Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is Avolition?OverviewAvolition as a Negative SymptomDifferentiating AvolitionTreatmentCoping
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What Is Avolition?
Overview
Avolition as a Negative Symptom
Differentiating Avolition
Treatment
Coping
Close
Avolition, a lack of motivation or reduced drive to complete goal-directed activities, is a concerning and common characteristic in people with schizophrenia. It is one of thenegative symptomsof schizophrenia. Negative symptoms involve those that cause a decrease or loss in mental functioning and can interfere with daily functioning, including maintaining a job, relationship, or social life.
While alack of motivationis not an inherent sign of a mental disorder, it is often symptomatic ofclinical depression. Avolition can be the primary symptom of certain mood disorders, such asbipolar depression, or a secondary feature of an anxiety disorder, such aspost-trauma stress syndrome (PTSD).
Why Don’t I Care About Anything?
Understanding Avolition
Avolition is a term used to describe the severe lack of initiative to accomplish purposeful tasks. With schizophrenia, it can become so severe as to prevent you from keeping a job, or caring for your health or personal appearance.
Avolition should not be mistaken forprocrastination, wherein a person actively seeks distractions to delay a task.
Within the context of schizophrenia, avolition suggests that you are willing to complete a task but are unable to harness the mental and physical energies to do so. Even if there are consequences to that inaction—consequences you may want desperately to avoid—you will still be unable to act.
Examples of AvolitionThe inability to start or complete paying bills even when urgentIgnoring incoming phone calls, letters, or emailsFailing to make or follow up with an important appointmentFailing to show up for a scheduled event or meetingFailing to deal with everyday responsibilities with family or childrenNot tending to your personal hygiene or appearance
Examples of Avolition
The inability to start or complete paying bills even when urgentIgnoring incoming phone calls, letters, or emailsFailing to make or follow up with an important appointmentFailing to show up for a scheduled event or meetingFailing to deal with everyday responsibilities with family or childrenNot tending to your personal hygiene or appearance
Where avolition differs from apathy is that people with apathy will be more likely to alter their behaviors if there is a real threat of consequences. People with avolition will more likely not.
Avolition is considered a negative symptom of schizophrenia. A negative symptom is simply the absence of an emotion, a thought, or a behavior that might otherwise be expected. It is not something that comes and goes but rather something that is characteristic, occurring either chronically or in protracted episodes.
Avolition is, in fact, one of the four defining features of a negative symptom, which include:
By contrast, apositive symptomis defined as the presence of an abnormal emotion, thought, or behaviors. such as hallucinations,paranoia, disorganization, anddelusions.
Positive Symptoms in Schizophrenia
Other negative symptoms that may have similar characteristics but different root causes than avolition include:
Avolition:severe lack of initiative to accomplish purposeful tasksAboulia:lack of will rather than motivationAnhedonia:inability to feel pleasureAsociality:lack of motivation in relationships and social interactions
Avolition:severe lack of initiative to accomplish purposeful tasksAboulia:lack of will rather than motivation
Avolition:severe lack of initiative to accomplish purposeful tasks
Aboulia:lack of will rather than motivation
Anhedonia:inability to feel pleasureAsociality:lack of motivation in relationships and social interactions
Anhedonia:inability to feel pleasure
Asociality:lack of motivation in relationships and social interactions
Treatment for Avolition
With illnesses like schizophrenia, a primary goal of treatment is to either eliminate or reduce the positive symptoms. This is because, unlike negative symptoms, positive symptoms are inherently more dramatic and easy to define.
Even if the positive symptoms are ultimately controlled with antipsychotics and other drugs, negative symptoms will still tend to persist. At present, there are no drugs able to treat these deficits.
People experiencing avolition may respond to a combination of medications, cognitive therapy, and behavioral therapy (includingsocial skills training). However, the very nature of the disorder makes them less likely to seek or adhere to treatment.
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On their own, the drugs are only moderately effective but may improve outcomes when used within the context of a comprehensiveschizophrenia treatment plan, which may include psychotherapy (individual or group therapy), complementary and alternative therapies (animal assisted therapy, dietary supplements), and invasive procedures (deep brain stimulation).
