Seasonal Affective Disorder | CPTSDfoundation.org https://cptsdfoundation.org The Foundation for Post-Traumatic Healing and Complex Trauma Research Fri, 29 Mar 2024 11:30:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://cptsdfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/cropped-Daily-Recovery-Support-Globe-iPad-Fav-32x32.png Seasonal Affective Disorder | CPTSDfoundation.org https://cptsdfoundation.org 32 32 The Neurotransmitters of Seasonal Affective Disorder and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder https://cptsdfoundation.org/2020/12/28/the-neurotransmitters-of-seasonal-affective-disorder-and-complex-post-traumatic-stress-disorder/ https://cptsdfoundation.org/2020/12/28/the-neurotransmitters-of-seasonal-affective-disorder-and-complex-post-traumatic-stress-disorder/#comments Mon, 28 Dec 2020 11:00:52 +0000 https://cptsdfoundation.org/?p=235102 The brain is a very complicated organ that rules over our lives engendering how we move, think, and feel. The way our brain cells (neurons) communicate with one another is by the use of chemicals known as neurotransmitters which they pass from one to the other.

We have briefly discussed in a previous article about neurotransmitters and a little of their vital functions. In this article, we shall explore them deeper and see how neurotransmitters can be our friend or foe when it comes to expressing the pain of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD).

A Recap on the Symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder

We cannot go any further into our discussion about neurotransmitters and the brain until we recap the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder as stated in our first post on this subject.

Seasonal affective disorder is a form of major depression that affects an estimated 10 million Americans with another 10-20% having a milder form. SAD is four times more common in women than men.

SAD doesn’t only occur in winter as it can also form in the summertime, but that is much rarer.

The symptoms of seasonal affective disorder in winter are as follows:

  • Tendency to oversleep
  • Insomnia
  • Weight gain
  • Weight loss
  • A drop in energy levels
  • Feelings of hopelessness and sadness
  • Decreased physical activity
  • Fatigue
  • Irritability
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Avoidance of social situations
  • Suicidal thoughts or actions

People who suffer from serious bouts of seasonal affective disorder become incapacitated and often unable to work until the sun rises higher in the sky and the warm weather creeps back in.

Researchers believe that all these effects from seasonal affective disorder are closely related if not directly caused by changes in the way our body makes and uses neurotransmitters.

What are Neurotransmitters?

Neurotransmitters are chemical substances that brain cells use to communicate with one another through neurotransmission. These chemicals are synthesized in and released from the end of one brain cell to another and cause one of two effects, excitatory (winds you up) or inhibitory (slows you down). To be clear, some neurotransmitters can do both.

There are more than 40 known neurotransmitters in the human nervous system, but the ones we shall be interested in for this piece are Dopamine, Serotonin, and Norepinephrine.

Dopamine (the motivational transmitter). Dopamine is secreted by neurons in the substantia nigra a region in the midbrain and its effects are both excitatory and inhibitory (revving up and calming down). Dopamine affects mood and motivation plus the desire to finish tasks. Dopamine also regulates eating patterns which are disturbed with the onset of SAD causing the person to either over, or more rarely, undereat causing weight gain or loss.

Dopamine is involved in the reward reaction of the brain and this is why some chemical agents, such as drugs, become addictive because they raise the levels of dopamine in the brain.

Serotonin (the happiness transmitter).  Serotonin acts as a booster for mood and happiness when released in sufficient quantities in the brain. When a person has low brain serotonin levels they are at high risk for more violent and successful attempts to die by suicide and the formation of SAD. Sunlight keeps serotonin levels high by decreasing the chemical activity that inhibits the formation of serotonin or the use of it.

Serotonin also regulates sleep, anxiety, sexuality, and appetite, and drugs that work to balance Serotonin are often prescribed to treat depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and panic disorders.

Norepinephrine. Norepinephrine does double duty as a hormone produced by the adrenal glands and as a neurotransmitter in the brain. Norepinephrine is made by the same chemical factory as adrenaline and aids in our ability to concentrate, a role in our mood control, and our bodies respond to stress.

Norepinephrine also plays an important role in our ability to remain alert and is deeply involved with the body’s fight or flight response. The role of norepinephrine is to mobilize the body and brain to act in times of danger, real or perceived. Levels of this brain chemical are lowest during sleep and highest during stressful events.

Obviously, all three chemicals play vital roles in how we are able to think and feel plus our motivation to carry on with our plans.

