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Seasonal Affective Disorder and Its Interaction with Complex Trauma
The Misery of SAD
In the last article in this series of four posts written for the CPTSD Foundation on seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and complex trauma, we examined together with the 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.
