Ho-ho-ho! Gather ’round, my little elves, for a tale not of the North Pole, but of a study from the Department of Psychiatry at the University Clinical Hospital Mostar. Now, this isn’t your typical Christmas story, but it’s an important one, about how the ghosts of childhood past—traumas like physical and sexual abuse—can haunt the minds of those with psychotic disorders.

In this study, 135 participants, not unlike the diverse helpers in Santa’s workshop, aged from 18 to 65, took part. They weren’t checking lists for naughty or nice, but rather, they were assessed using the MMSE-2, a tool much like my list, to screen their cognitive status. They also shared their life stories through a sociodemographic questionnaire, crafted just for this occasion.

To uncover the shadows of yesteryears, the Child Abuse Experience Inventory sleighed in, examining the dark corners of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, neglect, and domestic violence. The positive and negative syndrome scale, not unlike my list of who’s been good or bad, was used to evaluate the clinical profile of their conditions, while the SSI questionnaire peeked into the severity of their thoughts of not wanting to be part of this world anymore. And to see how well they were jingling through life, the WHODAS 2.0 was their guiding star.

The findings, my dear friends, were as clear as the star atop the Christmas tree: many of these individuals had been visited by the specter of childhood trauma, which played a not-so-merry part in their illness. Those who had witnessed abuse had a tougher time, with earlier onsets and longer durations of their conditions, more severe symptoms, and a lower degree of functionality—like a sleigh without snow.

And let’s not forget, during the civil war, a time when children should be dreaming of sugar plums, many were instead facing emotional abuse and domestic violence. It seems one traumatic event in childhood opens the door to more, much like one cookie leads to another.

So, what’s the moral of this story? It’s that childhood trauma is a serious issue, one that shapes the lives of those with psychotic disorders in profound ways. And just as I prepare all year for the big night, mental health workers need continuous education on childhood trauma to better design treatment plans, which should include a hearty dose of psychosocial support along with the traditional pharmacotherapy—like milk with cookies, one simply complements the other.

And with that, my dear elves, let’s remember to spread not just holiday cheer, but awareness and support all year round. Merry mental health to all, and to all a good insight! 🎅🎄