The Signs and Symptoms of Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) is a devastating mental health condition that affects millions of people around the world. The disorder is brought on by experiencing extreme and repetitive trauma normally in childhood, but it can affect adults as well.

CPTSD has a long list of symptoms that one can recognize in oneself to determine if we have the disorder including the following as outlined in a previous post on the subject:

  • Feelings of shame
  • Feelings of guilt
  • Difficulty controlling emotions
  • Losing attention and concentration
  • Physical symptoms such as headaches
  • Dizziness
  • Chest pain
  • Dissociation
  • Isolating away from friends and family
  • Relationship difficulties
  • Destructive or risky behavior
  • Self-harm
  • Substance abuse
  • Suicidal actions or thoughts including passive suicidal behaviors

The above is only a shortlist of the hundreds of life-altering symptoms a person living with complex post-traumatic stress disorder can experience.

The reason I bothered to list the symptoms of CPTSD on a piece primarily about seasonal affective disorder is that the two have much in common when it comes to neurotransmitter malfunctions in the brain. It is the same neurochemicals in CPTSD that cause different behaviors as cause depressed and down moods in SAD.

Two Treatments that Definitely Work for Both CPTSD and SAD

Although we think and reason with our brain it is truly the final frontier of discovery for mankind. Our brain makes up only a small percentage of our body per weight, yet it is a powerhouse guiding what the rest of the body does. We ponder at why neurotransmitters cause the effects they do but we do not truly understand thoroughly how and why they do so.

Every year we learn more and more about how to treat mental health disorders and now know they are treatable brain disorders that need treatment.

There are two tried and found effective treatments that seem to help both complex post-traumatic stress disorder and seasonal affective disorder, sunlight, and exercise.

Sunlight causes our brain to regulate neurotransmitters better allowing us to feel more awake in the daytime and more positive. Light stimulates the production of cholecalciferol which is transformed by the human body into vitamin D. The vitamin D helps the body maintain higher levels of serotonin during the darkness of winter.

Exercise creates a chemical cocktail that boosts the level of serotonin in the brain and helps to regulate levels of the stress hormone cortisol. It also releases feel-good endorphins into the bloodstream.

Both these treatments are free for all and easy to carry out. On the warmer sunny days in winter bundle up and sit in the sun for at least twenty minutes. Then, afterward, take a brisk walk in the winter breezes and enjoy the sounds of the wintertime season.

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” ~ John Steinbeck

“Snow was falling,
so much like stars
filling the dark trees
that one could easily imagine
its reason for being was nothing more
than prettiness.”

~ Mary Oliver

If you a survivor or someone who loves a survivor and cannot find a therapist who treats complex post-traumatic stress disorder, please, contact CPTSD Foundation. We have a staff of volunteers who have been compiling a list of providers who treat CPTSD. They would be happy to give you more ideas about where to look for and find a therapist to help you. Go to the contact us page and send us a note stating you need help, and our staff will respond quickly to your request.

Are you a therapist who treats CPTSD? Please, consider dropping us a line to add you to our growing list of providers. You would get aid in finding clients, and you would be helping someone find the peace they deserve. Go to the contact us page and send us a note, and our staff will respond quickly.

Shortly, CPTSD Foundation will have compiled a long list of providers who treat complex post-traumatic stress disorder. When it becomes available, we will be putting it on our website www.CPTSDFoundation.org.

Make sure to visit us and sign up for our weekly newsletter to help keep you informed on treatment options and much more for complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

If you or a loved one live in the despair and isolation that comes with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, please, come to us for help. CPTSD Foundation offers a wide range of services, including:

 

 

The Healing Book Club

Today, CPTSD Foundation would like to invite you to our healing book club, reading a new book that began in September. The title of the latest featured book is The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk.

Led by Sabra Cain, the healing book club is only $7 per month, the fee going towards scholarships for those who cannot afford access to materials offered by CPTSD Foundation.

Should you decide to join the Healing Book Club, please purchase your books through our Amazon link to help us help you.

All our services are reasonably priced, and some are even free. So, to gain more insight into how complex post-traumatic stress disorder is altering your life and how you can overcome it, sign-up; we will be glad to help you.  If you cannot afford to pay, go to www.cptsdfoundation.org/scholarship to apply for aid. We only wish to serve you.

