Anhedonia and how to overcome it!

So some of you are probably looking at this post like "what even is an anhedonia"? Well! This is a typical symptom of depression, you might even be feeling it without even realizing it-

Anhedonia is defined as a lack of feeling or enjoyment for things you usually would enjoy doing. So let's say you really enjoy going on walks, when you're experiencing anhedonia... You won't enjoy yourself while going outside on walks, you might not even feel motivated to go outside in the first place-

This is something many people end up experiencing especially when in a state of depression. That lack of desire to do anything because nothing feels fun or exciting anymore is exactly why people end up staying in bed for long periods of time- And many times they end up neglecting their own health for it (by not eating or drinking and taking care of themselves).

You may experience it at different levels of severity, but what should you do when you are experiencing it? Waiting it out isn't a good option because this can sometimes last a very long time and many times even get worse!

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So what SHOULD you do?

There IS a way to overcome anhedonia, and the answer might not be what you'd like to hear or what you'd really expect to hear-

First and foremost, you need to just accept that you feel this way. It's okay, seriously! Don't beat yourself up over feeling demotivated or not enjoying things you used to enjoy- It can happen to the best of us and it's not your fault you feel this way! You'll need to be able to accept that you're in this state in order to go to the next step!

Which is, simply put, to keep doing those activities you've lost interest in! Taking small steps and not trying to push yourself too much, naturally you will start to enjoy those activities again.

It might sound weird, but seriously... Let's imagine you really enjoy drawing but recently you just haven't had any enjoyment from it. You've lost all motivation and inspiration for drawing and you've given up on doing it at all. You really should start drawing again! Even if it's something like just drawing something small, a doodle, or even just one little line on a paper... Start somewhere! Take a break, then come back to it again. But don't give up!

Even if you don't enjoy it right away, that's ok! That's normal, it might take some time before you start to feel that enjoyment again but you NEED to start somewhere in order for this to work! Otherwise you'll be stuck in a slump!

Don't be discouraged about not feeling that motivation or enjoyment right away, or even after a few times of partaking in the activity! And don't push yourself to do too much either because you might just burn out-

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I know this answer seems really simple for something that can be so detrimental to your mental health, but it seriously is just that! Just pushing forward and not giving up, it really does come back... That enjoyment and motivation to do things- You just have to keep going!

Anyways that's all I really had to say about Anhedonia! Here's a video pretty much saying the same thing, but this psychologist explains it a lot better and maybe it'll help push people to give this a try if they also hear it from a mental health professional too! :3

Overcoming ANHEDONIA: How to Bring Enjoyment Back into Your Life Dr. Rami Nader

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