Inability to experience pleasure (anhedonia)

Yes, I realise this is a recognised symptom of depression, but it I don't have enough other symptoms for it to be depression. Anhedonia can be separate.

Does anyone have any experience of it? I think I'll be wasting my doctors time if I go about it. But never feeling happy is quite annoying. Like it's embarrasing watching a comedy with someone or being with friends when they're excited about a night out or joking about something. You can say "I'm just having a bad day" or "I'm not in the mood" a couple of times, but it's just all the time. :s-smilie:

Reply 1

dh00001

16

i dont have any experience but if you think you need to chat to a doctor go for it. its better to try and get help than worry about what they will think of you :smile:

Reply 2

sooty1230

Think you need to see a doctor before you go down the line of self-diagnosis

Reply 3

Anonymous #2

I am exactly the same as this, I know exactly how you feel, it sucks.

Reply 4

hippieglitter

19

Your doctor wouldn't be very good at their job if they thought you were wasting their time. Go and see them if your worried.

Reply 5

Dionysus

15

I've felt like that 9 days out of 10 for several years, but then I'm fairly sure that I'm slightly bi-polar. I mean, I've never contemplated suicide or anything, but I'm always either somewhat depressed or very happy indeed. (extremely rarely). You should see a doctor, but since they can't experience what you do, as they can't get inside your mind, it's impossible for diagnosis to be right most of the time.

Reply 6

Anonymous #1

OP

does anyone know what my doctor would do/prescribe?

also does having any sort of mental illness on your records affect insurance you get later on?

it really sucks, i so want to feel happy, i have tonnes of things going for me but i can't actually feel happy anymore. I think I've blocked my feelings out so nothing could hurt me, but now I hardly feel anything.
Or maybe I am 'depressed', it's just depression's meant to have lots of physical symptoms and I'm pretty much fine physically.

Reply 7

raspberrybubbles

1

i have this too, been prescribed with mild depression but i think it has got worse. i might go back, even though i hate the waiting.

Reply 8

randdom

20

I would suggest that you go and see your GP. This is something that is effecting your life and so you should be embarrassed to go and talk to a doctor about this and they will probably have a number of options for you.

Reply 9

AEH

8

sooty1230

Think you need to see a doctor before you go down the line of self-diagnosis

True enough, down that road madness lies. Google has a lot to answer for in this regard.

Reply 10

Anonymous #1

OP

AEH

True enough, down that road madness lies. Google has a lot to answer for in this regard.

to be honest, i think I'm intelligent enough for a bit of self diagnosis. I'm not completely ruling things out, labelling myself or worrying unnecessarily. I just don't want to visit a doctor, though I'm starting to accept I'm going to have to sooner or later. I was just wondering if anyone had any experience of this sort of 'depression' or whatever it is.

Reply 11

sooty1230

Anonymous

to be honest, i think I'm intelligent enough for a bit of self diagnosis. I'm not completely ruling things out, labelling myself or worrying unnecessarily. I just don't want to visit a doctor, though I'm starting to accept I'm going to have to sooner or later. I was just wondering if anyone had any experience of this sort of 'depression' or whatever it is.

It's not a case of being intelligent for self-diagnosis,unless your in the medical profession which i doubt, it's a case of seeing somebody who may be able to help you and a doctor should be your first port of call.

In my opinion,which isn't worth much to you,is you are looking to label yourself with something you may not have.

You could easily be a bit down at the moment you don't have to have a label to make you feel better about yourself so do the right thing and seek some professional advice

Reply 12

Anonymous #1

OP

sooty1230

It's not a case of being intelligent for self-diagnosis,unless your in the medical profession which i doubt, it's a case of seeing somebody who may be able to help you and a doctor should be your first port of call.

In my opinion,which isn't worth much to you,is you are looking to label yourself with something you may not have.

You could easily be a bit down at the moment you don't have to have a label to make you feel better about yourself so do the right thing and seek some professional advice

Well I'm a student, but I will be in the medical profession in a few years. So I see doctors most days, and I know I'm not in any risk and they could be seeing someone who is. Honestly, I wouldn't have a problem going to the doctor if I was sure I was depressed, but I really don't think I meet enough clinical criteria.