]]> https://cptsdfoundation.org/2020/12/28/the-neurotransmitters-of-seasonal-affective-disorder-and-complex-post-traumatic-stress-disorder/feed/ 2 Saying Goodbye to 2020 and Surviving the Holidays with Trauma Histories and SAD https://cptsdfoundation.org/2020/12/21/saying-goodbye-to-2020-and-surviving-the-holidays-with-trauma-histories-and-sad/ https://cptsdfoundation.org/2020/12/21/saying-goodbye-to-2020-and-surviving-the-holidays-with-trauma-histories-and-sad/#comments Mon, 21 Dec 2020 12:44:21 +0000 https://cptsdfoundation.org/?p=235043 Healing from trauma is arduous at this time of year. The whole world seems to us to be joyous and happy while we feel exhausted and left out. We have struggled so hard on our healing journey that we do not wish to celebrate.

This article is focused on saying goodbye to 2020 and giving suggestions to those who suffer from both the trauma they have endured and seasonal affective disorder that can make it worse.

2020 the Year of Fear

The year 2020 has brought a leveling of the field when it comes to feeling depressed during the holiday season. Many people in the United States and perhaps the entire world feel deeply distressed because of the COVID 19 virus that has held us all hostage for nearly a year.

I call it a leveling of the field because depression and fear were what someone else felt for most of the population. They had not known the uncertainty and fright that survivors feel every day of their lives. Now they too suffer along with us.

Now, together, we need to face the depression, anxiety, and fear that 2020 has brought with its racial and political upheavals and in the U.S. deep divisions that threaten to tear us apart.

The best part about all the turmoil is that now that we have been so far down, there is nowhere to go but up from here.

Saying Goodbye to the Turmoil of 2020

The year 2020 has been a whale of a year for all of us, myself included. Now it is finally time to say goodbye to the year and say hello to a new one with the hope it will be a better one.

The best suggestion for letting go of 2020 is to look ahead and make plans for 2021. Even if those plans seem unreachable where we are now, making plans is a vital part of pushing through this year’s depression and anxiety.

One method to letting go of 2020 is to not obsess over being positive or happy in 2021. It is often a bad idea to chase after positive emotions, as pursuing happiness can often disappoint and bring about unhappiness.

Besides, the more we focus on our own happiness, the less we focus on others’ happiness, which is isolating and disconnecting. If we chase after happiness, we also need to worry about the feeling that time is slipping away from us.

Another suggestion for letting go of 2020 is to focus on the small things in life that have made you happy. We can often improve our mood by focusing on the small and perhaps mundane things that happen in our lives that bring a smile to our faces each day. To truly appreciate and keep track of these positive things, we should consider keeping a journal as good things happen or at the end of the day.

The third suggestion is a vital one involving balancing social media and news consumption. If we spend all our time focused on social media or watching or reading the news, we are bound to become negative. Using social media to keep tabs and contact with family and friends is critical during COVID 19, but overzealous use is isolating and disheartening. Listening to the news frequently can bring fear and loss of confidence in life.

Relational Trauma and the Holidays

Facing the holidays after experiencing relational trauma is exhausting at best. While the world around us is rejoicing we are stuck in our misery. No matter whether it is trauma related to child abuse, domestic violence, rape, entrapment, infidelity, bullying, rejection, complex grief, or psychological/emotional abuse we feel a deep and unresolved loss of human connectedness.

While the primary treatment for relational trauma and its effects is psychotherapy, we can also use mindfulness, meditation, and prayer to help cope during the holiday season.

In one study researchers found that researchers conducted over eight weeks medical students studying to become physicians were taught to practice a meditation-based approach for thirty minutes each day. They found that the students exhibited a drastically lowered self-reported amount of anxiety and reduction in their depression.

Utilizing any of the three, mindfulness, meditation, or prayer, or a combination can help those of us who are working through the drama and pain of relational trauma get through the holidays.

Seasonal Affective Disorder and the Holidays

Seasonal affective disorder does not mix well with the holiday season. If Christmas were held in July it would be easier, but it is celebrated in winter when the days are dark and cold when SAD is at its worst and causes people to fall into major depression.

Falling into a bottomless dark pit of despair where there is no way out is a reasonably accurate description of what major depression feels like when it is active and is full-blown. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a form of major depression that should not be ignored as it can lead to a host of behaviors, including suicidal behaviors and actions.

There are many methods available for SAD, including the following treatment options.

Lightbox Therapy.  Using a lightbox for therapy is a simple method to mimic summer’s brighter sunlight during the dark days of winter. Researchers think that the light generated by a lightbox causes a chemical change in the brain’s neurotransmitters that lifts the mood and helps with the other symptoms of SAD.

