7 replies to this topic

[vader]

Hey.

 

Anyone got used to anhedonia? I am having really extreme anhedonia for last years (or whole life, hard to say at this point, memory is shot).

 

I've got used to it. My whole life philosophy is revolving around my EXTREME dislike of hedonism. The only thing that bothers me is libido and anorgasmia / numb penis, etc. I think it would be cool to have a libido and some of the glimpses ive got really got me thinking, if this is how most males feel all the time. Hence, I went on a supplement spree and nootropic hunt, but still no effect. The weird part is that my brain is like, look this girl is hot, but then my body is like meh. No reaction. I used to be more sexual before when younger, but back then I was more shy and reserved, now that I'm more open, I'm having no libido at all. Oh, the irony lol.

 

I met this girl i have liked more than most, but still, i dont see how it could work out, if i have no libido. It feels cerebral and all women want a man who is not asexual, i think. It feels weird at times to be observing people who have genuine good time, but yet you feel nothing. Like socially, you feel nothing. Drugs, no good euphoria, just body load.

 

Last time, I was talking to some guy at work, and the visual snow was so overwhelming, I have thought i have MS, but brain checks out ok on MRI. There is no explanation, really.

 

What gives brothers?

[vader]

Also there is some lingering depression underneath all this shit. I get flashbacks at time, but I don't remember my past, like at all. Just visions or flashbacks. I think something traumatic happened, but I can't really say, my memory is like totally shot. It's so weird, my life feels surreal at time to such extent I think I'm dead. Visual snow, blue spots, floaters, migraine like crap. Could be prodromal schizo or seizure activity fuck knows really

 

Docs dismiss this as just complaining

 

Yeah, it's fun being 20 something zombie no doubt

[PeaceAndProsperity]

Don't fall for the "it's truma" or "it's your body's way of hiding from the pain, hun".

There may be some mechanism such as endorphin increases, which causes these emotional issues when exposed to extreme emotional stress, but in the end it's something not working right with you because no matter the emotional stress you're not supposed to lose your emotions at all, that's a dysfunction. What's supposed to happen is that you become, perhaps, desensitized and you try to avoid the causes of your suffering but essentially that's all.

And yes I have these issues too to some degree, sometimes worse and sometimes better.

Some serotonin receptor I know causes apathy and to some degree, but I am not sure, anhedonia. Opioid receptors might be relevant since I know personally that when I am under heavy stress then my face turns "dopey" more than usual, like I am drugged on painkillers.

 

Have you been using any drugs prior to the onset? 

[Dichotohmy]

Repressed memories, psychogenic amnesia, or whatever else you want to call mysterious, unknown, non-perceptible historical stress being responsible for significant psychological or even physical disease is ridiculous; this is perhaps one of the worst examples of psychology fabricating explanations for diseases and disorders that are difficult to identify explain, or treat thanks to our relatively crude understanding of the human brain.

http://socrates.berk...m/Tsukuba05.htm

[MichaelTheAnhedonic]

Huh, I'm 20 too and i'm suffering from exact same thing as you. Anhedonia, apathy, emotional numbness, no imagination (blank mind), low libido, almost no memories... Except my latest MRI showed changes characteristic to schizophrenic people. Enlarged ventricles, deficits in cerebellum, and enlarged prefrontal space. Here's what my head looks inside: 

 

 

The first thing my doc said when she saw this: it's possible that I have Hakim's Syndrome. Now I'm waiting for hospitilization in february. Why so long? Doc said that they need to see if this is progressing. If yes, then they will consider inserting a shunt. But what I think this isn't Hakim's. I don't even have all symptoms like urinary incontinence, gait disturbance. Only dementia-like symptoms. And yes, just like you, I got used to this state of mind. 

Edited by MichaelTheAnhedonic, 09 November 2016 - 06:24 AM.

[Blackkzeus]

Vader, have you tried Modafinil? It seems to be the only nootropic that consistently helps with my anhedonia. 

[gamesguru]

stuff like ginseng and shilajit are a little helpful, but there are more specific choices.

 

Behav Brain Res. 2014 Jul 15;268:1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2014.03.052. Epub 2014 Apr 6.

Antidepressant effects of resveratrol in an animal model of depression.

Hurley LL¹, Akinfiresoye L¹, Kalejaiye O¹, Tizabi Y².

Abstract

 

Resveratrol (3,4',5-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene) is a natural non-flavonoid polyphenol antioxidant extracted from red grapes in the processing of wine. Initially it was studied for its potential as anticancer drug, and later was found to reduce cardiovascular disease. More recently resveratrol was shown to alleviate depressive-like symptoms induced by stress or other means in mice and rats. The major purpose of this study was to investigate whether resveratrol would manifest an antidepressant effect in Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats, a putative and non-induced animal model of depression, and whether this effect might be associated with an increase in hippocampal and frontal cortical brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein implicated in chronic effects of many antidepressants. Adult male WKY rats were injected with two doses of resveratrol (10 and 40 mg/kg, i.p.) and their behavior in the open field locomotor activity (LMA), forced swim test (FST: a measure of helplessness), and sucrose preference test (SPT: a measure of anhedonia) was evaluated after a single acute injection or following 7 days of daily treatment. Both acute and chronic administration of resveratrol resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in FST. However, only chronic resveratrol resulted in dose-dependent increase in sucrose consumption. LMA was not affected by any treatment. Parallel to the observed behavioral effects the level of hippocampal, but not frontal cortical, BDNF was also dose-dependently elevated after chronic resveratrol administration. These findings indicate an antidepressant-like effect of resveratrol in an animal model of depression possibly via activation of hippocampal BDNF, and suggest therapeutic potential of resveratrol in at least a subpopulation of depressed patients.

