At times, we feel closed in on ourselves, not knowing what we want or where we are going or leave our activities unfinished. That lack of drive to carry out our activities can be a sign of anhedonia.
Anhedonia is an indication that something is happening or about to happen in the body, which we must deal with promptly.
In the following article, we give you all the necessary information about this peculiar symptom, and how to address it.
What is anhedonia?
Anhedonia refers to the inability of the individual to enjoy activities that were previously pleasurable. This can appear in depressive disorders and schizophrenia as a negative symptom.
In this sense, anhedonia (from the Greekἀν- : an- “lack of” and ἡδονή : hedoné “pleasure”) is the inability to experience pleasure, loss of interest or satisfaction in almost all activities. It is considered a lack of reactivity to usually pleasurable stimuli.
In the article “Anhedonia: A Conceptual Revision,” they define anhedonia as “A lifelong character defect in the ability to experience pleasure.”
In the same study, pleasure is defined as “a strongly positive affect, an intense anticipation of the experiences that evoke it, a satisfying memory of the experience, and a complacency.”
It is important to emphasize that anhedonia is not in itself a mental disorder, it is a symptom that is usually one of the forms of expression of different types of mental illness. Precisely, it is the manifestation of a pathology, but that also generates, if it is not treated properly, other mental pathologies.
Causes of anhedonia
The main symptoms are linked to the brain chemistry itself, as well as to disorders of psychological origin. Here are the most common causes:
Impaired dopamine release
The cause of the appearance of anhedonia from a physiological point of view, is due to an alteration in our brainthat prevents the generation of dopamine, which is a chemical substance found in the brain and that is the cause of sensations. Pleasant.
In depressive processes, it happens that the brain inhibits the production of dopamine due to antidepressants, and otherwise, in states of schizophrenia, the production of this neurotransmitteris overstimulated. In both cases, there is a loss of the sensation of pleasure.
In this situation, the reward system of the central nervous system is not working.
Depression
Anhedonia in depression will appear more frequently, after stressful situations and upsets. As the depression subsides, the anhedonia will also subside. It is common in drug addicts and those withanxiety disorders .
In delicate cases, the depressed individual remains “emotionally frozen”, including those people whom he appreciates the most or those activities that made him enjoy the most, even simply feel.
Depression appears when there is an imbalance in the production of serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine, elements responsible for the emotional stability of the individual.
Schizophrenia
People with schizophrenia are characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized language or behavior, and altered cognitive ability. In this pathology, all painful experiences and those that produce pleasure or a sensation of well-being are nullified.
Dopamine is known as the happiness hormone, but if it is produced too little or too much, it can cause serious health problems, such as Parkinson’s disease or schizophrenia.
ToStudy concludes that various alterations of the central nervous system have been related to dopamine transmission disorders.
Drugs
Drugs, depending on their therapeutic use, can alter the function of dopamine receptors.
Remember that the alteration of adequate levels of dopamine in the brain is the main cause of the appearance of anhedonia. In some cases depression arises, in others schizophrenia and delirium.
Psychoactive substances
Psychoactives are those whose consumption alters the states of consciousness, mood and thought; exert powerful effects on these processes, leading to the release of significant amounts of dopamine, constituting apositive reinforcement that causes the phenomenon of dependency or addiction.
Certain drugs during use can generate large amounts of these neurotransmitters, much larger than those naturally produced in connection with healthy rewards, such as eating, listening to or playing music, or interacting socially.
Stress
In acute or punctual stress, the secretion of the neurotransmitter CRH (corticotropin-releasing hormone) occurs. This molecule causes the release of dopamine, associated with the brain system of pleasure.
But, in prolonged stress, this regulatory function of CRH is lost, and no more dopamine is released, leading to depression.
Therefore, in new situations of acute stress, in which this neurotransmitter is secreted, the emotional response is negative, which encourages the depressive state, limiting the sensations of satisfaction and pleasure.
Emotional disturbances
High levels of dopamine are associated with pleasure, while a decrease in dopamine is associated with negative emotions.
These altered states in dopamine, generate in the individual, different emotional states, with manifestations of disinterest anddetachmentfrom the activities and people of daily life.
symptoms of anhedonia
The indications of anhedonia are mostly reflected in negative psychological manifestations. Here we present the most common:
Loss of interest in daily activities
The fact of not perceiving a sensation of satisfaction, after the culmination of daily activities, induces the individual to lose interest in doing them again.
The presence of this fact indicates that something is happening in the individual that manifests a change in his normal behavior. This unusual loss in performing activities of daily living is a sign of anhedonia.
loss of appetite
When the individual suffers from this symptom, among the consequences is a lack of appetite. Emotionssuchas depression or grief can lead to loss of appetite. The individual temporarily loses taste and pleasure for food.
