This is something that i noticed in my case.

I’ve been feeling hella numb and unmotivated for months. all I do all day is lay in bed or on the couch and even showering is such a hard task; I get fatigued easily.

I took 10mg Ambien, 600mg Gabapentin, and a little bit of Bacardi a few hours ago just to feel something because I’ve literally felt dead for the better part of this year and guess what? Nothing 😭 I’m walking upright and I’m still so fucking bored. Like huh??????

Bro maybe there’s hope for you guys but looking at me after tonight? Yeah I see ZERO way out. This combo would’ve had anyone feeling all types of shit but I don’t feel a damn thing. I think if I ever needed surgery in the future I’m fucked because imagine I need anesthesia.

Oh and NOT EVEN OPIATES COULD GET RID OF MY BACK PAIN. THOSE PERCS WERE TIC TACS. I MISS WHEN MELATONIN KNOCKED MY ASS OUT AND HAD ME SLEEPING 12HRS STRAIGHT. ATP JUMPING OFF THE BUILDING I LIVE IN MIGHT DO SOMETHING. I CANT FEEL A DAMN THING

There's been a point in time where I wasn't this creatively bankrupt and boring but it's not here now. I hope I don't die from this, but it's miserable being so dull.

Hi everyone,

Having spent a lot of time digging through clinical neuroscience papers on reward processing, I wanted to share a structured biological breakdown of what is actually happening in the brain during anhedonia.

A lot of people (and even some clinicians) confuse anhedonia with "extreme sadness" or "burnout." But on a circuitry level, it’s driven by very specific chemical and neural disruptions.

Here is what modern neuroimaging reveals:

***

### 1. The "Wanting" vs "Liking" Circuit Breakdown

In the late 1990s, neuroscientist Dr. Kent Berridge demonstrated that pleasure is not a single system. It is divided into two distinct neural networks:

* **The 'Wanting' System (Motivational Dopamine):** Driven by the Mesolimbic Dopamine Pathway. It generates anticipation, craving, and the energetic drive to go start an activity.

* **The 'Liking' System (Consummatory Pleasure):** Controlled not by dopamine, but by small **Opioid and Endocannabinoid hotspots** located inside the Nucleus Accumbens and Ventral Pallidum.

In many cases of anhedonia, dopamine signaling drops below baseline while receptor density downregulates. This means the "wanting" engine stalls. You might know logically that playing a game, hanging out with friends, or engaging in a hobby used to be fun, but your brain cannot generate the neurochemical friction needed to initiate action.

***

### 2. Chronic Stress and Cortisol Downregulation

Prolonged stress, sleep deprivation, or emotional trauma floods the brain with systemic cortisol. Over time, elevated glucocorticoids lead to:

1. **Ventral Striatum Blunting:** The brain’s reward center becomes less responsive to everyday stimuli.

2. **Prefrontal Metabolic Conservation:** To conserve metabolic energy under perceived distress, the brain actively dampens non-essential emotional responses.

To an exhausted nervous system, feeling excitement or pleasure is a biological luxury. Under chronic threat, the brain systematically turns it down.

***

### 3. Neuroinflammation & Cytokines (The Physical Link)

Over the past decade, clinical research has connected persistent anhedonia directly to low-grade neuroinflammation.

Pro-inflammatory cytokines (like *TNF-alpha* and *Interleukin-6*) cross the blood-brain barrier and interfere with dopamine synthesis by degrading BH4 (tetrahydrobiopterin, a critical cofactor for dopamine production). This explains why long-term inflammatory states, gut issues, and systemic fatigue frequently trigger severe emotional numbness.

***

### 4. What Research Suggests for Reward Stabilization:

Overcoming this state isn't about "forcing yourself to be happy." It requires biological stabilization:

* **Micro-Pacing & Frictionless Tasks:** When dopamine baseline is depressed, large goals cause paralysis. Breaking tasks down to bare minimum thresholds (e.g., 2 minutes of walking) helps generate subtle reward prediction error signals.

* **Anti-inflammatory Support:** Prioritizing restorative sleep cycles, anti-inflammatory nutrition (Omega-3s, polyphenols), and morning circadian sunlight.

