Overcoming ANHEDONIA: How to Bring Enjoyment Back into Your Life

Anhedonia is one of the most painful symptoms of depression—the loss of interest, pleasure, or reward in things that once brought you joy. You may find yourself disconnected from friends, hobbies, or even daily routines, and feel like nothing matters anymore. But despite how hopeless it feels, there is a path out. Overcoming anhedonia doesn’t start with waiting to feel better—it starts with behavior. The first step is acceptance: recognizing that the lack of enjoyment isn’t a sign of weakness or failure—it’s a symptom of depression. Once you let go of self-blame, you can begin to take small, manageable steps toward activities you used to enjoy, even if you don’t feel like doing them yet. Think of it like priming a dry well—your first efforts may seem pointless. But with perseverance, these actions start to bring results. First comes behavior, then reward, and finally, motivation. This is the key process behind recovering from anhedonia, grounded in behavioral activation and supported by clinical research. Whether it's painting for five minutes or walking around the block, the action itself—not your emotional response to it—is the starting point. Over time, enjoyment begins to return, followed by the desire to engage again. That’s the real path to restoring motivation and pleasure.

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[tomisaacson]

Excellent advice. I struggled with severe depression and anhedonia for nearly a decade. At times it was bad enough that I'd spend weeks only getting out of bed to eat or use the bathroom. No motivation or energy for anything except internet browsing and binge watching TV. And that was just to distract myself from the feelings of self-hatred and despair. It was so miserable I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Antidepressants were helpful but only in the sense that they gave me a bit of a push to start making sustained behavioral changes. I had to learn these lessons in the video the hard way, but I'm thankful I did. Now I'm off the anti-depressants and thriving.

[jenniferfox]

Yeah, it’s my day off, 11:30. I have no desire to go do anything. I don’t care if I make; money, have fame, have friends, take care of the lawn, go to a museum, have good food, etc. I have no desire whatsoever. I also am not crying or terribly down. Just here, staring at the screen and time is passing.

After watching this, I’m going to get up and just do an activity I need to do. First I’ll get mulch for the garden. Dirt for some flowers, send off the flyers to the printer for work, and tonight I’ll force myself to work on some of my art. I’m going to trust you’re method.

[jontyhartwig]

I've described it to others as. "Happiness and pleasure are separate. I am happy but I just can't experience pleasure. It's as if every experience has an enjoyment limit which is capped at 'nice'. "

[susiegibson]

I have suffered from anhedonia and lack of motivation for most of my adult life. Your analogies are perfect; I had already started to 'make' myself do things, and what you have said makes absolute sense. By making myself do things instead of sitting and waiting for inspiration to appear out of thin air, I've formed some good habits and am making some progress. Thank you for this insightful video.

[janeymorris]

Yes thanks for that, it is a horrible feeling and Very upsetting feels like my personality has vanished. Thanks very much x I love that you talk of the acceptance .

[SebastianKomor]

It can be quite soul crushing. On top of recently having been diagnosed with adhd, not finding joy in activities I loved all my life is frustrating to be polite.

[rebeccajones]

My mom always said "work comes first" and she was so wrong. Now I prioritize fun, even if I am not capable of having fun. Thank you for the water pump analogy. I was losing hope, but I will keep trying.

[rickshearer]

I felt like I wouldn't enjoy this video (lack of interest)...but decided to watch it anyway (action)...as a result, I actually enjoyed it (motivation)!

[debrala]

I left my home country and moved to the beach 7 months ago. Ive only gone to the beach 2 times since I got I got a dog, hoping he would stimulate my emotions, and get me out of the house. Nope, that didn't even I can't even bring myself to go to the grocery store to buy food. I'd rather not eat....
I had no idea that this had a name until I saw one of your videos a few weeks ago.... Now that I'm more aware of it, I am working on it. I still don't like going outside. Most days, I don't. But, I'm trying..

[peterwaikolea]

Thank you. I hit rock bottom but your explanation on how behavior leads to enjoyment and motivation gives me hope to get out of bed. Today I took a walk to my fave place and sat in the sun, then was nice to strangers. It is a start. Thank you; you have a reassuring voice and style that I appreciate much!

[Aasenzeng]

i used to be quite happy and confident when I was younger. I did not realize that my happiness came from me actually just doing things rather than thinking about why I am doing them. and this video video made me realize that, just keep on grinding 💪🏼

[liverpoolfan]

I lost interest in life, things I want to achieve are now dead, I’m daydreaming and mindlessly going through life

[marypearl]

I’m finally able to put a word to how I’ve been feeling for the past 5 months. 5 months ago, I was in a stressful situation that made me feel very stuck and made my anxiety SPIKE. I’ve always been a very paranoid and magical thinking person, so it did not shock me how anxious I was. But during this time and after I even cut this person off, I was experiencing both rumination and anhedonia. It’s not only that my favorite hobbies don’t bring me joy anymore, it’s that all I do when I try to get back to it now is ruminate about the past event. It makes me think I’ve been cursed. Sometimes I believe that things will never be the same again.

[kaitlynlanderyou]

I’ve been “just doing it” for 3.5 years and I’m no closer to feeling the joy or love of motherhood that left me with the birth of my second child; that can’t be the only solution. To also not acknowledge the absolute torture and grief of doing it anyway and feeling nothing tells me you don’t get it. It’s debilitating and isolating and soul crushing.

[MunabManay]

Thank God i've the ability to process these feelings and acknowledge my situation. I feel empathetic towards people who can't.

[violetmartin]

Sent too soon.., Anhedonia for over sixty years, and you describe my symptoms exactly and the advice you give is pretty much what I have been doing, but it returned every couple of years, now I know it is a recognised condition I understand it more, and thanks to you I have hope for the future…many, many thanks🇬🇧💕

[karentemprendola]

Dr. Nader you don't know how much I need to hear this. So many things I've lost the enjoyment to do things. People absolutely do think you have to enjoy everything you do. Thanks for putting it in perspective for me cause I thought something was wrong with me. I am going to try to do more things now knowing I don't have to absolutely enjoy them, but I can learn to with repetition.

[rsxrwscjpzdzwpxaujrr]

I've been anhedonic nearly all my life. And my example easily disproves this video. I've eaten food my whole life, as you can see by me not being dead from hunger, but eating food is not becoming pleasureful to me - it's a chore, that I have to keep doing in order to keep my body alive. So it doesn't work - I keep repeating the behaviour my whole life, but it never changes that I don't feel good from it.

[avlaure]

I just recently learned about this term anhedonia which perfectly captures how I've been feeling for the past few months. I appreciate the analogies presented in the video (pumping water, train cars) as they just make sense. This gives me hope and some sort of game plan and drive because I've learned that there is a way out. Hoping to be back to enjoying cooking, reading, and working. Thank you so much for this.

[analyseadams]

This is so enlightening! I always felt so bad about not being motivated to do the activities I used to enjoy, but now that I know that action precedes motivation I felt like I have a chance at fighting this symptom off. So thank you for the invaluable information, Dr. Nader! 👍🏽😊