Help Anhedonia?

[milkteacrown]

My main struggle is my severe anhedonia that extends to all things and people along with emptiness/hollowness that exists even if I'm in a good mood. Basically, I am almost completely emotionally blunted and have no interest in anything. Complete detachment.

Realistically, what could help me? Are there any medications or procedures that could be helpful, as someone who has tried every SNRI and almost every SSRI? It's an issue on a chemical level, so even though I attend weekly therapy, it's not something I've found helpful (yet). I'd love to hear from other people who are empty or hollow and have improved over time.

 

[DivineSpark]

I dont know solution to anhedonia. I am also struggling with it. It sucks when you want to enjoy things in life but you cant. Sometimes I do comfort eating, because it feels like only thing which brings me any pleasure in life. My schizophrenia meds has also destroyed my libido completely, so I dont experience sexual pleasure.

 

[foggyskies_]

Look into ketamine therapy or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)? These are treatments made for people with severe depressive symptoms who don't respond to conventional medications. They can be crazy expensive though. And please avoid street ketamine, stay safe! I hope you find relief somehow!

Edit: Just thought of this, maybe ask your primary care provider to check for thyroid abnormalities or other hormone disorders. ESPECIALLY if you were born female. PCOS and the like are way more common than they're recognized for, and can do more damage than you'd think. Undiagnosed endocrine issues are sometimes the root of treatment-resistant mental illness. Cheers!

 

[campo d'erba]

^^ i've been told ketamine does wonders. otherwise i guess spend time alone. dont force yourself to do anything if you dont want to. i know that that doesn't sound like great advice, but for me, spending like a week cut off from the world, spending quality time with myself has done well. if i remind myself I can live alone, i teach myself to love me.

 

[ForgottenAgain]

I've been using clicker training to train myself to feel something positive when I do a behaviour I consider good/healthy. I feel like that has helped me more than therapy. It's minute, but when I hear the sound I feel a tiny bit of contentment for a moment. So if I read some pages of a book, I click it and I feel something positive. Prior, I'd read a few pages and feel nothing.

You can pair the clicking with giving yourself a treat to increase the effect and the positive conditioning. I've used treats for several weeks, now just the sound of the clicker is enough to trigger something positive.

I don't think I ever had very severe anhedonia so, depending on your case, results may vary, but may be worth trying as it obviously has no side effects. Just need less than a tenner to buy a clicker and trying it out.

 

[milkteacrown]

Thank you for everyone's advice! I have actually been looking into ketamine therapy.

Look into ketamine therapy or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)? These are treatments made for people with severe depressive symptoms who don't respond to conventional medications. They can be crazy expensive though. And please avoid street ketamine, stay safe! I hope you find relief somehow!

Edit: Just thought of this, maybe ask your primary care provider to check for thyroid abnormalities or other hormone disorders. ESPECIALLY if you were born female. PCOS and the like are way more common than they're recognized for, and can do more damage than you'd think. Undiagnosed endocrine issues are sometimes the root of treatment-resistant mental illness. Cheers!

Thank you for your input! I know that my thyroid is functioning normally, but do you know how I might get tested for hormone disorders? PCOS is very likely something I have.

 

[foggyskies_]

Thank you for everyone's advice! I have actually been looking into ketamine therapy.

Thank you for your input! I know that my thyroid is functioning normally, but do you know how I might get tested for hormone disorders? PCOS is very likely something I have.

Try and have your primary care refer you to a gynecologist for the PCOS, and probably ask for some blood panels? I've never had to worry about endocrine symptoms myself, so I can't give much insight on the process, but there's definitely some form of lab work that could get you closer to understanding what's wrong. Also, document your relevant symptoms in a journal, and ideally to someone you can bring along to your appointments. When you bring external documentation like that, it protects you a bit from medical gaslighting. I hope you find something that works for you!

 

[livershapedbox]

Thank you for everyone's advice! I have actually been looking into ketamine therapy.

Thank you for your input! I know that my thyroid is functioning normally, but do you know how I might get tested for hormone disorders? PCOS is very likely something I have.

Aside from asking your primary care provider as foggyskies said, there are also clinics that will do bloodtests for whatever you tell them to check, no questions asked. Those might be a good option if your primary care provider is the type to dismiss this kind of concern, it's quite cheap where I live