Do you feel stuck in a cycle of repeating struggles? Your patterns could stem from generations in the past. Today's episode of Flourish-Meant addresses how to identify and break generational cycles.

Our esteemed guest, Gina Birkemeier, LPC holds a master’s degree in psychology and theology and advanced training in
trauma therapies to help people heal. Gina has walked with the
hurting to help them find hope and healing for nearly two decades, all rooted in a combination of faith in God, psychology, biology and epigenetics. As a survivor of trauma and a cycle-breaker of generational dysfunction herself, Gina‘s passion is to help others heal from hurt and shame, break unhealthy cycles and find freedom.

Birkemeier explains that cycles of dysfunction do not repeat in exactly the same way from one generation to the next. Gina shares several introspective questions to help listeners discover if they might be stuck in a cycle of dysfunction.

What are things I got or didn't get as a kid?

What was it not safe to do as a child?

Did I need to take care of my parents?

Where are the places I feel stuck in caring well for myself?

How do I struggle in trying to care for and respond well to my loved ones, kids, or coworkers?

She encourages people not to dismiss the pain they experience but instead to give themselves permission to acknowledge trauma even if it doesn't look the same as another person's trauma. Birkemeier urges listeners to resist shaming themselves. Notice the issues without judgment.

Gina clarifies the difference between generational trauma and dysfunction. She explores the complicated process of determining a greater problem by looking for recurring problems.

We discuss the need to ask for support, potentially professional help. We also talk about the long-term nature of healing. Gina clarifies that healing and growth are not always linear, but this does not contradict progress. In fact, this might indicate deeper levels of healing.

Birkemeier warns against shame, defining it as the enemy's favorite tactic to break us away from healing, relationships, and hope that we can move forward. Gina encourages reaching out when shame strikes to silence it. She highlights a healthy support system as the key to effective healing. 

Birkemeier recommends seeking a faith-centered trauma therapist. Gina notes that trauma often settles in the body and can manifest as physical symptoms.

She shares how feeling unsafe can become familiar. We discuss the potential complications in seeking healthy or safe relationships. Gina encourages wading slowly into new supportive connections. Birkemeier describes how we can check an make sure we are navigating trust in healthy ways.

Gina emphasizes the importance of setting healthy boundaries, especially while healing. Birkemeier describes the ripple effect of healing as redemption multiplied, noting how our choice to find freedom and well-being will impact those around us.

Gina states that no one is beyond the redemption of God, therefore we must all shift our self-view to one of recognizing our value to the Lord. We all bear his image.

Connect with Gina on social media at myoutloudvoice.

Find out more about her book, Generations Deep: Unmasking Inherited Dysfunction and Trauma to Rewrite Our Stories Through Faith and Therapy, at generationsdeep.com

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