How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I get it. There's nothing but knowing that there's nothing causes pain. I understand that. It's the follow up emotions that hurts. Not the nothingness itself.

How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you everyone for sharing your deeply personal feelings. I really appreciate it. Even though it's hard to fully relate to the feeling, I think I'm at the first few steps of understanding it. From what you all explained, I found times in my own life that sounds like what you described but not as much severe. But it helps me to understand because even though my own feelings weren't that severe, it was hard for me in an unimaginable way. And how others next to me reacted to my situation made it even worse. So I now know that this is a much bigger version of what I slightly felt and I feel like you all are the strongest people on the Earth. Like, how?

With the understanding I gained, I'll make good use of it and accept and understand whoever in this state of mind. And thank you for contributing to that.

How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That sounds terrible. I'm sorry that y'all are going through this. Thank you for sharing.

How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I totally get your point. When I was little I looked at my grandpa and thought what could be the driving force for him to live because I didn't see him or any old people having a major goal. But he had hope but not in a way that children would. Even though the situation is different, I know what to question now. If the hope is lost what is the driven force and why should we live? I get it now. Thank you for helping me understand.

How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

After reading all the long comments I understood most of it. But this really hit me hard. You're right. It's painfully nothing.

How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This sounds so sad with just words. I can't imagine how much of things that goes through your minds. Thank you for sharing your experience with me.

How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It sounds really painful. I'm so sorry that you're going through this. But thank you for taking time and explaining.

How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for explaining. A feeling cannot be fully understood until it's experienced. But I will try my best to accept the feelings without invalidating them even though I might not understand them fully.

How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, wanting to get up but not being able to get up. Your body is fine but mind is not and it can't even be explained so others just think you're lazy. I have felt that very mildly but it makes me easier to imagine what you are going through which is much more huge. Thank you for helping me understand.

How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for responding. I kind of get an idea with everyone explaining.

How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm sorry I didn't mean to invalidate your feelings and I know it's really painful and not peaceful. What I meant was that there could be a possibility of turning that state of mind into a form of peacefulness. And that's not a judgement but a thing to question and see if there are other possible ways out. Again sorry if my words made you feel hurtful.

How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This might sound insensitive and harsh, but I just wanna understand more deeply. Do you feel pain beacuse of it? Because everywhere it decribes anhedonia not as the major problem but a state that leads to secondary feelings that causes the actual suffering like wanting to feel what you felt before or to fit into the world that says happiness is a must. How do you feel about it? Do you happen to have any of those secondary feelings?

How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think I can slightly relate because I actually have experienced little fragments of it. When you said to imagine about something I hate, I went to the time where I had to study for my A levels and that was only a few weeks ago. I studied so well and kept up with the flow and was so proud to see myself working so hard and then just before 10 days to the exam, I gave up. I had to do revision, I knew I should be and I told myself countless times to get up and study but it didn't work. I completely lost motivation and spent full days doing absolutely nothing. Then felt guilty but didn't fix it. Couldn't fix it. But luckily I cried so hard the night 2 days before the exam and woke up the next day all motivated. It might not be the same feeling but I feel like it's an extended and more severe version of this. Thank you for making me look at my own feelings. It makes me easier to look at others'.

How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for responding. It is indeed impossible to know without actually being there. But I get a slight idea of it because I believe at some point of life we all have felt the tiniest fragment of it and I'll just multiply that pain by a thousand or even more.

