What is Anhedonia?

Anhedonia is the lack of pleasure, and it’s a symptom that affects millions of people. Learn what it feels like and how it may be affecting your everyday activities.

#Anhedonia #Depression #MentalHealth

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Psych Hub is an educational service, and the information in this video is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you or someone you know are experiencing what you believe are mental health symptoms, please consult with a trained medical professional or a licensed mental health provider. We recommend consulting with a licensed behavioral health provider before trying any of the strategies mentioned in our materials.

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[MrJamiez]

Imagine being so emotionally lost that you can't even cry, even if you wanted to? To even lose the ability to cry, is true despair!

[aprilcena]

I have suffered this symptom for 14 years. I've been going to therapy for nine years yet somehow I'm just coming across this word this year. So much for getting help

[dedricklane]

Even when I’m happy and things are going well there’s always this underlying feeling of being unsatisfied, sad, not knowing what I’m feeling or lack of joy and pleasure from people, things and activities that I know I love.

[NotANameist]

I’m glad you were able to go back to the shelter and that the puppies make you happy again

[KariMaleesha]

I'm really getting worried about myself now. There's nothing out there that brings me any drop of happiness

Update : 20th of July 2023.

Since this post got some attention, I felt like providing a little update, just to share the power of 365 days.

When I posted this, I was at such a low point in my life. Covid ruined everything, lost some of the passions that I held dearly to my life. I was drowning in all these issues, and I had no way to overcome them. I became numb eventually, and I think that's when I came across this video and made the origial post.

However, my life has changed drastically ever since I made this post. These are the things I followed, and they might help one of you too.

1. I started working out: I've never ever been into fitness. I became obese with the arrival of quarantine, and I got to a point where I hated how I looked and everything. I used to get these leg cramps, couldn't move without sweating, and I was completely hopeless fitness-wise. I got so tired to the point where I knew I was gonna die either way. I could either die being the obese person I was or try to die faster by actually trying to work out. I swear that was my initial thought. Even though I wanted to lose weight, I had no idea where to start. Plus, I didn't want to go to a gym. I'm from a third-world country, therefore most of our gyms can be uninspected, and I didn't wanna lose my life in a hazard like that. I decided to give calisthenics a shot coupled with intermittent fasting, and they were things I could do in the comfort of my house. Long story short, I managed to lose 35kg in less than 4 months. I'm 5'11'', and this transformation put me at 78kg, which was my ideal weight. I can write an entire book on my weight loss journey itself, but since this post isn't about it, I'd stop it here.

2.I started reading: So, I had lost weight, and I felt super light physically. Did it make me feel any more purposeful? Absolutely not. I was still dead inside, but hey, at least I could do 100 push-ups from not being able to do a single push-up. I knew I should be able to take pride in my achievement, but to be honest, it didn't make me feel anything empowering. So, I knew it didn't fix anything mentally, but losing that weight made me want to approach new things more than ever. If I could put in the work and lose weight systematically, what else could I achieve that way? Yes, reading! That's something I haven't done since I was a child. English is my third language, and I always wanted to improve my English, so I thought maybe reading in English would help me get around it. I started reading articles and books on various topics. There's this website called PDF Drive, and I could find lots of reading material there for me


3. I got into stoicism: I continued reading various sorts of books, and it was a matter of time until I came across philosophical books. I found a lot of interest in them than I expected, and I fell in love with this philosophy named Stoicism. Amor fati became my daily mantra, and there's this YouTube channel named Daily Stoic which provided me with all the essential information on stoicism. Little did I know, it cured the sides of my spirituality that I couldn't put my finger on. Bless you Ryan Holiday.

4.Entered 2023: I achieved the aforementioned milestones in 2022, and when I entered 2023, I was a new man. I turned 25 this year, and I felt like I was at peace more than ever. Now I'm a full-time writer, and I actually make some decent money off it. I'm insanely driven, and my goal is to make education accessible here in Sri Lanka -- where I'm from. I don't chase happiness; I don't even think about it. I just want to make sure I spend every second with a purpose. As long as I do my best, it's enough for me to be hopeful for tomorrow.

I just don't try to control anything I cannot. All I can do is react to what happens to me, and I always try to maintain self-awareness to the best of my abilities.

I might have forgotten some steps here and there that I followed, but these are the most essential things I followed. If you have any questions or want any further clarifications, please feel free to ask 🤍

Am I happy? nope. Am I sad? nope.

I like this middle stage between happiness and sadness better cuz I know both emotions will wear off after some time. But I can maintain this middle-stage state for weeks, even months and it makes me feel stable and peaceful.

[rutwickgangurde]

This bloody lockdown has given me this. I am a music nut, now I can't even feel music.

[GS-cgyn]

I’m so sick of hearing “talk to your doctor” (or therapist). With what money?!?!?!? They charge a fortune, and even if they didn’t, when can you go when you work full time hours?!?!

[imbertjerome]

After my break up I can not feel love. I used to feel the love whenever I listening to music or watching a romantic movie but now it's just nothing there just emptiness.

