{"id":8627,"date":"2019-08-01T12:55:47","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T12:55:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.io\/?p=8627"},"modified":"2021-06-17T18:17:35","modified_gmt":"2021-06-17T18:17:35","slug":"14-most-common-symptoms-of-anhedonia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.io\/14-most-common-symptoms-of-anhedonia\/","title":{"rendered":"14 Most Common Symptoms of Anhedonia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This condition was originally defined as the inhibited or reduced ability to feel pleasure when doing things that would previously have been pleasurable for the sufferer. Emotional numbness or blunting seems to occur in people with his condition, which prevents them from finding the same psychological benefits from activities or experiences that they would’ve enjoyed for large parts of their life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The identification and separation of the two concepts \u2018liking’ and \u2018wanting’ here, in that both concepts can be inhibited by anhedonia, leading to an apathetic disposition and a reluctance to participate in things that a person would have previously spent a long time doing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several common symptoms that help with the diagnosis of anhedonia and it is best to have a wider understanding of the condition so that treatment can be targeted and effective. This is a condition that confuses sufferers, their families, as well as medical professionals, given its various causes and generally strange nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Inability to experience interpersonal pleasure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is a symptom of anhedonia <\/a>which makes it something that can be harmful and have a negative effect on relationships. The fact that the pleasurable experiences that come from the daily interactions between humans beings all but disappear, mean that a person is likely to spend more time on their own and less time socializing or interacting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With regard to this symptom, a person may find that they no longer want to spend their time with other people because of they no longer like spending time with other people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that they don\u2019t actually like the people they are finding it hard to spend the time with, although that can often be the assumption made or the conclusion drawn by the people on the receiving end, thus making the symptom even harder to remedy and turning it into a bit of a vicious circle that can spiral out of control and lead to some of the other associated symptoms of anhedonia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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2. Social withdrawal or isolation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It seems pretty obvious that once a person stops finding enjoyment in the company of others and in the interaction that this affords, that they might become socially withdrawn or isolated, and this is often the case for people living with the complicated condition discussed here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cartoon image of a \u2018cat lady’ or an old recluse is not helpful when talking about withdrawal or isolation, as they can conjure and create images which are designed to be humorous when the opposite is actually true. There is nothing funny about people becoming socially withdrawn and isolated as this can slowly but surely affect every single area of a person’s life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The working life of a person can be impacted severely by this condition, as they struggle to meet deadlines or even turn up. The relationships that a person has inevitably suffer when they isolate themselves too, but it is the mental and psychological <\/a>effects of becoming socially withdrawn and isolated which are perhaps the most profound negative impacts on a person, as mental health and wellbeing suffer serious damage and can have long term effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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3. Decreased need for social contact<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Once a person stops wanting face to face social contact, it usually follows that they would claim to dislike social contact. When those two stages have been reached, the next in line is usually the need itself. Humans are sociable animals, who usually crave interaction and close social contact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is programmed into us for things like safety in numbers and reproduction, but when this need can be replaced by artificial providers, the underlying need can disappear altogether. The fact that you can communicate with as many people as you like on the internet has meant that social contact<\/a> is achievable without even getting out of bed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dawn of artificial intelligence means that it doesn’t even necessarily have to be a real live human with whom you converse and communicate. All of a sudden, we as humans have discovered that it is just as easy to talk to a computer, if not easier than it is to speak to a human being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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4. Lack of close friends and intimate relationships<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A very troubling and common symptom of anhedonia <\/a>is the fact that close friendships often become an impossibility, whilst intimate or romantic relationships are off the table altogether. Without actually getting out into the world and spending quality, ctime with the people we know and love, the relationships we form can tend to lack quality and meaning, leaving a person reliant on the online relationships they have created and bought into. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These relationships are easier to manage, as they can be cut off and turned on as quickly and as easily as a computer screen can be switched off. In terms of intimate relationships, it is highly unlikely that a person with anhedonia would be able to manage and maintain a relationship of this kind, given the fact that their physical contact and interactions are already hugely impinged by the condition. As with many of these symptoms, a vicious cycle of sorts can be facilitated and perpetuated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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5. Poor social adjustment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Most people can relate to that first day at school feeling, where you walked into a room full of strangers and for the first time in your life were left to fend for yourself without the guiding advice of a parent or so much as a hand to hold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For people living with anhedonia, every single day can be like that first day of school feeling, given that their ability to adapt and adjust to a range of social situations is significantly reduced or eradicated altogether by the symptoms <\/a>caused by the condition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without practice and careful nurturing of this ability, the skill can become lost altogether. Just as a child needs to practice becoming familiar and comfortable in a range of different social environments and atmospheres, the rehabilitation of someone with anhedonia can be one that is extremely difficult to oversee, given the social anxieties that it carries with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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6. Decreased positive effect<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When people are described as having a positive effect on those around them, they are usually someone who is very outgoing or sociable, and this is just something that cannot be leveled at someone with anhedonia<\/a>, unfortunately for them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being unable to have a positive effect on the people around you means that you are negatively affected yourself, given that the interpersonal interactions are usually done on a needs must basis, rather than just for the fun of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a great shame that people who have a decreased positive effect on others are then subjected to receiving fewer positive interactions and effects from other people, however as is the case with most things, you get back what you give out and so it is perhaps unsurprising that this is the case. It has to be said that there are some people with anhedonia who are still able to affect those around them positively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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7. Flat affect<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The feeling that a person experiences with anhedonia can be very hard to define and even harder to compare to other conditions. The most suitable description for the feeling that someone might experience with anhedonia is found with the idea that a person may feel what has been described as a flat affect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This flat effect usually implies that a person’s emotional reactions are limited in both ways, in that they don’t experience the pleasurable sensations, but that they don’t feel the negative sensations either. In a sense, they are caught in the middle of it all, between happy and sad in some kind of emotional void<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone can relate to feeling flat every now and then, sometimes it’s as a result of illness or injury, and for others, it can just be down to the bad weather. For people with anhedonia though, this flat feeling or flat effect never quite seems to go away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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8. Depressed mood<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Depression<\/a> is something which is becoming more and more talked about, wherever you go, and the twenty-first century, especially the most recent part of it, has seen a hugely positive change in the way that mental illness is thought of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depression is something that is a very real threat for people with anhedonia as some of the main causes of the condition are actually some of the major contributing factors to depression. Being isolated and socially withdrawn are things that often contribute to a person developing depression or experiencing a depressed mood, and these are things that are very commonly experienced by people living with anhedonia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mental health is something that is best addressed when it is spoken about openly and honestly in a safe and supportive forum. Unfortunately for people with anhedonia, these platforms are rarely accessible due to some of the other complications and symptoms of the condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\r\n

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