The Mayo Clinic advises that a lightbox should provide exposure to 10,000 lux of light and emit as little UV light as possible. They state that it is recommended that the lightbox be used within the first hour of awakening in the morning for around 20-30 minutes at a distance of 16-24 inches with eyes open but not looking directly at the light.

Get Some Exercise. Physical activity dramatically enhances the emotional well-being of humans. Even taking a short brisk five- or ten-minute walk increases our energy, mental alertness and puts us in a positive mood. Not only can exercise boost mood, but it can also increase self-esteem and reduce how we experience anxiety.

Plan Chats Online. While we cannot get together with family or friends in person right now because of the pandemic, we can still gather together with them through the many platforms available such as Zoom or Meet Now. The point is to not isolate ourselves away in our homes, watching mindlessly endless hours of television when not working. All humans need other human connections and using chat functions online is the best alternative during the COVID crisis.

Eating Properly When Experiencing SAD

While eating correctly is vital anytime, it is especially so during an attack of seasonal affective disorder during the cold and dreary winter months. Here are some food tips that may, along with the other suggestions already discussed, enhance your holiday season.

Eat More Berries. Everyone should know that stress makes depression symptoms worse and exhausts the body. Any berry type may help prevent or reduce the amount of cortisol entering our bloodstream during stress. Cortisol is a stress hormone that gets our bodies ready for the fight/flight/freeze response when released. Berries can help dampen that reaction so that you can remain calmer and ready to handle the situation better, even in stressful situations.

Keep Close Watch on Sugar Intake. Watching the labels on the foods we eat is the only way to know what kind and how much sugar we are ingesting. If you do, you will notice sugar introduced to nearly every product appearing as syrups or long words ending in “ose.” Sugar may help improve the mood at first, but after a few hours, it acts to slow our brains down, and thus it is important to avoid sugar if we are feeling depressed or overwhelmed. The inevitable crash from eating sugar will leave you feeling worse than before you ate it.

Eat Dark Chocolate. In a study first published in the Journal of Pharmacology, researchers found that eating dark chocolate boosted the mood in the subjects they used in their experiment significantly. The culprit in the improved moods of their subjects is attributed to the polyphenols in the dark chocolate that are a type of antioxidant. So, when faced with seasonal affective disorder or depression of any sort, reach for the dark chocolate bar with the highest cocoa content you can stand.

Mindfulness to Relieve Depression and Other Trauma-Related Symptoms During the Holidays

Above we discussed how meditation can aid in relieving trauma-related symptoms, now let us examine what mindfulness can do to aid us in getting through the holidays.

Mindfulness is a relaxation technique where a practitioner pays close attention to their breathing to remain firmly planted in the present. This method allows us to mitigate our tendency to want to relive the past or project into the future. With mindfulness, we learn to live in the ‘now.’

When we focus on the ‘now,’ right this moment, where we are here, life becomes much easier to handle. There is an old saying, ‘one day at a time,’ this method introduces us to ‘one moment at a time.’

There are many benefits to practicing mindfulness, including an increased sense of well-being, which leads to an increased level of serotonin in our brain that will make us feel good and combats seasonal affective disorder and other trauma-related symptoms.

Wrapping It All Up

When the cold winds begin to blow, and you feel your mood slipping into depression, remember to watch yourself for deepening depressive symptoms that require professional intervention.

If you digress to feeling suicidal, please, seek out medical attention right away.

Seasonal affective disorder and trauma are closely linked, although not all people who experience SAD have had life-altering traumatic events in their lives.

There are many treatments available, including putting into practice methods we can do at home to enhance professional treatments and to not only survive the winter blues but conquer them.

“If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.” ~ Fred Rogers

“The greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being.” ~Tenzin Gyatso

References

Pase, M. P., Scholey, A. B., Pipingas, A., Kras, M., Nolidin, K., Gibbs, A., … & Stough, C. (2013). Cocoa polyphenols enhance positive mood states but not cognitive performance: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Journal of psychopharmacology, 27(5), 451-458.

Shapiro, S. L., Schwartz, G. E., & Bonner, G. (1998). Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on medical and premedical students. Journal of behavioral medicine, 21(6), 581-599.

If you a survivor or someone who loves a survivor and cannot find a therapist who treats complex post-traumatic stress disorder, please, contact CPTSD Foundation. We have a staff of volunteers who have been compiling a list of providers who treat CPTSD. They would be happy to give you more ideas about where to look for and find a therapist to help you. Go to the contact us page and send us a note stating you need help, and our staff will respond quickly to your request.

