To binge Bridgerton at home on Saturday night, the most of us canceled our plans. You don’t feel like cooking, despite having prepared your favorite home-cooked meal. It could become more difficult for you to comprehend why you no longer appreciate things if this mental condition worsens. What if you get bored while engaging in something you once loved?

The absence of pleasure from previously loved things is known as anhedonia. Anhedonia mimics boredom but comes with a lack of will to try. Patients with anhedonia believe that nothing is worthwhile since nothing any longer feels pleasant. Your anhedonia could be preventing you. Here is all you need to know.

Anhedonia is frequently caused by PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Since the epidemic started, anhedonia may be affecting more people and to a larger extent.1

Situational depression and anhedonia can occur in adults without clinical depression, according to Sigal Levy, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Miranda Nadeau, Ph.D., a psychologist in Austin, concurs. It’s something that many individuals go through, at least once in their life, she claims.

Brain reward pathways are present. Reward circuits show what is valuable.

According to Jennifer Felger, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University School of Medicine, “If you’re having someone do a task where they have the potential to win money, for example, you’ll see these brain regions involved in the reward circuit having functional connections with each other.”

Dopamine links many brain regions. Rewards and strategies are decided by dopamine. It assesses danger. According to Felger, anhedonia sufferers may have impaired reward circuit interaction. This decreased communication across areas, according to Tiffany Ho, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at UC San Francisco, indicates a dopamine imbalance.

In addition, Felger contends that persistent brain and body inflammation, which is frequently observed in depressive and anhedonia symptoms after stressful events, might result in less interacting reward circuit areas.

Amplification occurs in the threat circuit, which looks for danger. “The brain is responding more and more to threats and less and less to things that are rewarding, just based on what we’re exposed to,” says Felger. “Now that we have so many fearful and emotional things going on in the world.” The reward and fear circuits in our brains are continuously active, she continues, but one consumes more brain power and functions less effectively.

Changes in lifestyle can regulate dopamine levels and reduce inflammation.
According to Ho, some people may have a hereditary predisposition to dopamine imbalance. But many of the factors that regulate dopamine levels are changeable, including getting enough sleep, moving more, lowering psychosocial stress, eating regularly and healthily, and taking part in significant social contacts. Prioritizing lifestyle changes lowers inflammation in the body and the brain.

According to Nadeau, making genuine social connections requires talking to someone you trust even when you don’t want to. “Depression and anhedonia can be caused by weak social ties.”

Limit your use of technology at night.
Our primary windows to the outside world and to one another are electronic gadgets. Felger believes that getting used to reward cues from computers and phones might make it harder for us to appreciate non-electronic events.

Felger advises gradually cutting back on technology use in the hours leading up to bedtime to encourage sleep.

Be your own closest friend.
Nadeau continues, “Do whatever you can to convince yourself that you are deserving of love and compassion. Asking yourself “What would be most helpful for me right now?” or “How can I love myself?” would enable you to demonstrate to yourself that you are deserving of attention.

A mindset of all-or-nothing might prevent proper self-care. The all-or-nothing attitude holds that having fun and having easygoing talks are necessary components of socializing. Understanding this mental process improves your ability to generate ideas and increases motivation.

Keep a worksheet for bad thoughts.
According to Nadeau, anhedonists frequently hold views in three categories.

You may have unfavorable opinions of yourself, the world, and the future, such as the notions that “it won’t get better” or “I’ll always feel this way,” which are not surprising at the moment.

Nadeau advises doing a thinking exercise to change your perspective. Put a scenario, your feelings, and your preconceived notions (about the world, the future, or oneself) on paper.

Note the arguments in favor of and against the main, habitual thoughts that drive moods. According to Nadeau, doing so puts you in a position to assess all of the information your brain is receiving, good, neutral, and negative alike.

Consider your moods objectively after that.

Stop thinking negatively.
Nadeau advises evaluating unfavorable ideas and generating neutral ones to counter them. “Even though my friend and I aren’t as close as we once were, she still checks in on me,” can be a neutral opinion.

According to Nadeau, “It takes into account something negative and positive and draws them together,” making it realistic and simple to accept.

Keep a daily thankfulness journal.
Nadeau advises keeping a record of the small things you’re thankful for to help you recall the positive aspects of your life. You could feel appreciative for the moon and how it appears every night, or for having food on your plate, a cushion to lay your head on at night, or other things. Do this every day, even if you just write two things.

Pick up an old interest.
When you do something you typically love and discover it isn’t any longer enjoyable, Nadeau says, “it can be really demoralizing.” To combat your current aversion to certain activities, Levy suggests approaching them in a different way. Leave the activity with a neutral attitude, such as, “I’ve done something to improve how I feel,” rather than seeking gratification.

begin with 15-minute TV episodes or short walks. Levy advises taking note of sensations when watching sports, such as the scratchy blanket over your knees, in order to cultivate awareness.

When necessary, seek therapy.
Levy advises consulting a therapist or psychiatrist if anhedonia (or depression) has persisted for a long time and begun to interfere with everyday living, even if the aforementioned advice can be useful in some cases.