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Old May 01, 2017, 02:22 PM
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Skeezyks Skeezyks is offline
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Member Since: Oct 2015
Location: The Star of the North
Posts: 32,762
Well... I've never been diagnosed as having anhedonia. But I certainly have experienced all of the symptoms. I read that anhedonia often accompanies depression, which is certainly something I have struggled with... along with anxiety, anger issues & some other stuff. I've taken antidepressants for various lengths of time over the years & I've tried seeing a few therapists. None of it ended up being of any great benefit to me I didn't feel.

Unfortunately, I don't know as there is any great answer to any of this. In my case, I find it's just a constant effort I have to put forth every day to fight my predilection to just sink into ennui & drown. Many years ago, my father used to say: "You're not required to like it. You're just required to do it." I take this as my mantra. I've had to find a couple of things to pursue that are of sufficient interest to me that I'm willing to put forth the effort to pursue them, which I do. Am I in love with them? No, not really. But they're of sufficient interest that I'm willing to keep at them & doing so helps to keep me going.

One thing I don't have, or do, that probably would be of benefit to me, is that I don't have any significant contact with other people who share my interests. Over the years, I've become a very solitary person. And even though I know it might be beneficial to get out & be with other people, I choose not to. But I think it can be important, especially for a person who is involved in creative activities, to have the opportunity to spend time with other people who share similar interests. Doing so, I presume, would create opportunities to both feed off of other peoples' creative energy & enthusiasm as well as to support them in their efforts & to generate new ideas for creative projects. I don't know if this is something you're doing but, as a musician, I would think it could be really beneficial to be out playing with & otherwise being in touch with other musicians. The one thing I do feel confident in saying is that what you are experiencing is not likely to simply go away by itself. In one way or another, you have to make it happen.
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