Are you a therapist who treats CPTSD? Please, consider dropping us a line to add you to our growing list of providers. You would get aid in finding clients, and you would be helping someone find the peace they deserve. Go to the contact us page and send us a note, and our staff will respond quickly.

Shortly, CPTSD Foundation will have compiled a long list of providers who treat complex post-traumatic stress disorder. When it becomes available, we will be putting it on our website www.CPTSDFoundation.org.

Make sure to visit us and sign up for our weekly newsletter to help keep you informed on treatment options and much more for complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

If you or a loved one live in the despair and isolation that comes with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, please, come to us for help. CPTSD Foundation offers a wide range of services, including:

]]> https://cptsdfoundation.org/2020/12/21/saying-goodbye-to-2020-and-surviving-the-holidays-with-trauma-histories-and-sad/feed/ 2 Seasonal Affective Disorder and Its Interaction with Complex Trauma https://cptsdfoundation.org/2020/12/14/seasonal-affective-disorder-and-its-interaction-with-complex-trauma/ https://cptsdfoundation.org/2020/12/14/seasonal-affective-disorder-and-its-interaction-with-complex-trauma/#comments Mon, 14 Dec 2020 12:52:12 +0000 https://cptsdfoundation.org/?p=234956 In the last article in this series of four posts on seasonal affective disorder SAD and its relation to complex trauma, we examined together with their definitions and each of their symptoms.

As a short recap, seasonal affective disorder is a form of major depression that affects people in the wintertime, although it can also strike in spring. For our purposes, we shall concentrate on wintertime SAD.

Complex trauma is repeated abuse or neglect, usually in childhood, committed against survivors whose symptoms linger long into adulthood.

This article shall delve deeper into how seasonal affective disorder and complex relational trauma affect how we feel and function when the days grow dark and cold.

The Reemergence of Symptoms

The reemergence of major depressive symptoms, anxiety, and flashbacks brought on by SAD is not uncommon in the dark and dreary months of winter. It is as though with the leaves falling, so does the mood of those living in the shadow of complex trauma. Symptoms of complex post-traumatic stress disorder are exacerbated by seasonal affective disorder making wintertime a living hell for some survivors.

Once again, the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder are as follows:

  • Tendency to oversleep
  • Weight gain
  • A drop in energy levels
  • Feelings of hopelessness and sadness
  • Decreased physical activity
  • Fatigue
  • Irritability
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Avoidance of social situations
  • Suicidal thoughts or actions

These symptoms are devastating to the lives of those who experience them, changing their lives, and causing a disruption in how well people with SAD symptoms can function in everyday tasks.

What Does It Feel Like to Experience SAD for a Survivor of Complex Trauma?

This author has first-hand experience with both seasonal affective disorder and complex trauma. Both have changed my life forever.

It is tough for me and other survivors who are dealing with both to know that we will be literally fighting for our lives every fall and during the winter. Not everyone experiences life-threatening symptoms, but some of us do. SAD robs us of our ability to be social, work efficiently, and have the energy even for our families.

Seasonal affective disorder causes complex trauma symptoms to surface, sometimes forcefully, such as flashbacks and anxiety that come from seemingly nowhere. However, the worst symptom must be the deep and powerful sense of anguish that washes over us at times and then is gone. This bath in anguish may not last long, but it has a devastating effect none the less.

Some of us feel the effects of seasonal affective disorder at a much deeper level, and thoughts of suicide enter our minds. To my fellow survivors who also suffer from SAD in the dark days of winter, hang on; brighter days will come.

If you or someone you love feels suicidal, please, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline toll-free at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or the toll-free TTY number 1-800-799-4TTY (4889). You also can text the Crisis Text Line (HELLO to 741741) or go to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website.

Causes for SAD

According to the National Institute for Mental Health, scientists aren’t fully aware of SAD’s causes, although several theories exist. One theory proposes that people with seasonal affective disorder may have a reduction in the brain chemical (neurotransmitter) called Serotonin. Serotonin helps regulate mood, and researchers believe that sunlight controls the molecules’ levels that manage normal serotonin levels.

Since it is much darker in winter, researchers suggested that people with SAD have lowered Serotonin levels.

As an interesting side note, the lowered serotonin levels may also explain why people have a hard time overeating during the winter. Overeating may occur because our brains are trying to get more Serotonin.