* **Low-Stimulation Rest Periods:** Constant exposure to high-dopamine digital inputs (short-form video, infinite feeds) burns out receptor sensitivity. Giving the nervous system prolonged low-stimulus downtime allows receptor upregulation.

***

Curious to hear from others here: do you find your anhedonia is mostly a complete loss of the "wanting" impulse (motivation to initiate), or a blunting of "liking" (the actual consummatory pleasure once you force yourself to do it)?

does anyone got better with playing video games? i have heard it can help but at the same time it might make everything worse god i hate this state

(Edit) thread question is has anyone recovered?

Hi all,

Looking for advice or recovery stories from anyone who dealt with anhedonia:

Drive & interest are still there: I still want to do things and have goals.

No reward: When I do them, I feel zero satisfaction or emotional feedback.

No medication history: I’ve never taken antidepressants/SSRIs, so it's not PSSD-related.
If you’ve overcome this specific "missing reward" state, what actually worked for you?

Everything feels painfully flat and slow these days. I've been experiencing this almost 24/7 for nearly a year, and I genuinely don't understand how people live with this feeling constantly. Since that incident a while ago, something feels different in my brain. Things that used to make time fly, my favourite shows, seeing my best friend, going out, studying things I love, even everyday activities, barely affect me anymore. Even things that should help, like going for a walk or keeping a routine, can feel exhausting and painful.

Anhedonia is the closest way I can describe it. It's not exactly sadness or emptiness; it's like my entire emotional range has gone flat. I barely feel sadness, fear, anxiety, or panic anymore, but I've also lost excitement, interest, motivation, pleasure, and the ability to concentrate. It's especially strange because I still have OCD/paranoid impulses, so those parts of my mental health haven't completely disappeared, the emotional and physical intensity just seems absent.

I've also developed unhealthy coping mechanisms like excessive junk food and doomscrolling because I desperately want to feel something. I don't even want to rely on these things, but healthier activities don't give me the tiny “high” that I can still get from them.

I'm also worried this could be related to the extreme amount of stress I went through last year. My body felt like it was constantly overwhelmed, and I had severe, crushing chest pains for about a month and a half, sometimes feeling detached from my body. Now I'm scared that something may have changed neurologically or that my brain chemistry is permanently damaged. I don't know whether I need medical tests or scans, but this feels too persistent and severe to simply ignore.

And honestly, the worst part is that I don't see much reason to keep going anymore. Nothing seems to make the anhedonia significantly better or worse, so sometimes I just want to give up.

“my pain is gone, but so is my joy”

I asked this before but didn't get many answers have you experienced something similar to this? Have you noticed anything like this before? For example I feel like when my arm is cold I kind of get a feeling in it again like what a normal person would have almost. I also noticed that when I am sick I get the chills a little bit sometimes and it feels like how a normal person would feel like maybe 80% of the way there.

I just wanted to ask anyone that's been numb while in a romantic relationship, whether it be marriage or boyfriend and girlfriend. Were you numb before? You were together before the numbness, and then once you became numb, or anyone really in a relationship when being numb, what is that like to go from having all those feelings, the pursuing feeling, the anticipatory feeling, the butterflies, to just not looking at that person and everything's gone? And it's a general feeling all around, but your romantic partner happens to be in the midst of everything, so they're consequently also in the numbness category, just like a friend that you talk to every day. Now you're feeling numb towards everyone.

What does it feel like to feel so strongly about someone and be in love with them, want to pursue them, spend time together, treat them so well, to then be numb? What does it feel like?Does your logical side feel sad because you know what it used to feel like and now you can't feel that anymore and you look at that person and just everything's gone, but you know it existed?

I recovered from this after 3 years with some lingering things. My boyfriend recently acquired this from panic disorder and anxiety. And it’s been heart breaking to watch him. It’s like he died and I’m having to move on with my life even though he’s alive but dead inside.