 

PLoS One. 2014 Feb 10;9(2):e88617. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0088617. eCollection 2014.

Preclinical evidence of rapid-onset antidepressant-like effect in Radix Polygalae extract.

Shin IJ¹, Son SU², Park H², Kim Y², Park SH², Swanberg K², Shin JY², Ha SK², Cho Y¹, Bang SY², Lew JH², Cho SH³, Maeng S².

Abstract

 

Radix Polygalae (the root of  Polygala tenuifolia ) is a herb widely used in traditional Asian medicine that is thought to exert a variety of neuropsychiatric effects. Radix Polygalae extract can protect against N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) neurotoxicity and induce brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression, suggesting modulatory roles at glutamatergic synapses and possible antidepressant action. In accordance with this hypothesis, Radix Polygalae extract demonstrated antidepressant-like effects in 8-week-old male C57Bl/6 mice by decreasing behavioral despair in the forced swim and tail suspension tasks and increasing hedonic-like behavior in the female urine sniffing test 30 minutes after a single oral administration of 0.1 mg/kg. Reduced latency to acquire a food pellet in the novely suppressed feeding paradigm, without change in anxiety-like behaviors suggested a rapid-onset nature of the antidepressant-like effect. In addition, it decreased the number of failed escapes in the learned helplessness paradigm after two oral administrations 24 hours and 30 minutes before the first test. Finally, it reversed anhedonia as measured by saccharin preference in mice exposed to the chronic stress model after two administrations of 0.1 mg/kg, in contrast to the repeated administration generally needed for similar effect by monoamergic antidepressants. Immobility reduction in tail suspension task was blocked by the α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor antagonist NBQX, a pattern previously demonstrated by ketamine and other ketamine-like rapid-onset antidepressants. Also similarly to ketamine, Radix Polygalae appeared to acutely decrease phosphorylation of GluR1 serine-845 in the hippocampus while leaving the phosphorylation of hippocampal mTOR serine 2448 unchanged. These findings serve as preclinical evidence that Radix Polygalae extract exerts rapid-onset antidepressant effects by modulating glutamatergic synapses in critical brain circuits of depression and may be worthy of further evaluation as a safe substitute to other rapid-onset antidepressants known to have unacceptable side effects.

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase mediates anhedonia and anxiety-like behaviors caused by peripheral lipopolysaccharide immune challenge.
 

Polyphenols Inhibit Indoleamine 3,5-Dioxygenase-1 Enzymatic Activity — A Role of Immunomodulation in Chemoprevention

We recently reported that flavone molecules such as apigenin, baicalein, chrysin, and wogonin are potent enzyme inhibitors of IDO-1 protein (Chen et al., 2012).  Using the same enzymatic assay method developed in our laboratory (ReNeuron), we expanded the study to include other common polyphenols, namely quercetin (flavonol), genistein (isoflavone), isoliquiritigenin (chalcone), and oridonin (diterpene) in this report.

 

IL-1beta is an essential mediator of the antineurogenic and anhedonic effects of stress.

Prebiotic administration normalizes lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced anxiety and cortical 5-HT2A receptor and IL1-β levels in male mice

[Dichotohmy]

In reading more into this thread, I have definitely developed a prediliction towards work and endeavours and something of an intrinsic dislike of hedonism and entertainment. Lazy, gluttonous, or otherwise pleasure centered people disgust me on a level that is tough to justify or understand. I could be the stereotypical 80-hours a week CEO if I had the attention, stamina, and perseverance to match my drive and motivation.

In my case, I don't think anhedonia is the answer; instead, its more like as I've gotten older, I'm less amazed by pleasurable things because of habituation and lack of novelty. I still find genuinely novel experiences quite thrilling and pleasurable, but unfortunately, finding new and novel experiences gets harder as time goes on. I think this is just another quirk of ADHD (novelty seeking) instead of depression or one of the other myriad possible causes of anhedonia. In such a way that the familiar becomes neutral and non-pleasurable, does the lack of pleasure becone familiar and matter of fact. I definitely have gotten used to it.

I made the mistake of getting wrapped up in and identifying with "anhedonia," and would urge others not to because it is a road to nowhere.

Anything from post stroke brain damage, to lipopolysaccharide and other chemokines, to just plain shitty luck can cause anhedonia and good luck getting your medical team to investigate thoroughly for such a cause if psychiatric drugs don't fix the anhedonia. Simply put, medicine does not know how to cure anhedonia, let alone reliably identify what's happening in the individual to cause it. If medicine does cure anhedonia it is because of dumb luck and not necessarily relevant to others.

Edited by Dichotohmy, 10 November 2016 - 12:51 AM.