Anhedonia and Depression
One of the core symptoms of clinical depression is anhedonia or lack of pleasure. What do you do when you are extremely bored and nothing seems interesting or enjoyable? I would be interested in knowing if and how you overcame such boredom, as there seems to be a lack of literature on the subject.
Comment by Justin | January 10th, 2010
Having suffered a breakdown and experienced the subsequent depression and anhedonia I can say that it’s very difficult. All of my previous interests became meaningless, in fact, I lost my focus on life completely. I did find after a couple of years that exercise helped me to feel pleasure again - the more I exercised, the less agitated and depressed I became. After 10 years I still use it every day to manage my symptoms. The boredom therefore decreases also as I am more able to concentrate and absorb/enjoy the task at hand. I will add that before the breakdown, my mind was very clear and sharp but afterwards terribly dull. I now find physical tasks such as woodwork, gardening, bushwalking and mechanics much more satisfying (also easier) than mental tasks.
When I find it difficult to obtain pleasure from normal things occasionally I will smoke a cigarette which helps - however antidepressents never worked. When pleasure starved one has to guard against addictions whether they be drugs, sex or something else - I tend to seek out pleasure which can be short lived, which is not always healthy.
A very difficult aspect to boredom is that one feels bored with oneself, and thus is boring to others. This can be very isolating. I found that friendships only became satisfying once I managed my depression/anhedonia. Keep in mind that it is important to remain active despite your feelings, as you then remain open to change, possibilities and options. Being around people and having structure to everyday life is vital.
In short the process of healing can be very slow, but never give up, it does get better!