What Is Anhedonia? Signs It’s More Than a Seasonal Slump

It is not uncommon to feel a little off this time of year. Fluctuating weather, shorter days, and the added chaos of getting back into a routine after the summer is likely to leave you feeling in a seasonal funk at times. What happens when this feeling of numbness becomes more severe than seasonal sadness? Here is what you need to know about the condition known as anhedonia and what you can do to cope with these feelings.

How Anhedonia Differs From Seasonal Sadness

According to Erin Barbossa, LMSW, therapist and founder of LionFlower Studio, anhedonia is described as the feeling of “reduced ability to experience pleasure or interest in activities and experiences that once felt rewarding.” Anhedonia is marked by a general indifference toward life. While you might still care about loved ones and hobbies, the joy that these people and activities once brought you feels elusive.  

Many people describe anhedonia as feeling so disconnected from people that it is jarring. The condition can strike when your life looks fine on the outside, making it even more difficult to explain why you feel so empty.

Barbossa explains that it is normal for emotions to fluctuate from day to day. These fluctuations become concerning when you remain in this permanent sense of dissociation.

Mental health experts note that anhedonia is becoming more common as people fall victim to the pressure of trying to cram too much into every day. Natalie Buchwald, a therapist at Manhattan Mental Health Counseling, explains that anhedonia is connected with dysfunction within the brain's reward circuits. 

This part of the brain helps people to experience enjoyment and discern what activities make them happy. When this system is not firing on all levels, things that once were pleasurable may now seem like another task to check off the to-do list, naturally muting the joy. Buchwald notes that while you may still care about the people or activities, the emotional reward has been suppressed because of the disruption to the brain's wiring.

The increasing prevalence of social media can amplify the disconnect. Buchwald said that the constant bombardment of notifications, reels, and other aspects of a wired life gives people “less time to process emotions and engage with the world around us." Although Buchwald said that social media does not always directly cause anhedonia, it exacerbates and reinforces the negative cycle.

How to Cope with Feelings of Anhedonia

There is no defined medical cure for anhedonia, but there are steps that you can take to cope with these feelings so that they do not weigh so heavily on you. The first step is to take the pressure off yourself to always feel happy. Buchwald said that “trying to force yourself to enjoy things can create more of a feeling of failure when it doesn’t work immediately.” Remember that you do not have to feel great every single day, and that it is acceptable to feel blue at times.

Rather than trying to force yourself to enjoy the activities that you once enjoyed, Buchwald recommends what is known as “behavioral activation." This approach advises “gradually reintroducing enjoyable and meaningful activities into your daily routine.” The goal is to give yourself opportunities to create positive experiences rather than forcing them.

Nearly anything can begin to feel like an obligation when you are not feeling like yourself. Barbossa advises clients to shift the focus to "connection and meaning." This means choosing activities that will make you feel connected to your life on a personal level rather than choosing activities that feel more like tasks.

Another good approach to cope with anhedonia is to choose activities that lean toward creativity. For example, Barbossa recommends looking into activities such as “cooking, gardening, listening to music, or making something without any expectation of productivity or accomplishment.” Barbossa encourages viewing these experiences “with curiosity rather than the expectation that they should immediately feel good.”

Along that same note, being intentional about getting outside can also deliver a positive reset. Being outside in nature will inherently give you the chance to reconnect with something larger than yourself.

Lastly, it is important to recognize when it is time to seek support from professionals. A persistent loss of interest in things that you used to bring pleasure should be addressed in a clinical setting. Buchwald said that it is important to consult the help of a doctor or therapist if “losing interest in life persists for more than two weeks, starts to impact daily life, or comes with other symptoms of depression.”

She goes on to advise that “You don’t have to wait until it becomes unbearable to ask for support." A trained professional will help you to discern what may be triggering the negative feelings and how you can best address them. Asking for help may be what you need to feel more connected to life again.

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