Apathy: symptoms, causes and therapy to overcome it
Do you ever feel unmotivated, without energy and with a decrease in interest in everything and everyone? Fortunately, this is often a temporary period, but in the most serious cases we come to associate this status with "apathy. Before you understand better what it is, we invite you to take a" look at the video below to learn some self-esteem exercises that could be the turning point in your life.
What is meant by apathy?
Apathy is a very unpleasant psychological condition, which manifests itself in a total disinterest in the outside world. Both positive and negative emotions are lacking, one is no longer interested in social relationships, in doing well at work, etc. .. In a nutshell in front of the various events of life, be they positive or negative, you do not feel anything you are unable to be happy, but not even angry or sad, you remain absolutely impassive. The term apathy derives from the Greek. "pathos" which means "emotion" and with the "a" in front of it, literally means the absence of emotions.
The status of apathy involves the behavioral sphere, as the person affected does much less things; the cognitive sphere, because there is a total loss of interest in everything that previously made us euphoric and happy; finally, also the emotional sphere: emotions are totally absent from the life of the apathetic person and all events remain absolutely marginal.
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The causes of being apathetic
The underlying causes of apathy are many and for convenience we will divide them below into more serious and less serious ones. Certainly among the most serious causes that lead a subject to be apathetic there are some psychiatric disorders recognized as real illnesses. some examples:
- schizophrenia
- depression
- bipolar disorder
- Parkinson's disease
- Huntington's disease
- Alzheimer's
According to other studies, however, apathy can also arise in people who do not suffer from dementia, but would have problems related to an incorrect lifestyle, made up of sleepless nights and general exhaustion.
Being apathetic can also depend on other frequent ailments such as thyroid problems, abuse of drugs, alcohol or drugs or hard drugs, which cause malfunctions of the organism.
Finally, the hereditary factor cannot be excluded: having lived in close contact with apathetic and pessimistic people creates a vicious circle from which it is difficult to escape. The demotivation takes over and it is no longer possible to obtain the desired results by letting oneself go into a fluctuating mood.
Being easily discouraged is also typical of people who have faced many disappointments in their lives and will tend from that moment on to underestimate any hope of happiness.
Those who enter a state of apathy are convinced that there is nothing left in their life for which it is worth fighting for, and this is how they begin to live, or rather survive, completely abandoned to themselves.
Apathy: here are the most common symptoms
Often the main symptoms of apathy are mistaken for depression, but later we will see what differentiates these two physical and mental conditions. If you notice that you often have negative thoughts, you would like to act but feel blocked, you already know that you will fail even before you do a certain thing. , it could be that you are entering a state of apathy.
Have you lost faith in the future? Do you feel constantly bored? Before you talk about depression, pay attention to these signs.
- You can no longer set goals and are overwhelmed by indifference.
- Rather than going out with friends, you prefer to lock yourself up at home spending hours and hours in front of your PC, TV or video games.
- Even work is no longer rewarding, the tasks you do all seem the same and repetitive
- Many of the things that used to give you immense satisfaction such as playing sports, now no longer produce any kind of positive or negative stimulus.
- You are not very hungry or you have real pangs of voracious hunger. You are not interested, however, even in your favorite food.
How is the diagnosis made?
To arrive at a diagnosis of apathy and not to confuse it with depression, the doctor evaluates many aspects.
- Lack or lack of motivation, regardless of age, culture and lifestyle.
- Presence of alterations in behavior, fluctuating mood, sudden changes of thought.
- Serious difficulties in carrying on interpersonal relationships and simple daily activities.
- Total disinterest in any kind of news or knowledge of new people.
- All areas of life are affected by this disabling disorder.
What is the difference between apathy and depression?
The main aspect that differentiates apathy from depression is that the apathetic person does not feel discomfort with his condition because in some way he does not think it is so serious and thinks and hopes it will pass. On the other hand, those who suffer from depressive disorder, a real illness, live perpetually in a state of anxiety, deal with a black mood on a daily basis and, above all, often and willingly think about death.
The most effective remedies to counter apathy
To counter apathy there are a number of effective remedies that we propose below.
1 - Identify the causes
First try to understand the reasons behind your lack of will to live. True, it takes some training, but slowly try to replace negative thoughts with positive ones.
Give yourself time: the results will not be long in coming and apathy will soon be a distant memory.
2 - Tackle one problem at a time
Mental and emotional inertia is the first big obstacle so at first concentrate only on this one. A tip to succeed? Make a list of positive and negative aspects giving each of the priorities.
3 - Change the routine
We all have a daily routine that we follow closely. Sometimes this could take over and make us feel tired and bored. An apathetic person, for example, could start by revolutionizing his daily actions: forcing yourself to talk to new people who could give you positive stimuli, traveling to discover places never seen before, playing sports or a simple walk helps to free your mind.
4 - Take on the challenges
The loss of the will to live prevents you from reacting to the apathetic state, but what you can do is to care about seeing friends, listening to your favorite music, attending events that you were passionate about before apathy entered your life.
All this forces you to come out of stillness and even if it won't be easy, don't give up
5 - Think back to happy moments
Stop for a moment to think: what made you feel good once? Did you have any hobbies or activities that you immediately feel better about if you think back? Make an effort to repeat them because positive emotions are associated with them that would benefit your "depression-like" state.
6 - Set yourself a concrete final goal
Set yourself a goal but make sure it is concrete: it must be challenging, but also not too difficult to achieve to avoid falling back into difficulties.
7 - Get help from psychotherapy
If you notice that your state of apathy persists, it is time to investigate the causes and symptoms further with help from psychotherapy. Only the support of an expert and the identification of the right therapy will help you to clarify yourself by recovering the lost motivation. In many cases the treatment is effective, but if the doctor deems it appropriate, he may decide to prescribe a treatment based on antidepressant drugs.
