Anhedonia!

Some couple of weeks ago, I came across a WhatsApp status posted by an old friend :

" For months now, I don't feel anything, I don't feel love or loved. I never get angry and hardly happy. Don't feel sympathy or guilt or remorse no matter the situation... Totally feel nothing, nothing at all"!

I thought she was just being flippant just like the youths in my parts of the world do on the internet, although she was not the kinda person that kids alot.

Maybe it's depression,I considered. But she insisted that she wasn't depressed. She claimed she was "fine but not OK". This was getting me more confused, but nonetheless I found it interesting since I was quite sure that she wasn't bluffing.

So, I asked her if anything terrible had happened to her in recent time that had led to the development of this odd frame of mind. Maybe an heartbreak, lose of a loved one or an addiction were responsible for this, I suspected.

But she again insisted they none of this had happened. She also mentioned that her financial conditions were favourable compared to what alot of Nigerians were passing through. So, I wondered what could be wrong...

This psychological revolution had really affected her relationship with her family and friends. Matters that she was expected to show serious concern are usually taken with indifference. She claimed they nothing surprises her anymore.

Of course there'd be a point in our lives when we don't get easily rattled or overwhelmed by others or external events. I think it's called "MATURITY".

But that's not exactly the case with this particular lady as her case was a little over the top. Her emotions were totally numb and she was insensitive to pleasure and grief, no matter how extreme these emotions might be.

I was now quite sure that the young lady had completely loss touch with reality and she needed a psychiatric evaluation. Out of curiosity, I asked a question on Google and the word "Anhedonia" appeared.

Now, anhedonia is a mental disorder where a sufferer don't feel pleasure at all. It could be lifelong or Suddenly developed at a particular time in life. Here, he or she completely loses interest in whatever things humans do in terms of passion, motivation, fun or happiness.

Think of the possibility of Cristiano Ronaldo suddenly losing the great passion for football, Think of Michael Jackson of blessed memory without that burning desire he had for music...... That's exactly what anhedonia looks like. In the absence of depression, you don't just care anymore!

One with this condition only engage in stuffs that others are doing just for doing sake without deriving any joy or satisfaction. Probably,the most remotest feeling one would have at the end of the day is that of restfulness after exhaustion.

Imagine someone starts finding a favorite pizza, burger or chicken as tasteless as paper as soon as it touches their tongue. You are no longer keen on seeing that blockbuster movie that majority of people are eagerly anticipating it's release. As a matter of fact, each time you see happy faces, you might be tempted to scream: "what the hell are they all happy about?!" You might still be able to appreciate lovely songs but they couldn't make the kind of glow they make in the soul of others, talk more of vibing or dancing to it.

You don't feel excited anymore when it's your birthday, even though you haven't been under stress or depression . When a loved one reveals a surprise gift to you, you'd look look at them as if they had gone nuts. Ofcourse you wouldn't want to make them feel bad, so you just can't help but force a smile when you are told about a great news. But sometimes, the smile wouldn't reach your eyes and people might see that you are not genuinely happy for them.

What's worse is when one is inflicted with such a condition from an early age. People around you might tag you envious, cold hearted, insensitive, enemy of progress..... even when it's quite obvious that you are harmless. Things could become quite ugly when you decide to come out of the closet and tell people about your condition.

" How can a normal human not have feelings at all... keep away from him.... he's probably a maniac...a sadist.... could be very dangerous, keep the women and kids away from him!!!"

Treatment for anhedonia are not very common and the cure is very rare. Processes involved in it's management includes stimulation of the brain by some feel-good chemicals or drugs like dopamine. Thus might not be a hundred percent safe as it could lead to drug dependency or even worsen the situation.

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Thanks for reading 🙏🙏