Most people know firsthand what apathy is. Frustration and fatigue are a part of life, and the occurrence of apathy is one of the reactions to stress. Traditionally, this concept is viewed as a condition that is manifested by a loss of interests, vital energy and emotional responses. Each of us has periods of moral fatigue, depression and indifference to what is happening. All this negatively affects work, interferes with maintaining personal relationships and enjoying life.
Apathy is a painful state of lethargy, indifference, lack of strength and motivation. You may lose interest in hobbies and things that previously seemed exciting and important.
Such signs are, of course, not uncommon. However, do not underestimate them. You can’t be sure if you have apathy that this is a trifle that you shouldn’t pay attention to. In some situations, this condition not only reduces quality of life, but can also be dangerous. For example, if a person is sick with a somatic illness, apathy will prevent him from gaining motivation for treatment. Apathy can also be a symptom of a number of mental and neurological disorders.
Therefore, if you notice warning signs in yourself or a loved one, it is better not to ignore the problem, but to try to understand it.
Main signs of apathetic depression
In this condition the following is observed:
- slow monotonous and emotionally poor speech;
- mask-like face;
- slowness of motor functions;
- detached look;
- internal anxiety, a state of hopelessness and general discomfort.
Diagnostic criteria for apathetic depression
If a person notices that painful sensations no longer allow him to live normally, he turns to specialists for help. Most often, he immediately goes to a psychologist or psychiatrist.
The doctor carefully examines the patient’s complaints, conducts a conversation and assesses the physical and mental state.
Everything has to be taken into account down to the smallest detail, including the presence of similar conditions in the family environment among close relatives.
The main task of a psychiatrist is to determine the main cause, which was the trigger for the development of apathetic depression, which will greatly simplify the treatment of pathology.
What does apathy look like: symptoms and signs
Apathy deprives a person of interest in life, desires and motivation. The absence of these important stimuli has a detrimental effect on behavior and performance. A low energy level will interfere with both daily routine tasks and taking on new challenges.
Important
Over time, despite the actual deterioration of the condition, patients talk less and less about their problem, but go deeper and deeper into it.
Emotions become dulled, which is why everything that usually aroused interest no longer gives an emotional response. Attacks of apathy deprive you of interest in almost all aspects of life. A person may be indifferent when long-awaited events occur, or when meeting new people. It is difficult to make an effort even to solve personal problems. Accumulated problems at work and in personal life only aggravate the situation, because apathy is one of the ways the psyche isolates itself from a difficult situation and overexertion.
At first, when the manifestations have not reached their maximum, people may express similar complaints: “I have some kind of apathy, I don’t want anything,” “I’m tired of everything, I can’t concentrate, I have no desire.” Over time, despite the actual deterioration of the condition, patients talk less and less about their problem, but go deeper and deeper into it. If your loved one complains to you about painful feelings, you should not ignore these words - the person may need help.
The main signs of apathy:
- decreased or absent aspirations and motivation;
- changes in emotions and behavior: decreased interest in life, communication, previous hobbies and new events, difficulties in performing current tasks, lethargy, lethargy, poor concentration, decreased mental functions, etc.;
- impact on quality of life: changes in behavior negatively affect professional success and personal life;
- changes in behavior are not associated with drug and alcohol use.
Clinically significant is the presence of these signs in a person for four weeks. However, if you notice apathy in yourself or a loved one, which lasts less but causes significant discomfort and interferes with life, do not delay contacting a specialist. A professional will quickly help you understand the situation and understand whether it is just a bad mood, fatigue, or a condition that requires correction in order to prevent complications.
Diagnostic measures that can be carried out in a person with complaints of apathy:
- Consultation with a psychiatrist-psychotherapist
- Pathopsychological examination: helps more deeply
- explore mental functions such as thinking, attention and memory. The method helps to detect disorders in the early stages and prevent the occurrence of severe manifestations
- Laboratory and instrumental techniques to confirm
- diagnosis: Neurotest, Neurophysiological test system, EEG, CT, MRI of the brain (if organic pathology is suspected)
- Consultation with related specialists (neurologist)
Complications of depression
Long-term and untreated apathetic depression can lead to serious complications and even diseases that threaten the patient’s health and even his life.
The most common complications are:
- Development of chronic alcoholism. The desire to escape from the overwhelming apathy and hopelessness often leads the patient to alcohol. It is in people suffering from depression that alcoholism develops according to a “shortened scenario.” Sometimes a few months are enough for mental dependence to form.
- Drug addiction and polytoxicomania. For the above reasons, the patient resorts to drugs…. The destructive effect comes very quickly.
- Drug addiction. Independent attempts to get rid of apathetic depression, self-medication and advice from people who have a distant relationship with medicine lead to the patient beginning uncontrolled treatment of apathetic depression by using medications that have a psychotropic effect. Incorrect selection of the drug and dose, ignorance of side effects lead to the formation of drug addiction, which aggravates the course of depression.
- The development of diseases of internal organs - after a certain period of time, diseases of the heart, gastrointestinal tract, and nervous system can join depression. They are caused by direct cortico-visceral connections (brain-organs). That is, the direct impact of a negatively functioning psyche on the organs.
