Anhedonia is a neurotic condition in which a person is deprived of a sense of pleasure and, due to its absence, cannot enjoy work, relationships and everything he encounters in everyday life; characterized by apathetic behavior and the inability to show positive emotions. Causes and signs of anhedonia Experts call anhedonia a psycho-emotional dysfunction, expressed in the loss of a healthy perception of the surrounding world and consider this disease difficult to treat due to the lack of the patient’s desire to overcome the disease, and also due to the lack of timely treatment do not exclude the development of schizophrenia, deep depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Anhedonia is accompanied by: a reduced ability to experience positive events, loss of interest in hobbies or activities that previously gave pleasure, lack of desire to communicate and start relationships, inability to enjoy simple actions, monotony and monotony of life. Today, anhedonia is “famous” for its direct relationship with perfectionists and successful people. American football player Terry Bradshaw was never ashamed of his diagnosis and openly told everyone that he did not enjoy winning. Also indifferent to their success were famous actors Jim Carrey and JK Rowling. According to statistical observations, the lack of a sense of pleasure manifests itself to a greater extent in talented people who are workaholics, as well as in individuals with high self-esteem who strive for self-improvement and career growth, which becomes their only goal and “eclipses” the aesthetic and natural needs of life and emotions. Externally Patients suffering from anhedonia are calm people. They do not show expressive feelings, gesticulate little, do not express feelings of joy and do not share their feelings and experiences. The causes of the disease can be physiological and psychological. The first provocateurs of the disease include physiological disorders and disruptions in the functioning of the body. They provoke an imbalance in the functioning of the brain glands and mood decreases, usually due to weak production of serotonin, dopamine and neurotransmitters that cause positive emotions and pleasure; due to their absence or deficiency, the mental state is accompanied by complete pessimism and indifference. The root causes of this are sleep disturbances, lack of physical activity and unhealthy diet. Also, a deficiency of components necessary for the body may be associated with disorders in the endocrine system. Therefore, if the illness is prolonged, it is recommended to undergo examination and treatment under the supervision of specialists. Psychological causes are associated with mental disorders. To a greater extent, anhedonia affects seriously ill people who have suffered severe shocks (disasters, personal losses, abductions, a long-term crisis in relationships), since they resist any joy and pleasant pastime due to prolonged despair; as well as people with a melancholic type of temperament and prone to conscious negativism. To determine the reasons for the lack of satisfying sensations and emotions, experts are guided by the types of anhedonia: Physical (explained by inactivity and lack of pleasure in intimacy, rest, including sleep and food); Social (a person avoids communication with others in every possible way, does not strive for anything, is not interested in ways to increase his income and improve housing and other conditions); Partial or total (develops indifference to all, several or one life parameter selectively); Intellectual-aesthetic (manifests in the reluctance to learn new things and develop, and in indifference to any creative directions: literature, cinema, music, theater, television programs and news). The disease may also be a sign of chronic alcoholism,substance abuse, drug addiction, or trauma to the body and head. Symptoms of anhedonia The main symptom of any mental disorder is a gradual loss of interest primarily in activities. In the case of anhedonia, a decrease or lack of interest reveals its concept more broadly, as it is explained by the inability to understand positive emotions due to opposition to everything pleasant and cheerful that is in life. Hobbies, work, shopping and communication become a duty, an attitude, and not natural desire of the body. Educating yourself in this way quickly leads to a loss of interest in the area of ​​intimate life. If there is an unwillingness to communicate with others, indifference to people develops, the person withdraws and isolates himself from society. The most pronounced symptoms of anhedonia are: detachment from noise and any conversations that cause discomfort; the desire to isolate oneself (“immerse” in one’s silent world); not showing emotions , gestures and facial expressions; monotony of poses; ignoring others; indifference to humor, offense at jokes; pessimistic conversations in the spirit of “everything is terrible” or “indifferent”; fear of sharp sounds, light and the operation of household technical appliances; search for silence and a place for solitude. All of the above symptoms are provoked by disinterest in anything, which causes emotional and physical fatigue, as well as everyday life that is similar to one another. A person gets bored with everything. His emotions burn out, because they have nowhere to come from. A detached life, built on obligations alone, if the disease is neglected, can become as uninteresting as everything around. Therefore, then it is worth seriously thinking about the consequences and seeking help from specialists. Treatment and prevention of anhedonia In 2005, English psychologists conducted an experiment that revealed the priority of negativity over optimism in the minds of two subjects: an anhedonic person and a person with a healthy psyche. The brain of a healthy subject showed rapid activity to positive events, but reacted more slowly to negative situations, which is completely different from the reactions of the brain of a person suffering from anhedonia (the areas of the brain responsible for negative emotions worked faster, and positive ones much less). This experience highlights the seriousness of the disease. , which not only confirms apathy towards everything around us, but also provokes a change in consciousness. Experts attribute a deficiency of joy hormones to the first factor that causes such a “failure.” The easiest way to provoke this hormone is to eat chocolate. However, it is not always enough, since the treatment method is determined strictly individually for each patient and is not considered group therapy. Outwardly, anhedonia is very difficult to understand. Unfavorable times are a natural phenomenon and every person encounters them; accordingly, the mood deteriorates and one does not want anything. In order not to confuse the symptoms of the disease with the symptoms of past troubles, psychologists have developed special tests that determine the absence of emotional amplification during conversation, both during pleasant communication and in a tense environment. If a person does not express any interest in the doctor’s stories and resists communication in both cases, one can assume the development or presence of anhedonia. The diagnosis is confirmed by a doctor during an interview who specializes in neurological disorders. The dialogue is built with the aim of identifying the patient’s lifestyle and his attitude to the usual rhythm of life. The lack of a sense of satisfaction also depends on a person’s social activity. If the patient adheres to a calm life, the signs are always less pronounced, since a diversified person has more reasons for emotional stress. When examining the patient, a test is carried out to identify the following mandatory signs for an anhedonic: loss of healthy, natural emotions; failure to show love and affection for people, reluctance to communicate; prioritization of sad memories, conscious cultivation of indifference and challenge ;-)