Isolation
This is the typical type of social anhedonia. The individual loses the impulse to interact with other people, moving away from the social circles to which he belongs.
It’s not that he becomes asocial, it’s just that the pleasure he used to get from meeting other people has temporarily disappeared.
Fatigue
In this state of lack of stimulation, lack of goals and objectives, due to a lack of energy or drive, it can generate a state of fatigue or tiredness.
Normally the person begins their activities leaving them half finished, is unable to create new habits and generally has a lack of will to do things.
loss of libido
The loss of sexual desire is another of the consequences of anhedonia. This can imply alterations in the levels of interest, motivation, anticipation, expectation and prediction of the effort, each one more complex. And all of them are processed by different but overlapping neural circuits.
At optimal dopamine levels, we radiate the best version of ourselves, we are motivated, happy, satisfied, our interpersonal relationships flow, our libido is good.
sleep disturbances
People with anhedonia tend to spend more time in a dream state. This is because dopamine is not produced by the brain in sufficient quantity to inhibit the production of melatonin when the day begins, and in this sense, we remain in a state of sleep.
An article entitled “Biochemical bases involved in sleep regulation”states that when dopamine is blocked, sleep time tends to increase. Remember that the physiological origin of anhedonia is the low production of dopamine by the brain.
Lack of concentration
Concentration is understood as the ability or capacity of the human being to focus their cognitive resources on a stimulus or action. In this context, when we have stimuli towards which we direct our efforts, many of our cognitive processes are focused on that objective. This thanks to dopamine.
The lack of concentration is generated then, and among other reasons, to the low levels of dopamine in the brain, a hormonethat drives us to achieve the objectives. As mentioned before, we can sometimes leave things half done.
fake emotions
False emotions or negative emotions are very frequent during the anhedonia stage, among other reasons, due to the use of reactions that do not respond to their stimulus. For example, pretending to show happiness when receiving a stimulus, when you really don’t feel it.
types of anhedonia
Currently there are several types of anhedonia, however, below we describe two of the most important:
Social
It is one by which the person affected by this symptom does not enjoy any of the activities of a social nature in which they participate, since contact with other people no longer gives them satisfaction.
This situation includes relationships with your old friends, with whom you have become so close in the past. Social anhedonia produces a strong isolation, because the individual prefers to stay away and in solitude.
Physical
It is manifested by the decrease in pleasure or satisfaction that is obtained from the perception of any physical stimulus, the most common being those linked to the enjoyment of food or sexual relations, but here are the physical stimuli of which the taste has been lost such as sports activities.
The consequences will be derived according to the stimulus that is affected, and may lead to other disorders such as eating, weight loss, impotence, among others.
treatment for anhedonia
Anhedonia can be difficult to treat. In general, the mental disorder that is causing the symptoms needs to be treated first.
For this reason, the treatment will depend on the cause of the anhedonia, since it will not be the same if it is an isolated and specific event, as if it is a symptom of schizophrenia or depression .
Psychological therapy
Thanks to the fact that there are various Psychological Currents, with different techniques that can, depending on the state in which the anhedonia is found, treat it; There are specialists who work with various techniques that, when the patient is evaluated, will indicate which is the most convenient to use.
Prescription drugs
The absence of dopamine in the brain, is the main cause for which anhedonia arises, the prescribed pharmacology must go towards the stimulation of the production of this neurotransmitter in the brain.
Reduction in the consumption of sugar and caffeine
It is necessary to maintain normal levels of dopamine in the body. Excessively consumed caffeine causes increased dopamine levels in the brain, consequently causing the individual to suffer from episodes of schizophrenia, limiting feelings of pleasure or satisfaction.
Likewise, animal studies indicate that sugar influences brain reward circuits in a similar way to those observed when addictive drugs are consumed.
Therefore, sugar modifies dopamine levels in the body, altering the individual’s sense of satisfaction and pleasure.
Healthy nutrition
A simple way to maintain both dopamine levels and the rest of the individual’s blood chemistry components is to guarantee a balanced supply of proteins, vitamins , minerals and fats through a balanced diet.
Physical exercise
In the course of actual physical exertion, the brain only releases dopamine and serotonin in certain areas. But if you exercise as a regular activity, it contributes to the concentration of hormones, which grow continuously in most areas of the brain.
The side effects so pleasant that it entails are a greater power of concentration and an increase in joy and satisfaction.
Meditation
To control the depressive states of the individual, specialists and the literature recommend the practice of meditation .
The primary intention of meditation is to achieve a state of mental relaxation, which allows the brain to balance the deficiency and over stimulation in the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter responsible for states of pleasure and inner satisfaction.
University Professional in the area of Human Resources, Postgraduate in Occupational Health and Hygiene of the Work Environment, 14 years of experience in the area of health. Interested in topics of Psychology, Occupational Health, and General Medicine.