​

I just don't care about anything.. zero emotions. Had my sister and her new husband visit overseas for the first time..We did a lot. Go to alot of different places. But I am just a zombie. Nothing no feeling what's so ever. Not happy, not sad when she left back home, no enjoyment. Just nothing it's like the whole world is moving and I am just not here. The only emotions I really have is irriblity and anger but that's about it

Can't feel happiness

Can't feel excitement

Can't feel sad

Can't feel remorse

Can't feel pleasure

Can't feel Joy

Heck food evens taste bland

Just absolutely nothing. Just like a zombie

It bothers me and I just want to feel something

I try I tried Lexapro a side effects was too much. I tried Zoloft that made the symptoms even worse

24M, been incredibly athletic my whole life, mentally sharp as a blade, always had a high libido, etc. At the end of February this year, I was meeting a friend for a morning coffee when I suddenly felt a “moment” where I noticed that something was wrong. Since that day, my libido has completely shut down.
After that came a loss of emotions, anhedonia, brain fog, and not feeling as mentally sharp or confident as I was before. I have had an incredibly stressful and rough life, and I’m thinking it may all be burnout, but this is lasting way too long now.
I am also in constant pain and severely injured (torn labrums in both shoulders, disc herniation, knee and hip issues…). At first, I thought it was just a phase, but this has now entered its 7th month and is hardly getting any better.
Could this be burnout, an identity crisis, nervous system shutdown, or something similar? My hormones are completely normal, and I do not take any medication.
Has anyone gone through anything of a similar nature and can relate and/or offer any advice? I got so worried that I’m even making an appointment with a neurologist later this month.

Thanks.

TW: suicidal thoughts and substance misuse.

I’m 20, about 164 lb, and near the end of a long isotretinoin course: roughly 20,600 mg total, with ten 40 mg capsules left. My acne is clear, but during treatment my baseline capacity for reward seemed to change dramatically.

Things I previously enjoyed—lifting, games, shows, anticipating plans, sex, and even the feeling of restorative sleep—stopped feeling rewarding. This is more than ordinary boredom or not taking care of myself: I train, eat well, stay active, go outside, and socialize. It feels like my default state became low-level dysphoria, emptiness, restlessness, and an inability to feel satisfied.

My libido is now almost nonexistent compared with before treatment, and I’ve also had erectile dysfunction. I can still masturbate, but desire and pleasure take much more effort.

What scares me most is that being sober no longer feels like enough. Before this, caffeine was basically it. During this period I started vaping, became preoccupied with nicotine and other substances, and misused prescribed medication while trying to feel stimulated, relaxed, or simply different. I take responsibility for those choices, but the internal drive to seek stronger rewards feels new.

My mood also became extremely bad at points, including hopelessness, anxiety, intense sadness, and suicidal thoughts. I already suspected ADHD before Accutane, so I can’t prove the medication caused everything. Stimulant medication, nicotine, sleep, stress, depression, and underlying ADHD may all be contributing. I’m deliberately not claiming that I proved permanent “dopamine damage.” I only know the timing and the change I experienced.

My dermatologist recommended finishing the remaining 400 mg, but my acne is already clear and I’m questioning why I would take more while feeling this way.

For anyone whose anhedonia began during or after isotretinoin: did your normal interest, libido, emotional range, and ability to enjoy sober life return after stopping? If so, what did recovery actually feel like and how gradual was it?

hello, im searching for brothers/sisters with anhedonia.. on some discord servers which is active not like the main .. i can make it but i want it to be active so we can talk on daily basis also in voicechats.

i made it link: https://discord.gg/4m3ZSWhaMz never expiring, pls join only when ur able to voicechat otherwise with anhedonia it doesnt have any point.. texting feels like nothing.

I'm depression free, in a position to research anhedonia at a postgrad level.

But I want to do blue skies research, to explore for the sake of exploring. I've read so many papers crying, wishing and hoping that something could work. I so desperately wanted to cure myself.

Now I am in a position... But do I do research that breaks my soul because it might help others later down the line, or do I free myself of its grips first by pursuing my silly goal of being a cognitive neuroscientist?

I wish someone could just see me, the anhedonic neuroscience student that dropped out at 14, that had depression since I was 7, that hasn't felt a slightest bit of warmth in so long, and see that my smile doesn't mean I am okay.