Another theory states that people with seasonal affective disorder have too much melatonin in winter, a hormone that is important for maintaining normal sleep/wake patterns. This overproduction of melatonin can cause increased sleepiness and lethargy.

A third theory has to do with deficits of vitamin D. Vitamin D is believed to promote serotonin activity. The body produces vitamin D when exposed to sunlight on the skin, and with daylight being limited, people with lowered vitamin D may further decrease their serotonin levels.

Complex Trauma as a Cause for SAD

Although it is impossible to tell if complex trauma is a root cause of the physical changes that cause seasonal affective disorder, it is indeed enhanced by it. People who have experienced complex trauma quite frequently are in a position where even a slight change in their brains’ neurotransmitters can cause devastating effects.

The brains of people healing from complex trauma are already overtaxed with dealing with past hurts and bruises. Depression is a common feature, and flashbacks are a matter of course.

The brains of survivors have been inexplicably altered forever by the stress hormones that flowed through their bodies when they were children. These chemicals changed the shape and size of survivors’ brains, leaving them open to many different physical and mental ailments.

Treatments for Seasonal Affective Disorder

There are treatments available to lessen the suffering of those who live with SAD. These treatments fall into four categories that can be used alone or together as a regime.

  • Light therapy

  • Psychotherapy
  • Antidepressants
  • Vitamin D

Let us examine each one in turn.

Light Therapy. Light therapy is the primary treatment for seasonal affective disorder to expose those affected by it to bright light every day in exchange for the diminished sunshine in winter. Light therapy tricks the brain into believing it is a bright sunny day helping it to make more Serotonin and thus relieving, in theory at least, the symptoms of SAD.

The treatment includes the affected person sitting in front of a very bright lightbox (10,000 lux) each day for 30-45 minutes first thing in the morning from fall to spring. These lightboxes are twenty times brighter than usual indoor lighting and filter out potentially harmful UV light, making it safe unless you have certain eye diseases or take certain medications.

Psychotherapy. CBT has been adapted for people suffering from SAD and is used to help those living with SAD to overcome and cope with difficult situations. Typically, CBT is conducted in two weekly group meetings for 6 weeks, and the focus is upon replacing negative thoughts relating to winter with positive ones.

CBT also uses behavioral activation to help those with SAD schedule enjoyable indoor or outdoor activities to fight the loss of interest that sufferers often experience during the winter months.

Antidepressants.  As we have seen, Seasonal affective disorder is a form of major depressive disorder and is associated with problems with Serotonin’s production. Antidepressants called serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s) can treat SAD when symptoms occur.

Vitamin D. Many people with SAD have a vitamin D deficiency, and so many folks opt to try and treat SAD by taking vitamin D nutritional supplements. However, researchers tested whether vitamin D is effective for treating seasonal affective disorder found mixed results in studies conducted, with some results indicating it is just as effective as light therapy and other researchers finding it had no effect on SAD.

 Some Words of Hope

If you are suffering from the effects of SAD, do not give up hope. New research is being conducted every year. They may find a better way to control SAD or prevent it from occurring.

No matter what, we here at CPTSD Foundation stand steadfastly behind you and will be here to uplift you when you are feeling down. Please remember to contact us if you need to talk or need information, and we will do our very best to get back to you.

We care about you and want to ease your burdens as much as possible, especially during the hard, dark, dreary days of winter.

“Don’t ever lose hope. Even when life seems bleak and hopeless, know that you are not alone.” ~ Nancy Reagan

“We’re all in this together. It’s okay, to be honest. It’s okay to ask for help. It’s okay to say you’re stuck, or that you’re haunted, or that you can’t begin to let go. We can all relate to those things. Screw the stigma that says otherwise. Break the silence and break the cycle, for you are more than just your pain. You are not alone.” ~ Jamie Tworkowski

If you a survivor or someone who loves a survivor and cannot find a therapist who treats complex post-traumatic stress disorder, please, contact CPTSD Foundation. We have a staff of volunteers who have been compiling a list of providers who treat CPTSD. They would be happy to give you more ideas about where to look for and find a therapist to help you. Go to the contact us page and send us a note stating you need help, and our staff will respond quickly to your request.

Are you a therapist who treats CPTSD? Please, consider dropping us a line to add you to our growing list of providers. You would get aid in finding clients, and you would be helping someone find the peace they deserve. Go to the contact us page and send us a note, and our staff will respond quickly.

Shortly, CPTSD Foundation will have compiled a long list of providers who treat complex post-traumatic stress disorder. When it becomes available, we will be putting it on our website www.CPTSDFoundation.org.

