Emotional Flatlining... What is it?

What is emotional flatlining? We do these things because they’re enjoyable and we get pleasure out of them. However, what if you stopped feeling enjoyment out of normally fun activities? This is what’s known as anhedonia, otherwise recognized as emotional flatlining. The resulting numbness of this condition can be overwhelming and scary, however, it’s something that not everyone knows about. In this video, we’ll be discussing anhedonia and shed some light on the lesser-known details.

Disclaimer: This video is for informative purposes only. It is important to see a doctor or other mental health professional if you feel that you feel that you are struggling.

#anhedonia #emotionalflatlining

Writer: Sidney Thompson
Script Editor: Morgan Franz
Script Manager: Kelly Soong
VO: Amanda Silvera
Animator: Vanessa Valdivia
YouTube Manager: Cindy Cheong

References:

[julieking]

“Emotional Flatlining” is so accurate. I have told those close to me I feel like I died and God forgot to stop my heart. 😢

[lilac]

Amanda's voice is so calm and relaxing

[zzyz]

I'm someone whose hobbies or interests never last long. The only thing that ever lasted long enough was my love for painting, which ended up feeling like a burden now. At this point I'm just afraid to try out anything new bc I know it's not going to last long and I'll just end up wasting my time, energy and resources. Haha :')

[llenn._.n]

yes, ..I've never visited a doctor or a therapist. I tell myself its just a phase and will pass away but.. :)

[berelinde]

I'm convinced that anhedonia begins as a coping mechanism. There are times when not feeling anything at all is blessed relief from more troubling emotions, so there's less desire to seek treatment. When people begin to anticipate disappointment following pleasurable feelings, some of them try strive more for just maintaining an even keel.

[pofficial]

ironic how i can't love and trust anyone irl but i can litteraly make a monologue of my life to strangers in comments

[anonymousbee]

I have observed that I had started feeling numb more and more, when I gave up my power and believed and took to heart everything my family, friends, teachers and society told me. I started losing my own intuition and trust in my sense of judgement. That led me to things that I didn't want or cherish for prolonged time. I am on the way to becoming better with feeling more again, but it has taken so much life of me and years and years. 😞 Thank you Psych to go

[thewolfiedoggo]

When u have all the signs of depression in 69 psych2go videos but then u remember that they were for educational purposes:
Thank god!

[richardmattocks]

I have both. Never felt it was an issue, but yeah, never really felt “fun”. Just lived my life in “meh” mode. As an abused introvert, it’s tricky to get out and about as not only do I feel better alone, but being around people scare me as I’m expecting to be bullied.

Makes any “go and try this” hard.

[r_a_c_h_e_l]

Can you please talk about loss of empathy??? Luv ur videos ❤️

[maficolamakhata]

Its not free to see a doctor. I hope the financially unstable people can get the help they need 🙌

[muzerhythm]

I'm not a doctor...but I have been dealing with depression and anxiety for over 20 years and had days or weeks where I had that "numb nothing matters" feeling. The thing I tried and seemed to help was getting reconnected to who I REALLY AM. Not what family, friends, ect. tell me how I SHOULD be. I would do the things I once enjoyed...even though it gave me no pleasure...but at the same time recall a good memory with it. EX: Hearing a song...then think about fun times with old friends even though we may not be friends anymore...AT THE TIME we enjoyed each other's company and had good times...I just focused on good memories...not what happened later in the friendship. Like I said...I'm not a doctor...but sharing my experience and hope this can help. Sending Hugs.❤😁

[rift]

This is kinda how I feel. Like we’re all meat bags doing work. There is nothing that makes me happy. Work, sleep, move on. And when I wake up from this phase, I’m depressed.

[Gilbert]

I had this, my friends are going through this and I had no idea it had a name

[_larchiviste_]

I've always felt empty inside, ever since something happened when I was 14. After seeing this, I think I should go and see a doctor about it...

[cherrybomb]

This Woman's voice is SO soothing... Can I get her on loop when I have my Panic Attacks??

[diilnuv]

anhedonia
1:09 social
1:17 physical
1:41 what causes anhedonia?
2:15 how is it diagnosed?
2:51 how is it treated?

um during quarantine i severely burnt out, my comfort songs didnt cheer me up, i cldnt eat (everything just tasted like nothing/cardboard and i was eating just for the sake of putting some nutrition in me) and i cldnt rlly sleep well. i didnt want to talk to my family and withdrew from friends (on social media). a yr later im not quite sure how i got out of it but a role model (yoongi) once said that he gets out of burnout by just sticking to a routine and just doing it; it was pretty hard but i had nothing else to do so i just forced myself to do it. i also found this channel at the time, and i think somehow i started making progress. im in australia, and our quarantine ended pretty quickly so i was soon outside, and away from my room which definitely helped. the effects of my burn out r still with me a yr later, im still trying to make up for the work i missed out on but im getting thru it! my parents dont think burn out is a thing, they just thought i was being lazy, and if anyone says that to you, YOU are NOT lazy, its not ur fault. personally i think i burnt out bc i didnt handle my workload well, i procrastinated so much that it ended up drowning me. i made a better environment for my self where i wldnt get distracted and found some rlly good books ('atomic habits' by james clear rlly helped, theres a free pdf online! and 'deep work' by cal newport and 'can't hurt me' by david goggins) good luck to everyone and rmbr, no matter how much someone else is struggling, it doesnt make ur struggles less valid <3

[Xamry]

The first stage of my depression and potentially emotional flatlining is not being able to see a doctor, say, for affordability reasons

[Silvermiale]

This might explain why I haven’t really been able to function normally for about 6 years. I’m not sure what might have happened then to trigger it, but some of the people in my life aren’t the most helpful when it comes to it. I don’t really do much throughout the day, even though I want to. At first people were worried, and now they just treat me like I’m not even trying, or like there’s no reason I don’t finish tasks. It feels like a mental blockage, keeping me from doing simple stuff, and connecting to people. It’s even kept me from getting a job. With all this pressure, I feel so trapped, and so useless.

[amberd.]

Anhedonia is the worst symptom of my depression. When I'm super sad, I feel like I have an enemy to fight and I'm motivated to fight it. With anhedonia, it's like my motivation is attacked and I have no desire to change that and it hurts. Right now the 2 symptoms I really struggle to shake is the withdrawing from other people and the desire for intimacy. I feel like people threaten my peace and happiness and I choose to be alone all the time even though I know it's bad for me and makes my life more meaningless each day.