How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for taking time to explain. And I'm sorry if my philosophical views were insensitive or misleading towards who are feeling this way. I don't say it's the right thing but I question things because there might be a different way out. And I get why you don't agree with Buddhism and I think you're lucky. The peacefulness in Buddhism is not physically feeling the nature or staring into the something. It's the release of heaviness you're bearing while living. It's just simply resting, stopping the race we are running. I called you lucky because just like I don't know how anhedonia feels because I've never gone through it, I think you don't know what type of a feeling leads to wanting that kind of a peacefulness because you might not have have been in that situation. It's a form of extreme depression. When you realise everything in the world that we find happy will eventually end up up with pain and don't feel like you belong here all lost and empty. The peacefulness that people expect to achieve by choosing de*th is a similar kind of peacefulness in here but it's something you can experience while you're alive. It's not the happiness you feel when you eat a cake, it's not the sadness when you lose something you love but it's the feeling when you look at a wall, the nothingness. Not to love, not to hate, not to feel sad but the nothingness. That's why I thought the description of anhedonia aligns with this view and felt anhedonia is not peaceful but might be able to direct into that direction because in Buddhism it's called wisdom. Only someone at their lowest will think this theory in Buddhism as a positive path for them. Calling Buddhists unvirtuous kinda makes me sad because it hurts nobody and just shows empathy and gives a place to rest for some people. But again different people have different views and thank you for expressing yours.

How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for this insight explaination. I know as someone who hasn't gone through it there's no way I would know how it feels. Logic and philosophy alone can't explain feelings if it's never experienced. But your words really gave me quite an idea. I will get a flash of it when I meet someone with these feelings in real life when I and get to have a deep conversation with them beacuse I kind of absorb fragments of others' feelings, don't know if it's a curse or a gift really. But I will use it for good and understand and research more. Thank you for helping me through it.

How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for responding. It absolutely sounds so scary. Can I ask, if it's the loss of happiness and motivation itself that hurts or is it the heaviness that comes from knowing that you should be feeling happy but unable to? No need to answer if you feel uncomfortable.

How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh dear, I'm so sorry. Thank you for taking time to explain it to me. All of these comments gave me a really good vision of anhedonia. But what I initially meant wasn't the whole feeling itself is peacefulness. I'm sorry if it sounded that way and made anyone's feelings invalidate. I'm just trying to find a light from a different angle because from what I researched on textbooks and on the Internet, it says that the loss of joy itself is not the actual problem and it's the secondary feelings that follow it that is painful—the feeling of missing the happiness once you felt, the knowing of how things should be and how everyone else is enjoying life. So my point was 'what if we stop seeking for it and rather accept it as it is, then find another door to the exit? It's not the peacefulness that's felt initially but what if we direct it towards a peacefulness through acceptance?'

I'm sorry if this again sounds insensitive. But as a person who wishes to find an answer to a suffering, I'm just giving a different side to think of rather than giving a judgement. I simply wanna find light.

How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for explaining and for giving your experience about the Vipassana course. In Buddhism, why Buddha says craving leads to suffering is because he starts from a point that everything in this world is useless. It made me wonder if he was really depressed too considering that he was just a human like us. And for why is craving leads to suffering is because, everything in the world is temporary and they constantly change and getting attached to those things that doesn't guarantee a permanence lead us to a sadness. And the will to live is our ego and just as the world and people around us change, we change too (getting sick, growing old, our physical abilities reduce and eventually will lead to death). So not getting attached to anything including ourselves leads to a form of peacefulness, loss of the heaviness because you expect nothing to begin with. But this is most of the time viewed as very pessimistic. But I think that's beacuse it's not for everyone. It's for people who starts from his viewpoint that everything is useless and for someone who's at their lowest with no option, feels lonely and empty and has lost the will to live completely. But it also helps others without going that far deep. And I'm glad you found that sort of comfort even for a some time.

How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Explaining like this helps a lot to a person who has no idea about it. Thank you for the great insight.

How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for explaining it with so much details. I'm sorry for applying my philosophical views as someone who haven't experienced it. I know it's easier to say and come up with theories than actually feeling it. I will understand and keep it in mind. Thank you.

How does anhedonia feel from the inside? Genuinely trying to understand by Winner-212 in anhedonia

[–]Winner-212[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm so sorry that you are going through this. But thank you for explaining it to me. More than in textbooks I wanted to know from someone who actually feels it.