Make sure to visit us and sign up for our weekly newsletter to help keep you informed on treatment options and much more for complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

If you or a loved one live in the despair and isolation that comes with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, please, come to us for help. CPTSD Foundation offers a wide range of services, including:

 

Free Winter Holiday Support 2020

60 Days of CPTSD Strategies 

One email a day to help you through the holidays!

  • Does the thought of the upcoming holiday season cause you anxiety?
  • Could you use some help with healthy boundaries, self-care, and making your healing a priority, amidst the chaos?
  • Maybe you could just use some extra encouragement during the upcoming holiday season?
  • Would a single email per day contain a video, audio, inspiring quote, or encouraging thought, be something you would find helpful?

If you answered “YES” to any of these questions, why not join us for Winter Holiday Support?

The Healing Book Club

Today, CPTSD Foundation would like to invite you to our healing book club, reading a new book that began in September. The title of the latest featured book is The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk.

Led by Sabra Cain, the healing book club is only $7 per month, the fee going towards scholarships for those who cannot afford access to materials offered by CPTSD Foundation.

Should you decide to join the Healing Book Club, please purchase your books through our Amazon link to help us help you.

All our services are reasonably priced, and some are even free. So, to gain more insight into how complex post-traumatic stress disorder is altering your life and how you can overcome it, sign-up; we will be glad to help you.  If you cannot afford to pay, go to www.cptsdfoundation.org/scholarship to apply for aid. We only wish to serve you.

]]> https://cptsdfoundation.org/2020/12/14/seasonal-affective-disorder-and-its-interaction-with-complex-trauma/feed/ 2 Seasonal Affective Disorder, Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Complex Relational Trauma https://cptsdfoundation.org/2020/12/07/seasonal-affective-disorder-complex-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-and-complex-relational-trauma/ https://cptsdfoundation.org/2020/12/07/seasonal-affective-disorder-complex-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-and-complex-relational-trauma/#comments Mon, 07 Dec 2020 12:49:43 +0000 https://cptsdfoundation.org/?p=234877 Everyone experiences some version of the winter blues when they are caught inside and unable to move about as much as they would like because of the cold and snow. But some people experience a type of major depression that affects them in the fall and winter called seasonal affective disorder that is highly impairing and disruptive to their lives.

What is this strange form of depression and how does it relate to other forms of mental health problems?

This article will focus on answering these questions about the relationships between seasonal affective disorder (SAD), complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), and complex relational trauma.

What is SAD?

To be clear from the start, many who suffer from SAD have not experienced complex relational trauma, so it is unwise to say that SAD is a trauma-related disorder. Indeed, SAD is thought to have physical causes, not traumatic ones.

Seasonal affective disorder is a form of major depression that affects an estimated 10 million Americans with another 10-20% having a milder form. SAD is four times more common in women than men.

SAD doesn’t only occur in winter as it can also form in the summertime, but that is much rarer.

The symptoms of seasonal affective disorder in winter are as follows:

  • Tendency to oversleep
  • Weight gain
  • A drop in energy levels
  • Feelings of hopelessness and sadness
  • Decreased physical activity
  • Fatigue
  • Irritability
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Avoidance of social situations
  • Suicidal thoughts or actions

The symptoms of SAD in summer are slightly different:

  • Weight loss
  • Insomnia
  • Poor appetite
  • Agitation
  • Anxiety

No matter when people are affected by SAD they are critically ill and should take their condition seriously.

What is Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder forms in response to chronic traumatization through long-term emotional, physical, and sexual abuses, domestic violence, being held captive, living in a war zone, and more negative experiences.

While there are exceptions, it is children who are most likely to form CPTSD because they are more vulnerable and totally reliant on their caregivers to meet their most basic needs for life. When these needs are not met and there is no foreseeable escape in sight, the psyche can break down and the survivor’s sense of self and safety is affected deeply.

Because these children’s brains are still developing, severe trauma interrupts the course of their psychological development.

CPTSD is different from PTSD in several ways including the fact that it forms because of repeated incidences of trauma and its symptoms which include the following.

