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Anhedonia is an inability or reduced ability to experience pleasure. It can involve a lack of motivation to seek out pleasure or a lack of enjoyment in pleasurable activities as they’re being experienced or both. It’s one of the primary symptoms ofdepressionas well as several other mental health conditions.

This article will discuss the different types of anhedonia, and cover the symptoms and causes of anhedonia. It will then explain how anhedonia is diagnosed and describe possible treatment options.

What Are the Symptoms of Anhedonia?

The fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association’sDiagnostic & Statistical Manual(DSM-5) defines anhedonia as “markedly decreased interest or pleasure in almost all activities.”This isn’t the same aslosing interestin an activity because you’re bored and want to try something new. Instead, it entails a lack of pleasure in most or all activities you once enjoyed.

Anhedonia has two distinct components:

People may experience one or both components of anhedonia.

The DSM-5 identifies anhedonia as one of two core symptoms of major depressive disorder.In addition, anhedonia is often associated with conditions such as:

The experience of anhedonia may differ based on the condition it’s a symptom of. For example, researchhas found that those with major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder may experience the motivational component of anhedonia but not the consummatory component.

As a result, these individuals are capable of experiencing pleasure in response to enjoyable stimuli but are not motivated to seek out such experiences. Meanwhile, other researchhas shown that those with major depressive disorder suffer from more severe anhedonia than those with conditions such as schizophrenia, substance use disorder, Parkinson’s disease, andchronic pain.

Types of Anhedonia and Their Symptoms

Many studies divide anhedonia into two categories: physical anhedonia and social anhedonia, These two categories are correlated but each describe deficits in different kinds of pleasure and have separate symptoms.

Physical Anhedonia

Physical anhedonia is defined as reduced interest and pleasure in engaging in physical experiences such as food, exercise, and sexual interactions.

Symptoms of physical anhedonia include:

Social Anhedonia

Social anhedonia is defined as reduced interest and pleasure in social engagement. While social anhedonia involvessocial withdrawal, it isn’t the same thing as social anxiety. Social anxiety stems from a fear of social interactions, while social anhedonia decreases the rewards of social interactions.

Symptoms of social anhedonia include:

How Important Is Alone Time for Mental Health?

What Is the Main Cause of Anhedonia?

It’s not entirely clear what causes anhedonia, but scholars suspect it’s the result of changes in thebrain.

Some studies have suggested that theparts of the brainthat enable people to anticipate rewards and motivate them to seek rewards out are compromised in those with anhedonia, whichdiminishes their ability to make decisionsthat would lead to pleasurable experiences.

One study found that children with anhedonia had lower levels of connectivity between regions of the brain involved with arousal and reward processing as well as decreased activation in certain areas of the brain during reward anticipation.

Diagnosing Anhedonia

Becauseanhedoniais often a symptom for other conditions, patients may also be assessed for underlying mental health or physical conditions. As a result, a physical exam or blood tests may be done to determine if there are other medical problems that could be leading to anhedonia.

Treatment of Anhedonia

Anhedonia is difficult to treat. While drugs may be prescribed to treat the various mental health issues it often occurs with, research has found that the medications typically used to treat depression actually reduce the brain’s ability to process rewards, blunting emotions, and do little to relieve anhedonia.

Ketamine

Recently, there have been some promising developments in treatments aimed specifically at anhedonia. For example, one studyshowed that a single infusion of the anestheticketaminereduced anhedonia in people with treatment-resistantbipolar depression, representing a potential avenue for helping people with the condition.

Talk Therapy

In doing so, the researchers hope to create a positive feedback loop that will eventually lead people with anhedonia to decide to engage in social events on their own (and even learn to look forward to participating in them).

Does Anhedonia Go Away?

Despite this progress, currently, there still aren’t specific ways to treat anhedonia directly. If you feel you are suffering from anhedonia, the best option is toseek out a mental health professionalwho can assess you for the condition and develop a course of treatment that will help you work toward experiencing interest and pleasure in activities you used to enjoy.

Why Don’t I Care About Anything?

9 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association; 2013.Lally N, Nugent A, Luckenbaugh D, Ameli R, Roiser J, Zarate C.Anti-anhedonic effect of ketamine and its neural correlates in treatment-resistant bipolar depression.Transl Psychiatry. 2014;4(10). doi:10.1038/tp.2014.105Trøstheim M, Eikemo M, Meir R et al.Assessment of Anhedonia in Adults With and Without Mental Illness.JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(8). doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.13233Der-Avakian A, Markou A.The neurobiology of anhedonia and other reward-related deficits.Trends Neurosci. 2012;35(1):68-77. doi:10.1016/j.tins.2011.11.005Barkus E, Badcock JC.A Transdiagnostic Perspective on Social Anhedonia.Front Psychiatry. 2019;10. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00216Feng B, Jiang Y, Li Y, Liu X, Wu S.Body and Social Anhedonia of Depression: A Bifactor Model Analysis.Psychol Belg. 2020;60(1):103-114. doi:10.5334/pb.524Pornpattananangkul N, Leibenluft E, Pine DS, Stringaris A.Association Between Childhood Anhedonia and Alterations in Large-scale Resting-State Networks and Task-Evoked Activation.JAMA Psychiatry. 2019;76(6):624. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.0020McCabe C, Mishor Z, Cowen PJ, Harmer CJ.Diminished Neural Processing of Aversive and Rewarding Stimuli During Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Treatment.Biol Psychiatry. 2010;67(5):439-445. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.11.001Maron DF.Can Talk Therapy Help People Who Are Unable to Experience Joy?Scientific American. 2018.

