The sun’s finally out, our summer holidays are calling our name, it’s festival season – talk about reasons to be cheerful.
Except for when we just can’t seem to shift that ‘meh’ feeling. It doesn’t matter how good things are going, everything just still feels a bit dulled and we just can’t be bothered with any of it.
Although ‘meh’ is a phrase that most of us have heard and probably even used, few people realise that a very real condition called ‘anhedonia’ can sometimes be responsible when we feel flat.
To get the skinny on the condition that could be actually dulling our best days, HuffPost UK spoke to cognitive behavioural therapist and Chief Clinical Officer at Oliva, Dr Sarah Bateup.
So, what is anhedonia?
Although you may think it’s a beautiful word, anhedonia derives from a Greek word which means ‘without pleasure’, and can be explained as losing the ability to enjoy things which we normally would.
According to Dr Bateup, this can apply to both social situations and physical sensations.
“Social anhedonia might mean that, instead of looking forward to a friend’s birthday gathering, you feel numb at the prospect. Physical anhedonia might leave you unable to enjoy the taste of your favourite meal,” she explains.
Sometimes, anhedonia is a symptom of mental health issues such as anxiety or depression.
“But it can also be a symptom of simply living in a world where constant dopamine hits - by way of endless choice and instant gratification - skew our brain’s reward system and stop bringing us pleasure as a result,” she adds.
How to manage anhedonia
If Dr Bateup’s description has you nodding your head and going ‘ahh, that sounds familiar’, fear not. According to the expert there are several ways that you can shake it off.
Limit screen time
Yup, step away from the phone. Dr Bateup says that social media algorithms are carefully designed to feed us constant bursts of dopamine - through likes, shares and reposts - that keep us scrolling for longer. The problem is that this dulls our senses to sources of enjoyment that lie beyond our screens.
“The endless choice and instant gratification our phones deliver can have the same effect. For example, home cooked meals might pale in comparison to takeaway apps that offer every cuisine under the sun,” she explains.
“The ability to swipe through dating profile after profile might make the date itself feel underwhelming, and overexposure to others’ highlights reels risk us losing enthusiasm for our own realities.”
The solution is simple – when we disconnect from our phones we can reconnect with reality and more easily find pleasure in everyday moments.
Rethink your routine
Let’s be real, when it comes to working from home, maintaining work-life balance isn’t easy. However, as Dr Bateup warns, if you fall into the habit of regularly skipping lunch breaks and working until late, it becomes even harder to switch off and muster the energy needed to enjoy whatever comes after you close your laptop.
Being more strict with your working hours can help.
Dr Bateup advises: “You might want to add your working hours to your email signature, and set an automatic ‘out of office’ response during your non-working hours. Disabling work notifications on your phone and putting your laptop away in a drawer can also help establish the boundaries needed to be present and find pleasure in our personal lives.”
Write about it
When you feel flat about something that you would usually enjoy, Dr Bateup recommends taking the time to stop and notice how you’re feeling, what sensations you notice in your body, and what thoughts are going through your mind.
“Be gently curious,” she says. “Unsolicited thoughts might enter our minds, but we don’t have to buy into them. Notice that there’s a ‘you’ that can decide.
For example, if a promotion at work left you feeling uninspired, notice what your mind has to say about it. Does your mind tell you that you weren’t deserving of it, or you made a mess of the interview. Next, notice how these thoughts impact your actions and how they make you feel.”
Seek professional help
If you still feel overwhelmingly ‘meh’, you might benefit from seeking professional mental health support. As mentioned, the inability to find enjoyment in things which we usually would can sometimes be a sign of mental health issues such as anxiety or depression.
If your anhedonia is unlinked to wider mental health conditions, a therapist can still offer the support needed to successfully implement all the techniques covered above - and many more. So don’t give up on rediscovering your lust for life.
Help and support:
- Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
- Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
- CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
- The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
- Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.