Anhedonia--a poorly understood symptom
- Viviana McAllister
- Oct 29
- 3 min read
In my experience with individuals battling mental health issues, I have noticed a symptom that goes often undiscussed. The issue is poorly managed by medications alone. Perhaps this is why we hear less about it. And it may not be adequately addressed by talk-therapy approaches alone. Anhedonia is the decreased ability to feel pleasure. Experiencing pleasure is a vital component of engaging in our interests, hobbies and maintaining curiosity. We can also lose out on pleasure with basic activities, like eating and socializing.
Occupational Therapists are in a unique position to address this area of concern. Recreation, play and Art therapists can assist as well. In our fast moving society with a slant towards high impact dopamine hits from media and technology, we can lose out on natural sources of dopamine. Dopamine is our reward neurotransmitter. Natural sources of dopamine are available in our everyday life, like by going outside in nature or checking off to-do items. We can actually start to avoid these natural hits of dopamine completely if we aren't leading our lives with intention. Recreational drug use can elicit these reward pathways, as well as risky sexual activities. Therefore, we have an active role to play in our methods of eliciting dopamine in our everyday lives.
It can take a reset in our lifestyle to adequately address this area of concern in depressive symptoms and symptoms of other psychiatric illnesses. It also takes the acknowledgement of the importance of leisure, play, doing things solely out of curiosity and allowing the space and time for those activities in our lives. Treatment strategies exist and are effective. Have a look at this video for more details.
Participating in our interests is not just a pass-time. It should be treated as a vital source of energy for the rest of our lives. Make sure to pursue your interests as if it were an important meeting in your work-week. Plan out your steps to make that time successful and fulfilling. It may take more expertise in that area of interest, so consider participating in groups where you have an instructor to guide you further and other interested peers to encourage your participation.
Try to avoid evaluating your performance in that area of interest you choose to pursue. It can be easy to try to monetize an interest with the social media environment around us. We have to enjoy being bad at things to pursue our interests wholeheartedly. If it is a performance-based activity, do everything you can to avoid those who could tear-down what you are trying to build. Remember that everyone deserves a chance to try new things in leisure and it is perfectly alright to learn you go.
One of the saddest parts of my job is learning about how many activities someone used to participate in, but no longer does. It usually has to do with an accumulation of barriers, judgements, performance-based pressures and the related feelings of not being good enough. Pleasure is important. It should come from simple tasks we do on a regular basis, despite not being flashy, expensive or brag-worthy. As an Occupational Therapist, I have tools to help explore this area further and provide therapeutic approaches to increase our desire to engage in activities with meaning and purpose. I hope you can find value again in things you have set-aside and address those barriers that got in the way of you doing so. Should these barriers feel insurmountable, it is important to seek help.
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