9 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association; 2013.Lally N, Nugent A, Luckenbaugh D, Ameli R, Roiser J, Zarate C.Anti-anhedonic effect of ketamine and its neural correlates in treatment-resistant bipolar depression.Transl Psychiatry. 2014;4(10). doi:10.1038/tp.2014.105Trøstheim M, Eikemo M, Meir R et al.Assessment of Anhedonia in Adults With and Without Mental Illness.JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(8). doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.13233Der-Avakian A, Markou A.The neurobiology of anhedonia and other reward-related deficits.Trends Neurosci. 2012;35(1):68-77. doi:10.1016/j.tins.2011.11.005Barkus E, Badcock JC.A Transdiagnostic Perspective on Social Anhedonia.Front Psychiatry. 2019;10. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00216Feng B, Jiang Y, Li Y, Liu X, Wu S.Body and Social Anhedonia of Depression: A Bifactor Model Analysis.Psychol Belg. 2020;60(1):103-114. doi:10.5334/pb.524Pornpattananangkul N, Leibenluft E, Pine DS, Stringaris A.Association Between Childhood Anhedonia and Alterations in Large-scale Resting-State Networks and Task-Evoked Activation.JAMA Psychiatry. 2019;76(6):624. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.0020McCabe C, Mishor Z, Cowen PJ, Harmer CJ.Diminished Neural Processing of Aversive and Rewarding Stimuli During Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Treatment.Biol Psychiatry. 2010;67(5):439-445. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.11.001Maron DF.Can Talk Therapy Help People Who Are Unable to Experience Joy?Scientific American. 2018.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association; 2013.Lally N, Nugent A, Luckenbaugh D, Ameli R, Roiser J, Zarate C.Anti-anhedonic effect of ketamine and its neural correlates in treatment-resistant bipolar depression.Transl Psychiatry. 2014;4(10). doi:10.1038/tp.2014.105Trøstheim M, Eikemo M, Meir R et al.Assessment of Anhedonia in Adults With and Without Mental Illness.JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(8). doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.13233Der-Avakian A, Markou A.The neurobiology of anhedonia and other reward-related deficits.Trends Neurosci. 2012;35(1):68-77. doi:10.1016/j.tins.2011.11.005Barkus E, Badcock JC.A Transdiagnostic Perspective on Social Anhedonia.Front Psychiatry. 2019;10. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00216Feng B, Jiang Y, Li Y, Liu X, Wu S.Body and Social Anhedonia of Depression: A Bifactor Model Analysis.Psychol Belg. 2020;60(1):103-114. doi:10.5334/pb.524Pornpattananangkul N, Leibenluft E, Pine DS, Stringaris A.Association Between Childhood Anhedonia and Alterations in Large-scale Resting-State Networks and Task-Evoked Activation.JAMA Psychiatry. 2019;76(6):624. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.0020McCabe C, Mishor Z, Cowen PJ, Harmer CJ.Diminished Neural Processing of Aversive and Rewarding Stimuli During Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Treatment.Biol Psychiatry. 2010;67(5):439-445. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.11.001Maron DF.Can Talk Therapy Help People Who Are Unable to Experience Joy?Scientific American. 2018.

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association; 2013.

Lally N, Nugent A, Luckenbaugh D, Ameli R, Roiser J, Zarate C.Anti-anhedonic effect of ketamine and its neural correlates in treatment-resistant bipolar depression.Transl Psychiatry. 2014;4(10). doi:10.1038/tp.2014.105

Trøstheim M, Eikemo M, Meir R et al.Assessment of Anhedonia in Adults With and Without Mental Illness.JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(8). doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.13233

Der-Avakian A, Markou A.The neurobiology of anhedonia and other reward-related deficits.Trends Neurosci. 2012;35(1):68-77. doi:10.1016/j.tins.2011.11.005

Barkus E, Badcock JC.A Transdiagnostic Perspective on Social Anhedonia.Front Psychiatry. 2019;10. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00216

Feng B, Jiang Y, Li Y, Liu X, Wu S.Body and Social Anhedonia of Depression: A Bifactor Model Analysis.Psychol Belg. 2020;60(1):103-114. doi:10.5334/pb.524

Pornpattananangkul N, Leibenluft E, Pine DS, Stringaris A.Association Between Childhood Anhedonia and Alterations in Large-scale Resting-State Networks and Task-Evoked Activation.JAMA Psychiatry. 2019;76(6):624. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.0020

McCabe C, Mishor Z, Cowen PJ, Harmer CJ.Diminished Neural Processing of Aversive and Rewarding Stimuli During Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Treatment.Biol Psychiatry. 2010;67(5):439-445. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.11.001

Maron DF.Can Talk Therapy Help People Who Are Unable to Experience Joy?Scientific American. 2018.

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