Anhedonia is a condition that affects many people today, causing them to lose the ability to experience pleasure in activities that used to bring them joy. It can be a debilitating condition, impacting every facet of life, from work to personal relationships. If you’re experiencing anhedonia, you’re not alone. There are several reasons why people develop this condition, and understanding them can help you find ways to cope with the symptoms. In this article, we’ll explore five reasons you may be in anhedonia and provide helpful tips on how to treat it.
Anhedonia is a new word coined by author Tanith Carey to describe the feeling of being joyless and unable to experience pleasure in life. It is not exclusive to individuals with major depression, but can also be a standalone condition. It is often characterized by feeling overwhelmed from modern life, causing the stress hormone cortisol to dampen the action of the feel-good chemicals in the brain. This creates a feeling of numbness, making someone feel like they are “stuck in the grey space in between where so many of us live our lives.” Anhedonia can dull all aspects of life, from sex to socializing, and can be a red flag that your brain’s reward system is not working properly.
One of the first signs of anhedonia is that it dims an individual’s love of hobbies or pastimes they once enjoyed. This is because the enjoyment of a hobby or activity is divided into three parts: looking forward to doing it beforehand, enjoying it in the moment, and remembering it positively after. If your brain’s reward system is not working well, you may not get past the first stage and stop looking forward to things altogether. However, to get your brain’s reward circuit back on track, a technique called “behavioral activation therapy” can be used. This involves consistently doing a little bit of what you used to enjoy, even if you don’t feel like it at first. Doing the opposite of what anhedonia is telling you to do can eventually help boost your mood.
Anhedonia can also dial down the pleasure you get from touch, which can affect sex life. One reason for this may be a disruption to dopamine levels in the brain’s main reward system, which is driven by feel-good brain chemical dopamine. To overcome this, putting on some music during sex can make it much more enjoyable as music can enhance the sensation of touch. Additionally, taking a walk in natural, bright light has been found to improve color vision and trigger the release of dopamine from the retina.
Tanith Carey also discusses in her book how anhedonia can affect how you perceive the world around you. When you are feeling “meh,” you may see the world in more muted shades as anhedonia can cause the photoreceptors in the retina of the eye to not process the full range of color coming in. However, taking a walk in bright, natural light can help activate your dopamine receptors and improve color vision.
Lastly, anhedonia can also affect how delicious food tastes. Hormone changes and decreased dopamine levels can blunt your palate, causing food to not taste as good as it used to. Herbs and spices, as well as sharp-tasting foods like vinegar and lemon, can help cut through the blunted senses and be registered more strongly by the brain. Pepper, chili, cinnamon, garlic powder (as long as it doesn’t contain too much salt), and ginger are all good options.
In conclusion, anhedonia can be a debilitating condition that can dull all aspects of life. However, there are techniques to help overcome it such as behavioral activation therapy, putting on music during sex, walking in bright, natural light, and incorporating herbs and spices into meals. By identifying the symptoms of anhedonia and taking steps to combat it, individuals can recapture life’s highs and experience joy and pleasure once again.