  • Losing memories of trauma or reliving them
  • Difficulty regulating emotions that often manifest as rage
  • Depression
  • Suicidal thoughts or actions
  • Sudden mood swings
  • Feeling detached from oneself
  • Feeling different from others
  • Feeling ashamed
  • Feeling guilty
  • Difficulty maintaining relationships
  • Difficulty trusting others
  • Seeking our or becoming a rescuer
  • Feeling afraid for no obvious reason
  • Having a feeling of always on the alert
  • Becoming obsessed with revenge on the perpetrator
  • Feeling a loss of spiritual attachment and either ignoring or depending upon religion for self-worth

As with the symptoms of SAD, these symptoms are severe and will need professional treatment.

What is Complex Relational Trauma?

Complex relational trauma is not found currently in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edition (DSM-5), so it is not an official diagnosable problem. Complex relational trauma is often interchanged with the terms complex post-traumatic stress disorder and developmental trauma.

In other words, CPTSD and complex relational trauma overlap so much as to be almost the same thing.

Complex relational trauma is trauma that occurs in primary relationships with parents, caregivers, guardians, and anyone who is in power over us. There is always a level of someone having power over the other for this type of abuse to occur. Complex relational trauma occurs more than once and usually over an extended length of time.

In fact, complex relational trauma need not end in childhood but can continue on into adulthood through different perpetrators such as leaving an abusive father’s home only to marry and live with an abusive husband.

To make it simple, complex relational trauma is any treatment from someone you look up to that is demeaning, erodes your dignity, destroys your feeling of safety, and hampers your developing a sense of well-being.

What is the Connection Between the Three?

The connections between the three conditions, SAD, CPTSD, and complex relational trauma are hazy even for mental health professionals and researchers. However, let us examine the three together and see what we come up with.

The term complex post-traumatic stress disorder is often translated as complex relational trauma and vise versa.

Seasonal affective disorder, a form of major depression, is caused and exacerbated by complex relational trauma.

Remembering that not everyone who suffers from SAD has experienced complex trauma in their lives, it is fairly clear, to this author at least, that people who experience seasonal affective disorder have experienced some form of child abuse in their past that has altered their brain and psychological developments.

It is important to note that neither seasonal affective disorder nor complex relational disorder is in the DSM-5, but they change the lives of millions in the United States every year.

Pulling It All Together

Seasonal affective disorder is not an unusual illness with millions suffering from its effects every year. SAD is disruptive and in some cases disabling.

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder is a disorder formed from repeated and severe abuse with entrapment where the child feels there is no escape.

Complex relational trauma involves someone of higher power abusing someone of lesser power as in a parent/child relationship but is not confined to that relationship alone.

This article’s main focus was to inform its readers about the connections between SAD, CPTSD, and complex relational trauma. In future posts, we shall examine together with other causes of seasonal affective disorder and why so many of us feel so lousy during the holidays.

Try to love and live the question itself. Don’t search for the answer. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer. ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

When you follow your bliss… doors will open where you would not have thought there would be doors; and where there wouldn’t be a door for anyone else. ~ Joseph Campbell

If you a survivor or someone who loves a survivor and cannot find a therapist who treats complex post-traumatic stress disorder, please, contact CPTSD Foundation. We have a staff of volunteers who have been compiling a list of providers who treat CPTSD. They would be happy to give you more ideas about where to look for and find a therapist to help you. Go to the contact us page and send us a note stating you need help, and our staff will respond quickly to your request.

Are you a therapist who treats CPTSD? Please, consider dropping us a line to add you to our growing list of providers. You would get aid in finding clients, and you would be helping someone find the peace they deserve. Go to the contact us page and send us a note, and our staff will respond quickly.

Shortly, CPTSD Foundation will have compiled a long list of providers who treat complex post-traumatic stress disorder. When it becomes available, we will be putting it on our website www.CPTSDFoundation.org.

Make sure to visit us and sign up for our weekly newsletter to help keep you informed on treatment options and much more for complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

If you or a loved one live in the despair and isolation that comes with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, please, come to us for help. CPTSD Foundation offers a wide range of services, including:

 

The Healing Book Club

Today, CPTSD Foundation would like to invite you to our healing book club, reading a new book that began in September. The title of the latest featured book is The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk.

Led by Sabra Cain, the healing book club is only $7 per month, the fee going towards scholarships for those who cannot afford access to materials offered by CPTSD Foundation.

Should you decide to join the Healing Book Club, please purchase your books through our Amazon link to help us help you.

All our services are reasonably priced, and some are even free. So, to gain more insight into how complex post-traumatic stress disorder is altering your life and how you can overcome it, sign-up; we will be glad to help you.  If you cannot afford to pay, go to www.cptsdfoundation.org/scholarship to apply for aid. We only wish to serve you.

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