Quote:
Originally Posted by lavendersage
Hi. Never having heard of "avolition" I did some googling and reading.
Surprised to learn that it seems to be a lack of motivation, lack of desire to engage in self-directed behaviors. These don't include just the things one might think are "fun" to do; it also includes any goal-directed behavior like personal hygiene (as one example). Avolition is a negative symptom of schizophrenia.
Anhedonia is the reduced ability to experience pleasure, including those things that once did give you pleasure.
These are oversimplifications but that's what my takeaway was.
I said I was "surprised" to learn about this because I've never really felt anhedonia fit what I experience. I have no problem experiencing pleasure. My biggest obstacle is gathering the wherewithal to get myself to DO those things that would bring me pleasure. It just disappeared - as though a faucet on me got left turned on and almost every single drop in me drained away. And I have NOT been able to get it back. I still have some - but nothing like I used to.
Yet, I do not have schizophrenia.
I hope others will chime in as I'd like to learn more about this. I plan on bringing it up in therapy, too.
If I may ask, what is your experience?
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Same! I've never related to anhedonia much. I discovered the term 'avolition' a few days ago, and I think it describes how I feel about things more than anhedonia does. In fact, I feel like it's the avolition that causes the anhedonia, for me.
Every time my therapist brought up "loss of interest" I just agreed because I didn't know any other way to put it. The thing is, I just don't feel like doing anything anymore, not because I'm not interested, it's because I feel like I genuinely can't do it. Which led to me losing interest in those things.
According to Wikipedia's write up on Avolition, it can be present in clinical depression as well!