I can't get excited about anything

[Rae Takano]

You know how you get those random moments of happiness? Like you could be talking to friends about something interesting, getting excited over another season of a show coming out, or even just jamming to music? I don't get those moments of happiness anymore; I haven't gotten excited over anything in a long time. In fact I even get bored with just about everything and I don't feel any strong connections to shows, bands, books, or characters. I have looked for the answer as to why I don't get excited anymore, but everything told be that I had depression. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you supposed to feel awful all of the time or be completely numb to happiness when you have depression? Aren't you supposed to know, or can it be so sneaky that you have no clue because you feel like you are just uninterested with everything? I really want to feel excited about things again, but I don't know how because I can't even tell what is wrong.

 

Do you know what's wrong or what I can do to fix it?

Thanks

[thekid55]

Hey. Sorry you are going through this tough time! I have a few ideas, so feel free to give it a shot!

 

1. Exercise: it can be walking, running, biking, whatever. Exercise is a great way to feel good about yourself regardless of your fitness level. Running always makes me feel better if I'm having a bad day!

 

2. Writing down 10 ideas per day: I stole this one from writer, James Altucher, but it's a great way to challenge yourself and to be creative. Google him and his article on this.

 

3. Be around people (or pets) that love you. That always makes me feel better.

 

4. Help someone else. By doing this, you put the focus on someone else and it will probably make you feel good. It can be as little as paying someone a compliment or volunteering your time to an organization.

 

Hope this helped!

[Robin2904]

Depression can vary from person to person, but not being excited by things and being uninterested in things you used to enjoy are pretty textbook signs of depression. Depression isn't always being really sad and sitting and crying- I think that's what mainstream media will have most people believe. There are also varying degrees of depression. As thekidd55 said you can try some of those things to boost your endorphin's. Exercise is great for that. If it persists you could try to see a doctor about it.

[Man with Dog]

The Kid and Robin are both right. I'll also add that you probably feel negative about your life situation. The ways I describe it are not being comfortable in my own skin and feeling I was given someone else's life by mistake instead of the one I was supposed to have.

[Crank]

I personally don't believe it's depression at all. Are you the type of person who you would consider emotionally numb? Not as in not feel anything but just not let loose emotions like most people. Do you have expectations of anything? Maybe thats not the case. As far as getting excited about things, well the unfortunate part is that may never change. Maybe once in a while...the bright side is if it is the case i think it is, then getting good at different things (personal hobbies n such) would be satisfying enough that you wouldn't really worry about not getting excited about things. Exercise would help too as mentioned.

[Wiseman2]

Anhedonia is the inability to experience pleasure from activities usually found enjoyable, e.g. hobbies, music, sexual activities or social interactions,etc. It could be just a funk from something or it could be a symptom of something else. Get it checked out.

You know how you get those random moments of happiness? Like you could be talking to friends about something interesting, getting excited over another season of a show coming out, or even just jamming to music? I don't get those moments of happiness anymore.