Medications used to treat avolition may includeatypical antipsychotics, such as Zyprexa (olanzapine) andRisperdal(risperidone).
Coping With Avolition
Avolition can diminish your drive to participate in social activities and meet goals as well as your ability to complete daily tasks, causing a strain on your family, social, and work life. What’s more, since many people can mistake this characteristic for being lazy or irresponsible, it can have an adverse impact on your relationships.
With the right treatment and support, however, you can take steps to help youcopewith this negative symptom of schizophrenia. Here are a few to consider:
3 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.Remington G, Foussias G, Fervaha G, et al.Treating Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia: An Update.Curr Treat Options Psychiatry.2016;3:133-150. doi:10.1007/s40501-016-0075-8Strauss GP, Horan WP, Kirkpatrick B, et al.Deconstructing negative symptoms of schizophrenia: avolition-apathy and diminished expression clusters predict clinical presentation and functional outcome.J Psychiatr Res. 2013;47(6):783-790. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2013.01.015Klingberg S, Wölwer W, Engel C, et al.Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia as Primary Target of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Results of the Randomized Clinical TONES Study.Schizophr Bull.2011;37 Suppl 2:S98-S110. doi:10.1093/schbul/sbr073Additional ReadingLui, S.; Liu, A.; Chui, W. et al.The Nature of Anhedonia and Avolition in Patients With First-Episode Schizophrenia.Psychology Med. 2016; 46(2):437-47. DOI: 10.1017/S0033291715001968.
3 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.Remington G, Foussias G, Fervaha G, et al.Treating Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia: An Update.Curr Treat Options Psychiatry.2016;3:133-150. doi:10.1007/s40501-016-0075-8Strauss GP, Horan WP, Kirkpatrick B, et al.Deconstructing negative symptoms of schizophrenia: avolition-apathy and diminished expression clusters predict clinical presentation and functional outcome.J Psychiatr Res. 2013;47(6):783-790. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2013.01.015Klingberg S, Wölwer W, Engel C, et al.Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia as Primary Target of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Results of the Randomized Clinical TONES Study.Schizophr Bull.2011;37 Suppl 2:S98-S110. doi:10.1093/schbul/sbr073Additional ReadingLui, S.; Liu, A.; Chui, W. et al.The Nature of Anhedonia and Avolition in Patients With First-Episode Schizophrenia.Psychology Med. 2016; 46(2):437-47. DOI: 10.1017/S0033291715001968.
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.
Remington G, Foussias G, Fervaha G, et al.Treating Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia: An Update.Curr Treat Options Psychiatry.2016;3:133-150. doi:10.1007/s40501-016-0075-8Strauss GP, Horan WP, Kirkpatrick B, et al.Deconstructing negative symptoms of schizophrenia: avolition-apathy and diminished expression clusters predict clinical presentation and functional outcome.J Psychiatr Res. 2013;47(6):783-790. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2013.01.015Klingberg S, Wölwer W, Engel C, et al.Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia as Primary Target of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Results of the Randomized Clinical TONES Study.Schizophr Bull.2011;37 Suppl 2:S98-S110. doi:10.1093/schbul/sbr073
Remington G, Foussias G, Fervaha G, et al.Treating Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia: An Update.Curr Treat Options Psychiatry.2016;3:133-150. doi:10.1007/s40501-016-0075-8
Strauss GP, Horan WP, Kirkpatrick B, et al.Deconstructing negative symptoms of schizophrenia: avolition-apathy and diminished expression clusters predict clinical presentation and functional outcome.J Psychiatr Res. 2013;47(6):783-790. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2013.01.015
Klingberg S, Wölwer W, Engel C, et al.Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia as Primary Target of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Results of the Randomized Clinical TONES Study.Schizophr Bull.2011;37 Suppl 2:S98-S110. doi:10.1093/schbul/sbr073
Lui, S.; Liu, A.; Chui, W. et al.The Nature of Anhedonia and Avolition in Patients With First-Episode Schizophrenia.Psychology Med. 2016; 46(2):437-47. DOI: 10.1017/S0033291715001968.
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