- Suicidal thoughts - constantly being under the pressure of hopelessness can push the patient to the desire to give up his life. Especially such thoughts and attempts arise against the background of taking alcohol, drugs and medicinal substances that have an effect on the psyche.
Identify the cause
Before you begin to treat your condition, you need to try to identify its cause. In this case, it will be easier to deal with it. There is no need to immediately prescribe strong sedative pills for yourself. This is an extreme option that can always be reached. You need to be careful not to harm yourself or inadvertently make things worse.
When nothing happens, you should identify the cause of what happened. As a rule, such things do not happen in a vacuum. What can affect the development of apathy and depression? These are, first of all, personal failures, discord in family life, any grief, fatigue from work, sudden dismissal. Few people today live a truly full and meaningful life. Most people try to balance between dissatisfaction and the desire to fix something. Of course, not everyone can do this. Indecisive people withdraw into themselves, try to please others and sometimes forget about their own needs.
In addition, you need to learn to distinguish genuine depression from ordinary irritability. What is the obvious difference? Depression is a serious mental disorder that requires a competent and responsible approach, and a person can experience lethargy and nervousness in everyday life. All this speaks of fatigue, that the person is exhausted, perhaps at the limit. Of course, both conditions are not at all safe for mental health. Depression must be overcome. How to deal with depression and apathy? Sometimes you need to take some special medications for this purpose.
Apathetic depression: treatment
Treatment of apathetic depression is aimed at all stages of the development of this condition.
First of all, it is necessary to determine and eliminate the cause of the onset of the disease. For this purpose, individual psychotherapy is used.
To stabilize the mental state, the following is indicated:
- individual rational psychotherapy;
- group psychotherapy with the formation of health motivation and goals;
- hypnotherapy, including narco-hypnotherapy (suggestion using nitrous oxide);
- stress therapy techniques.
Of great importance is the use of medications.
Medicines used:
- Antidepressants. There are a very large number of drugs in this group. The selection of the right one is carried out by an experienced psychiatrist, relying on his experience and intuition. Finding a medication sometimes takes months. Unfortunately, many patients try to take antidepressants on their own to treat apathetic depression (or, as is often mistakenly said, to “treat apathetic depression”), which often leads to undesirable effects.
- Tranquilizers. Drugs in this group are used very carefully for apathetic depression, usually in combination with antidepressants. Inept and unnecessary application can have the opposite effect.
- Symptomatic medications. Prescribed for the correction of pathologies of internal organs.
Acupuncture has been successfully used in the treatment of apathetic depression.
A separate and effective way to return the patient’s psyche to normal functioning is aesthetic therapy - influencing the psyche with music, poetry, and prose. Despite their apparent mediocrity, these methods are very effective.
A special role should be given to physical education and sports. Skillfully directed physical activity can work wonders and sometimes helps to “pull” people with very serious mental disorders out of apathetic depression.
Authorship and editing of the text:
Head of the Department of Psychiatry and Narcology of the Alkoklinik MC, psychiatrist-narcologist Popov A.G., psychiatrist-narcologist Serova L.A.
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What to do if you have lost interest in life
To overcome a state where nothing makes you happy, you need to learn to correctly perceive reality, and not hide from it. It is important to see all the beauty of the world, not to exaggerate problems and just enjoy everything that surrounds you. You can cope with the task of changing perception on your own, but the help of a specialist will not be superfluous.
In a situation where interest in life is lost, psychologists advise:
- Give preference to a nutritious diet that will provide the body with all the necessary substances. Be sure to eat dark chocolate, which provokes the release of endorphins (hormones that dull pain and fear and make a person happy).
- Keep a diary. Write down all the most “insignificant” events, all achievements and defeats. Write what comes to mind without worrying about style or grammar. A diary is your way to let out what has been accumulated.
- Take a closer look at your daily routine. First of all, normalize your sleep and find a hobby that will take you away from all your troubles.
- Take a break from business. Go to nature, look at the fire, remember pleasant things.
- Remember what you found meaning in before. When did this change and why? Think back to the turning point and rewrite history. Then act exclusively in accordance with your spiritual needs.
- Don't block your feelings. Understand yourself, understand exactly what feelings are really bothering you. Feel what you were running from, throw out what has accumulated and let go of the negativity. The easiest way to do this is in childhood. The child will cry heartily, and then calmly go to play.
- Smile more often, perceive what is happening around you more easily. Watch comedies to lift your spirits.
People who have recovered from depression recommend
- Get over yourself and start doing something. The longer you do nothing, the harder it will be to start. The day should be filled with a variety of activities.
- Give time to charity. The realization that someone needs your love will inspire you.
- Go in for sports, because a beautiful body will undoubtedly lift your spirits. Extreme sporting events will definitely relieve apathy.
- Call old friends, make new ones. Create a hobby group. The main thing is not to become isolated.
- Set a goal for yourself and move towards it.
A state of shock will help to get out of depression, when a person urgently needs to act, forgetting about his troubles. In this case, extreme conditions should be created under the supervision of a specialist in order to avoid negative consequences.
Now you know what to do if you lose interest in life. Change your perception of the environment, learn to enjoy the little things, take troubles easier, and every day you live will begin to bring you joy.