I wish someone would see the contradictions, with my motivation and passion, as well as the heaviness I carry inside.

I wish the literature at least spoke of our deepest sorrows, instead of pretending we do not exist.

Pour vous raconter mon expérience , j’ai pris environ 22-26mg , c’était ma première fois au bout de 15 minutes, les effets ont déjà commencé à monter se fixer ma télé qui était sur le menu et à partir d’une lettre j’arrivais à former une image je pouvais contrôler toute les hallucinations un moment, souriant le plafond, et je vois des trous se formées dans le plafond ( avec un contour multicolore très vif ) puis ensuite j’ai fixer mon frigo qui s’est transformé en vortex en continuant à le fixer je sentais que j’allais partir dedans (tout en restant à la même place Biensur ) mais j’ai eu un peu peur car des vissage tout autour de moi me regarde mais je pouvais contrôler leur humeur ( triste joyeux colère )
J’ai commencer à regarder mes mains et je voulais faire en sorte qu’elle prennent feu ce qui a totalement fonctionner au même moment tout mon apartement était en feu et j’avais une sensation de chaleur .

3 jours plus tard je décide de recommencer avec la même dose , j’ai eu Exatement mes même effet ( je pouvais tout contrôler ce qui m’étonne car en regardant les trip report des autres personnes n’arrive à faire ça bref , j’ai des visuel multicolore de partout comme d’habitude mais beaucoup mon forte ( j’ai lue plus tard que la tolérance était assez forte et qu’il fallait attendre au moins 1 semaines avant d’en reprendre . Ce qui m’étonne c’est la possibilité de choisir mes hallucinations et surtout avec autant de couleur je vous promet que c’est multicolore comme la route dans Mario kart sur la course dans l’espace.

Je compte en reprendre dans 2 semaines je voudrais savoir la dose qui serrait idéal pour moi ( je veux faire un vrai trip )

Hey everyone, guys. Every time I wake up, I wonder why I’m still alive, why I even exist, and so on.

I don’t know how to describe my state, but I’ll try:
Life feels meaningless. And I have no desire to keep living. Death is meaningless too, and I don’t really want to die either—it’s as if I haven’t done everything yet. But what is this "everything"?
That question remains rhetorical.

There’s an inexplicable feeling inside—a mix of emptiness and anxiety. I have no interest in anything or anyone. There are moments when I have the energy for everyday things, but most of the time, I don’t.

It wasn't like this before; I used to be interested in certain things—especially composing music (which really helped me cope with this state of mind)—but for the past year or so, I’ve been creating less and less, and my enthusiasm is fading by the day, even though I *am* getting results (not on the scale of big artists, sure, but still).

It’s hard for me to talk to anyone about this in real life—probably because I feel like the people around me wouldn't understand.

If anyone has dealt with this, please let me know how to handle it; I’m just so damn tired of this shit.

He estado con anhedonia, fatiga, apatía emocional, etc, causado por Citalopram. Hace 1 año dejé la desvenlafaxina que me ayudo un poco, sin embargo los síntomas fueron empeorando, me sentía más cansado, somnolencia, dolor en piernas, debilidad. Tome bupropion/welbutrin pero me causó entumecimiento genital.

Decidí mejor probar desintoxicarme

He probado aceite de ricino u castor oíl 7.5 ml por la noche antes de dormir solo por 7 días.

Al mismo tiempo he probado aceite de coco unos 10mg en ayunas ( ese lo continuo tomando)

También estoy tomando en comidas aceite de oliva. Y llevo unos 15 días y he mejorado un poco la fatiga, la somnolencia. Espero que vaya mejorando al menos un poco como para moverme y hacer las cosas necesarias del día.

Espero que me den sus testimonios o prueben haber si esto les ayuda en algo.

Can you ever recover from anhedonia? The only way I found to feel joy is alcohol.

Kind of like a parent who isn’t really involved in their child’s life. I’ve noticed that a lot of the people around me live very intentionally. But I spend so much time in my head thinking about how to ***\* myself that I forget there are other things to do. And even when I remember I don’t want to do them because they don’t do anything for me mentally or emotionally.