Skip to main content

Depths of Despair: An Analysis of Generational Trauma and PTSD in Gehraiyaan

Sanyukta Singh 

Gaslighting. Infidelity. Drama. The trailer of Gehraiyaan - with its star-studded cast and catchy songs - alluded to a movie about love affairs and heartbreak. The actual storyline, however, revealed so much more. Gehraiyaan explored complex romantic and familial relationships through the lens of human vulnerability and trauma. We see Alisha and Zain fall for each other while still being in long-term relationships with their significant others. The instant connection between them was strengthened by one common link - childhood trauma. Although it’s easy to scorn Alisha and Zain for cheating on their partners prima facie, the unraveling of their backstories highlights the depths (or gehraiyaan) of human behaviour and decision making. The childhood trauma that they both suffered translated into their adult relationships and can be viewed from the psychological lenses of generational trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). 

Generational trauma refers to the passing down of trauma-related disorders from one generation to the next. The impact certain harrowing experiences have on an individual, can extend beyond them and spill over into future generations. It can occur at a large scale (observed in victims of the Holocaust) or at a smaller scale (observed in victims of child abuse). The denial and minimization of trauma are two crucial instigators of generational trauma. In Gehraiyaan, Alisha witnessed her mother express feelings of being stuck in her life and ultimately committing suicide. In addition, Zain often saw his father beat his mother. In both instances, the traumatic experiences were never acknowledged. Blaming her father for her mother’s death, Alisha never conversed with him about the incident; Zain called the cops on his father, but his mother refused to accept that she was a victim of domestic violence. The older generations, therefore, “set the precedence for younger generations” which can explain Alisha and Zain’s behaviour (Inter-Generational Trauma: 6 Ways It Affects Families | Office for Institutional Equity, n.d.). 

Although they both had troubled childhoods, their traumas manifested in different ways. Zain’s decision to leave his family for his own sake instilled in him a strong sense of self-preservation. His hypervigilance and unresolved trauma drove him to become manipulative, selfish and violent to safeguard himself. In fact, he was willing to murder Alisha - while she was pregnant with his child - to ensure that his fiance would continue financing his tanking, shady project. He cheated people financially and emotionally to achieve his career ambitions. Alisha, on the contrary, experienced her mother’s depression and constantly feared ending up like her. This fear underpins her decision to cheat on her boyfriend and make impulsive decisions. In addition, Alisha felt helpless whereas Zain believed one can control their fate. The dichotomy between their behaviours, despite their shared desire to break out of their parents’ cycle of trauma, illustrates “the theme of inevitability and fate versus choices and the question of whether we are destined to end up like those who raised us or can we create our own path” (Naik, 2022).

Individuals with mental illnesses often have comorbidities. In addition to displaying signs of generational trauma, the movie also hints that Alisha could have PTSD. PTSD “is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened” (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, 2019). Alisha frequently has flashbacks about her parents fighting and her mother’s depression and suicide. As stated by the National Institute of Mental Health, flashbacks along with accelerated heart rate or sweating is a common recurring symptom of PTSD as the patient relives the trauma over and over again. We also see Alisha take medicines for her anxiety every time she has these flashbacks that are triggered by watching old videos of her family or having conversations about her childhood. Gehraiyaan portrays PTSD in an authentic way by not going over the top with dramatic scenes and displaying common symptoms of PTSD - flashbacks, frightening thoughts, negative self-perception and self-harm. The way Alisha is shown to handle her anxiety - with the use of medication and conversations with loved ones - also stays true to recovery methods.

One way to break through the loop of generational trauma is to have “productive conversations with family members” (Intergenerational Trauma: Recognize These Signs & Symptoms, n.d.). A breakthrough scene between Alisha and her father highlights the importance of having a strong support system. By confiding in her father, Alisha is able to acknowledge her past trauma and recognize that recovery is possible. In addition, this scene highlights the fact that mental illnesses do not define individuals and that the “person is not the diagnosis” (Hooley et al., 2021, p. 8). Seeking support from loved ones is also a method that can promote recovery for PTSD patients. Medication is another way that patients can cope with their anxiety which is illustrated in Gehraiyaan.

Along with social support and medication, there are other methods of recovery that Gehraiyaan did not go into. Seeing a therapist or a mental health professional is crucial in the recovery process. Although medication makes the symptoms of PTSD more manageable, this biological approach only targets the symptoms of the disorder, not the root causes. Psychotherapy allows individuals to learn ways to react differently to the frightening events that trigger their PTSD symptoms. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) - which focuses on changing “the thought patterns that are disturbing your life” - is a common approach for treating PTSD and can include exposure therapy and cognitive restructuring (What are the Treatments for PTSD?, 2017).

