People suffering from Anhedonia can be misunderstood for their behavior as they can come across as being unfriendly and unsociable.
Anhedonia is a decrease or loss of interest in all activities that one used to find enjoyable or pleasurable. So for example, if a person who used to enjoy biking but does not enjoy doing it any more without any good reason, that person may be slipping into Anhedonia.
There are 2 main types of Anhedonia. People who suffer from Social Anhedonia, would not enjoy spending time hanging out with people that they like. Physical Anhedonia shows up when a person find no satisfaction or interest in the things that you used to like such as activities or food.
Anhedonia is a symptom of depression and other mental health disorders such as Bipolar, Schizophrenia or Parkinson disease. People afflicted with anhedonia have lost the ability to seek and be motivated by reward. This absence and lost of motivation is due to dysregulation in the reward pathways in the brain. Often the parts of the brain involved in rational decision making can also be impacted.
Anhedonia can be cured, it is important to identify the symptoms and get treatment early.
