Hey everyone and welcome back to savvy psychologist. I'm Dr. Ellen Hendrickson and as

always I'll help you meet life's challenges with evidence-based research, a sympathetic ear, and zero judgment.

So listener Morrow from Argentina wrote in and noted that recently he hasn't been enjoying things the way he used to. It's as if nothing really matters anymore.

So like most of us, he asked Dr. Google for information and discovered a new term, Anhedonia.

So what exactly is Anhedonia?

Well, if Hedonism, the concept, not the clothing optional resort in Jamaica,

is the pursuit of pleasure and gratification the satisfaction or

enjoy the enjoyment gets put on mute. There's little to no motivation to see friends, get going,

or otherwise do the things we love.

And it feels like there's nothing to look forward to,

plus what's the point anyway? All in all, Anthedonia feels like that

moment in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy steps from her black and white world into Technicolor,

except in reverse. Now, Anthedonia can be part of of But the Granddaddy of Anhedonia is Depression.

And a study in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that 95%

of people with major depression reported a loss of interest or pleasure of virtual vaporization of joy from their lives.

Now it is not random that the study used those two

concepts are actually quite different and illustrate how

Anhedonia packs a one-two punch.

How?

Well, it turns out there are two types of enjoyment.

Anticipatory, also known as wanting, and consummatory, also known as liking.

So think of the difference between looking forward to a vacation and actually

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