Are you struggling to find any pleasure in going to class or engaging in projects or hobbies? Have you stopped enjoying hanging out with friends or doing activities that you used to love? You may be experiencing anhedonia.

Anhedonia is the inability to feel pleasure, interest or enjoyment from things you once liked. It is closely linked to depression, and in one study, around 70% of people with major depressive disorder showed obvious signs of anhedonia. However, you don’t have to have depression to experience anhedonia. It can be a symptom of many different disorders. Anhedonia can be found in people who deal with schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, substance use disorders, chronic illnesses or other disorders.

Are you wondering whether the lack of pleasure you feel might be anhedonia? Let’s take a look at some of the common symptoms of anhedonia, how it can affect you and how to seek treatment.

Symptoms of anhedonia

Anhedonia can present in a variety of ways, and there are a number of symptoms that you may experience. Here is a list of common symptoms of anhedonia:

• Numbness
• Boredom
• Apathy
• Negativity
• Trouble sleeping
• Low sex drive or libido
• Trouble spending time with people
• No desire to engage with the world
• Loss of interest in hobbies, activities or people
• Displays of false feelings or emotions
• Lack of motivation

Please note that some of these symptoms can overlap with a number of other disorders. For instance, while apathy can be a symptom of anhedonia, they are not the same thing. Anhedonia means you experience a lack of pleasure, while apathy means you feel a lack of motivation or energy. Feeling apathy by itself does not necessarily mean you have anhedonia. If you think you are experiencing anhedonia, you should go to a health care provider for a formal evaluation and diagnosis. 

Types of anhedonia

The symptoms of anhedonia that you experience may differ depending on what kind of anhedonia you have. There are two main types of anhedonia: social and physical. Let’s take a look at how they present themselves:

• Social anhedonia — This occurs when you stop enjoying or wanting to be around other people. Social engagement brings you no joy or pleasure, even if it’s with people you usually like spending time with. This can cause a lack of engagement with other people or avoiding social opportunities altogether.
• Physical anhedonia — This occurs when physical sensations such as touch, smells, sounds and tastes don’t bring you pleasure or joy. This can include sensations such as listening to music, eating food or engaging in sex. You may avoid doing these things because they bring you no pleasure, even if you know they are good for you (such as eating regularly).

Social anhedonia can make building and maintaining relationships difficult. If you aren’t enjoying spending time with others, it can be challenging to get up the motivation to go to events or seek out friends. Physical anhedonia can make it more difficult to take care of yourself or keep up with responsibilities. This can affect your schooling, jobs, or even diet and personal hygiene.

Both of these types of anhedonia can also be a spectrum. For some people, they may feel no joy at all in activities they once loved. Others may still feel some pleasure when doing things they enjoy, but it will be dulled or less pleasurable than it used to be.

Anhedonia may be caused by low serotonin or dysfunctions in the reward-processing center of the brain. Reward processing influences the area of the brain that controls effort, motivation, desire and pleasure. In people with anhedonia, the reward processing circuit may be interrupted, leading to loss of pleasure in enjoyable things.

Treatments for anhedonia

Treating anhedonia can be challenging, since there isn’t one standardized treatment for it. Sometimes, treating the underlying mental health condition (such as depression) can also decrease symptoms of anhedonia. However, some medications can lessen emotions and make anhedonia worse. You will have to work with your health care provider to determine which medications may improve your anhedonia. Medication for anhedonia is often offered alongside psychotherapy, which can help you identify and address negative thoughts and behaviors. 

If the things you used to love aren’t bringing you pleasure anymore, Lightfully U is here to help. Our licensed clinical experts can give you the tools you need to start addressing your symptoms of anhedonia and get back to enjoying the activities you love. When you’re ready to take the first step, reach out to our Admissions Concierge Team. We’ll take the next steps together, toward the fullest, brightest version of you.