I suppose I am trying to label myself, is it so wrong to want to know why nothing makes me happy.

I appreciate that you care enough to give me your opinion, and your opinion is probably quite fair. So thank you.

Reply 13

sooty1230

We all have the right to see a doctor whatever problem we have,i'm just suggesting you start at a doctor and hopefully move onto someone with expertise in this sort of thing.

Don't believe you are wasting the docs time because you aren't

Reply 14

Flicker

13

Go and see a doctor. You book a 10 minute appointment, and you have as much right to that time as anyone else. As someone else said, it's not purely about diagnosis anyway, it's about finding some way to treat you so you feel better. Even if it isn't depression (and to me it sounds like it is at least mild depression - you don't have to have all the symptoms of anything to have it! there's a huge spectrum) it sounds like counselling could help. It would help change your mindset and you say you think you have taught yourself to block things out - but anyway, your doctor is the one to talk to, if only to at least get a referral to someone else who can help.

Reply 15

ßlαcksωαn

17

yeah go to the doctor. I have depression, but I can still experience pleasure...I've just lost alot of interest in stuff, but I can still laugh :smile:

Don't just ignore it :hugs:

does anyone know what my doctor would do/prescribe?

first they ask alot of questions and stuff, try to find out what the actual problem is, it may be something bigger or smaller, you dont know, but that's what they will find out, I dunno you may need regular counseling or therapy or maybe some medication, but let's not get ahead of ourselves! going to the doctors is your best bet.

Reply 16

AEH

8

Its not a question of intelligence really, its just a question of perspective. Even consultants and other extremely experienced doctors run into trouble trying to diagnose themselves because you can't maintain the objectivity you need. I've done it myself, getting into worry because I have a lot of medical knowledge but very little clinical experience and don't know what conclusions to draw from evidence. Particularly with mental illness, you could get yourself into a much worse situation than if you saw the doctor and resolved the issue cleanly. Anyway, just my two-pennth.

Reply 17

Anonymous #1

OP

Thanks for the replies.
I just wish they weren't all telling me to see a doctor! You're probably right though. :frown:

Reply 18

The Bachelor

13

I'm not feeling very pleasurable a lot of the time either, and i'm not sure if it's anhedonia or just chronic light depression. But I do get a few warm rays in my life each day, so I don't consider it serious enough to warrant seeing a doctor yet.

On the other hand, I'm sure doctors are used to all sorts of patients, even hypochondriacs, and I doubt you'd bother them half as much :wink:

Would you like to tell us when this started/what the circumstances are/whatever? :biggrin:

Reply 19

Anonymous #1

OP

Ancient Runes

I'm not feeling very pleasurable a lot of the time either, and i'm not sure if it's anhedonia or just chronic light depression. But I do get a few warm rays in my life each day, so I don't consider it serious enough to warrant seeing a doctor yet.

On the other hand, I'm sure doctors are used to all sorts of patients, even hypochondriacs, and I doubt you'd bother them half as much :wink:

Would you like to tell us when this started/what the circumstances are/whatever? :biggrin:

Well I've been back at uni for a month and I've only really felt happy since I've been back a couple of times (when seriously good stuff has happened!). There's no life events causing it. I wasn't particularly happy during the Summer, or the preceding years, but I felt better than this. As you say, there were always rays of light there, though also some dark times. During the Summer I was pretty stressed by a few things, but they're all sorted now. Right now my life couldn't be better, if only I could appreciate it.

It's not actual unhappiness, but a complete, total lack of happiness, nothingness. So I feel there's no point in doing anything as none of it will make me happy. Even things that once would. The only reason I do anything these days is so I don't screw up my future or to keep people off my back. But I'm no fun to be with, so I feel guilty talking to people, I'm usually just wasting their time.

But as I say, I don't really have physical symptoms of depression.

Inability to experience pleasure (anhedonia)

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