Gehraiyaan adequately portrayed generational trauma and PTSD. This movie is a step in the right direction for the representation of mental disorders because it highlights generational trauma which is not often talked about, even though “for every 100 persons who were abused as children, 40 transmit this violence to the next generation” (Swaminathan, 2020). Alisha showed symptoms common to those with PTSD and the backstories of Alisha and Zain highlight how generational trauma manifests and translates down generations. In addition, by showing the contrast between Zain and Alisha’s behaviours, Gehraiyaan touched upon an important aspect of mental disorders - despite having common symptoms, the way illnesses affect individuals is different for everyone. There is no one single prototype of what someone with generational trauma or PTSD looks like. This message, however, could have been strengthened had the movie dived into Zain’s life a little more.

Overall, Gehraiyaan sensitively handles mental illness by abiding by the medically identified symptoms and recovery strategies. By highlighting how mental disorders affect the day-to-day lives of regular individuals, the movie strays from the stereotype of mentally ill persons being “crazy”. Taking this into consideration, it is important to note that the emotional scene between Alisha and her father could give the audience the notion that simply talking about their condition will result in recovery. The movie could have been more effective in stressing the importance of therapy, something which is still stigmatized in Indian society. 


References

Hooley, J. M., Nock, M. K., & Butcher, J. N. (2021). Abnormal Psychology (18th Edition). Pearson Education. https://www.pearson.com/us/higher-education/program/Hooley-Abnormal-Psychology-RENTAL-EDITION-18th-Edition/PGM100003097225.html 


Inter-generational Trauma: 6 Ways It Affects Families | Office for Institutional Equity. (n.d.). Duke Office for Institutional Equity. Retrieved February 27, 2022, from https://oie.duke.edu/inter-generational-trauma-6-ways-it-affects-families 


Intergenerational Trauma: Recognize These Signs & Symptoms. (n.d.). Michael G. Quirke, MFT. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://michaelgquirke.com/recognize-these-intergenerational-trauma-signs-symptoms/ 


Naik, D. (2022, February 22). How Gehraiyaan portrays and addresses generational trauma. Mintlounge. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://lifestyle.livemint.com/health/wellness/how-gehraiyaan-portrays-and-addresses-generational-trauma-111645437817602.html 


Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. (2019, May). National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd 


Swaminathan, M. (2020, March 4). The legacy of childhood trauma. The Hindu. Retrieved March 3, 2022, from https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-legacy-of-childhood-trauma/article30974938.ece#:%7E:text=Researchers%20have%20estimated%20an%20average,was%20a%20victim%20of%20violence


What Are the Treatments for PTSD? (2017, March 22). WebMD. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-are-treatments-for-posttraumatic-stress-disorder 





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Hardin's trauma

“After”, is a 2019 teen romantic drama directed by jenny gage that revolves around the love of  Tessa, an inexperienced teenage girl, with Hardin, a mysterious ‘bad boy’ . Hardin, the main male character, never had a secure relationship with his father. When Hardin was young, his father used to be an alcoholic with a lot of debt. When he was just eight years old, intruders broke into his home looking for his father for money, however, there was only Hardin and his mother. The intruders forced themselves on Hardin’s mother, and Hardin, who was sleeping then, came downstairs to see what was wrong. To Hardin’s shock, his mother was being raped by three men, one by one. Hardin’s mother told him to leave, however, one man forced him to watch everything.  I would assume that Hardin has PTSD as a result of this incident, and in this paper I will try to prove it. Symptoms of PTSD and scenes that prove Hardin had it: The person subsequently re-experiences the event through both intrusive memori

Disorderly Delvian: A Deep Dive into "Anna Delvey" through the Lens of NPD

       A markedly thick accent, a mop of blonde hair, a magical array of unimaginably expensive clothing, and an air of calculated mystery mesh uncomfortably together to invent Anna Delvey, the centre of Netflix’s appropriately named documentary/drama series, “Inventing Anna”. This series tells or rather retells the fascinating story of how one woman deceived the creme de la creme of New York society as well as some prestigious financial institutions under the guise that she was a wealthy heiress from Germany. The series follows a journalist, Vivian Kent, as she tries to uncover the carefully constructed web of lies Anna spun around high society after her arrest, heavily interspersed by flashbacks, present-day court hearings, and interviews with the enigma herself (Shondaland, 2022). Anna as a character, infused with a troubling reality and a dramatised narrative, presents an interesting scope to study the symptomatology of Narcissistic Personality Disorder as presented in her behaviou

The Psychological Depth of Good Will Hunting

Shorya Sehgal Good Will Hunting revolves around the interaction of two rebellious characters, Sean Maguire and Will Hunting, who, to a certain extent, help each other to conform slightly. Will is a brilliant but troubled, young adult. He suffers from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), inferiority complex, defence mechanisms and attachment disorder. A mathematical genius, Will had a complete disrespect for authority and for his own considerable talents. As the story progressed, I was able to see Will’s personal growth as he developed an extremely strong relationship with his therapist, Sean. Sean had fought his own battles in life which had made him tough. This significantly helped Will and Sean to connect to each other on a deep, emotional level. What struck me the most in the movie is how coherently Will's journey is tied together. His transition from an inexpressive, troubled young guy to a mature and responsible one is shown very exquisitely. By the end, he was able to be