[WisconsinWanderer]

why am I just hearing about this in the last 6 months? i experienced my first bout with anhedonia a month ago but I’ve been dealing with depression for decades. That was the worst thing i ever experienced in my entire life, at 67 I get so overwhelmed with this battle. The world is changing so fast and i’m totally powerless over it. I eat right and exercise daily i do volunteer work with my community but the flame in me is flickering. I have many therapist over the years some good some not so. I lost my wife and son to mental illness years back my step kids too. It’s been hard to move on but it’s one day at a time. thank you everyone 😊

[Steven-s]

Boring, tasteless, no happiness in any facet of my life. Even things I used to enjoy feel like a chore. I don't want to go anywhere, ever. I have no interest in learning anything new or meeting anyone new. I only enjoy sleep, I enjoy the void of unconsciousness and enjoy the occasional dream that I remember. So I oversleep on my days off then wake up with a headache and feel horrible. It's like torture that never ends unless I'm asleep. Every waking moment is like hell. Just an ongoing, monotonous, boring tasteless, pointless existence. That's exactly what it is, existing, that's all it is. I've actually forgotten what happiness even feels like. I'm so tired of acting. Acting like I'm happy, acting like the joke I heard was funny, acting like I enjoyed something or someone's presence when I really felt nothing at all and all just to be polite and socially accepted. Food barely even has a taste. I love chocolate but it is bland anymore. I love video games but they seem pointless and feel like a chore or a failed attempt to feel something. It's just going through the motions to exist. I sometimes even enjoy certain types of physical pain and I don't know why. To feel alive? To remind myself that I am alive? To feel anything at all? I feel like this every day. I look forward to my days off from work then they are boring and I don't even enjoy them in the slightest. This is my existence and I've been accepting of it as much as I can. I can't understand how people are ever happy for extended periods of time. For a long time I thought how I feel is normal and I've done my very best to just man up and deal with it. I didn't know there was even a word for it and honestly I don't care much anymore because I'm so accustomed to it. I heard once that life was just suffering and I believed it because I've felt this way ever since I can remember. Well, I'm tired and I have to work in the morning so rant over.

[BellatrixLestrange-unpt]

I embrace my Anhedonia. I use it as my coping mechanism and it works for me im done with human feelings. So i choose to stay emotionless foŕ reasons i only disclose when I see fit!

[Chris-lzfs]

I'm 46 and have had this since I was 14. That was when I felt a complete loss of hope and only felt a cold emptiness blow through my heart. I didn't know what it was and mental & emotional health wasn't openly talked about as much as it is now - if it was, it was generally viewed with suspicion and fear, like talking about the monsters under the bed. As a result, I kept this to myself which was the worst thing I could do. I have never felt love nor happiness and generally have refused to have relationships with other people simply because I have no love to offer. But that's the way it is for me and that's that.

[CJFreeza]

I live with this everyday. Severe anhedonia, nothing else matters

[margopaton]

I’ve been feeling like this for as far back as I remember, but more recently since my Dad died. I never know it had a name. I’m in a terrible state of mind just now. I’m lost, it’s all an effort and I can’t be bothered with anything. I’ve lost my mojo.

[marina.nalune]

Im crying and thinking right now: will i be really interested in my activities again ?.
It feels like I'm trying to grab water when I search for acticies for my liking, but in the end the water still leaks out and leaves nothing behind

[charlseiagbon]

I think that every body who suffers from this should test their cortisol levels, especially if you also have a sleeping disorder. Bare in mind that the normal range for cortisol is much lower after 10pm so you should test you cortisol both in the daytime and at night

[Nerdy_The_Punk]

This made me cry because of how much I can relate to losing pleasure in things you love.

[nuggets]

i didnt know this was such a common thing. i was actually starting to worry. I just feel so emotionally flat all the time and its been building up to just being a all the time thing. I also have almost zero interest in things i normally loved like gaming. And along those lines i could get so into a game i could mentally visualize creative characteristics about a character i play as in a game or the environment they are in or role play. But since 5 months ago when all this started thats all been impossible. I still do things i used to love but its not the same. I almost dont feel like me any more. I also have this extreme tiredness all th time and massive constant brain fog. I normally used to only get this with depression. but im not depressed. Im pretty aware of it when i am. so i have no idea whats causing mine. I'm almost scared i'll never be able to enjoy things again like i used to, or feel emotions again its been lasting so long.

[Marko-rrze]

I feel something like this for 3 years...
I feel like im dead, i feel coldness inside of me.
Its very hard to explain, but i feel drained, like someone took my energy and soul and its very weird...
I feel lifeless walking through city streets around people and on public transport.
I can even feel how my clothes are on my body and there is strange chill.
I cant not to ask myself what is this sorcery?
But i do think its from stress, depression, suppresed feelings, toxic people (negative energy). Isolation... Bunch of things mixed up.

[dylanmartinez]

I’m a big music lover and I’ve been my whole life ever since early childhood. As I started to enter my teen years, I started struggling with depression and sever anxiety. Music would always help and heal me but now I feel nothing when I listen to music. There was nothing I loved more on the world that music and it was always my dream to like be in a band one day. But now the gift of music was taken away from me and I don’t know who I am anymore without it. I just want to enjoy music again like I used to. Not enjoying music feels like a sickness like a cancer inside me. Please god I just want to enjoy music again 😔