Mental Health #
Mood Disorders #
Depression #
Family Dynamics #
Studies have found that children of narcissistic parents have significantly higher rates of depression and lower self-esteem during adulthood than those who did not perceive their caregivers as narcissistic. [19]
This is probably a major part of why I’m depressed.
Personality Disorders #
Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) #
Attachment theory #
Atlas personality #
Quoted from above:
The Atlas personality is typically found in a person who felt obliged during childhood to take on responsibilities such as providing psychological support to parents, often in a chaotic family situation. [1]
The result in adult life can be a personality devoid of fun, and feeling the weight of the world on their shoulders. [2] Depression and anxiety, as well as oversensitivity to others and an inability to assert their own needs, are further identifiable characteristics. [3] In addition, there may also be an underlying rage against the parents for not having provided love, [4] and for exploiting the child for their own needs. [5]
This resonates with me. I definitely fit this description quite a bit. This must be why it’s so difficult for me to let myself “have fun” as an adult. I often don’t really know what is even “fun” or “enjoyable” to me. When I find myself with free time on my hands often I’m not sure what it is that I wan’t to do…
Superman complex #
A Superman complex is an unhealthy sense of responsibility, or the belief that everyone else lacks the capacity to successfully perform one or more tasks. Such a person may feel a constant need to “save” others and, in the process, takes on more work on their own. [1]
This also resonates with me, but not to quite the same degree as Atlas personality above. I think I’ve realized that I can’t take on everything and I possibly have an avoidant personality now to protect myself from doing this. I used to feel/do this more…
Traumatic bonding #
Parent-child relationships #
Abuse and/or neglect #
The children of dismissive caregivers or cruel/harsh caregivers can develop insecure attachments, which can be very dysfunctional. Inconsistencies in reward and punishment (i.e. intermittent reinforcement of good and bad treatment) can highlight the affection the child receives from the parent, forcing a split between the abuse and the kindness such that the child seeks to form an overall positive view of the caregiver and thus, focuses only on the affection and kindness they receive. [15] [8] Overall, a trauma bond develops such that the child’s sense of self is derived from their emotional dependence on the authority figure who, in this case, is the parent and/or caregiver.
Neurophysiological outcomes #
The experience of being in a trauma bond can have adverse neurobiological and neurophysiological outcomes. The body of the victim of a trauma bond is in a perpetual ‘fight-or-flight’ response state, which can increase cortisol levels that can have a cascading effect and trigger other hormones. Persistent, chronic stress can also hamper the cellular response in the body, thereby negatively impacting immunity, organ health, mood, energy levels, and more. [4] In the long run, this can cause epigenetic changes as well. Furthermore, a study conducted in 2015 found that the establishment of a trauma bond in infancy is also linked with amygdala dysfunction, neurobehavioral deficits, and increased vulnerability to psychiatric disorders later on in life. [29] ``Psychological abuse is correlated to sleep-related impairments. Disruption in sleep patterns leads to adverse neurophysiological problems, such as an increase in anxiety, and irritability. For victims of psychological abuse, the increase in cortisol affects the brain in such a manner that it allows the trauma bonding to be strengthened. [30]
Adverse mental health outcomes #
Trauma bonding is linked to several adverse mental health and well-being outcomes. As a result of the abuse itself and of their emotional dependence on their abusers, victims tend to develop a self-image that is incredibly negative. “[C]ontrolling, restricting, degrading, isolating, or dominating” abuse has a crippling effect on the self-image and self-esteem of the abused, and this psychological abuse is far more dangerous than physical abuse. [5]
Trauma bonding can also lead to dissociative symptoms that could be a self-preservation and/or coping mechanism.
Trauma bonds in parent-child relationships (wherein the child is the victim, and the parent is the abuser) can also lead to depressive symptoms later on in life. [9] In a 2017 study exploring this, it was found that an “affectionless control” parenting style, characterized by high protection and low care from parents, was a major predictor of depressive symptomology for the victim. In other words, the presence of poor parental bonding coupled with childhood trauma bonds increased the likelihood of the child developing depressive symptoms in the future. A negative self-image is formed when feelings of inadequacy and hopelessness persist and are reinforced by caregivers. Perpetual efforts to seek secure emotional attachments reap no rewards and a trauma bond facilitates a negative core schema that influences perceptions and interactions throughout one’s life. [9] This can give rise to mental health issues such as depression , bipolar disorder , mania , suicidality , and substance abuse that can be pervasive and lifelong.
Fuck…
Psychological trauma #
Treatment #
If, however, psychological trauma has caused dissociative disorders or complex PTSD , the trauma model approach (also known as phase-oriented treatment of structural dissociation) has been proven to work better than the simple cognitive approach.