1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:07,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey 2 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:11,720 Speaker 1: brain Stuff Lauren Vogelbaum here. Even as the general public 3 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 1: has gained a better understanding of mental health issues like 4 00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:19,520 Speaker 1: depression and anxiety over recent years, some psychological symptoms remain 5 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:23,320 Speaker 1: a mystery to many. A case in point, and hydonia 6 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:28,120 Speaker 1: and haydonia refers to the absence of good feelings that 7 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 1: someone might expect from things and activities that they once enjoyed, 8 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:37,160 Speaker 1: like a friendship, food, sex, or music. For the article, 9 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:39,599 Speaker 1: this episode is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke via 10 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: email with Los Angeles based psychotherapist Alyssa Mass m f T. 11 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:47,600 Speaker 1: She said, and hedonia is the lack of experiencing joy 12 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 1: or pleasure. It's typically thought of as a symptom of 13 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:54,960 Speaker 1: depression or dysthymia, though it can also exist separately from either. 14 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 1: Dysthymia is a mild but persistent, long term type of 15 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:05,040 Speaker 1: depressive disorder. In addition to these mental health issues, antedonia 16 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:09,200 Speaker 1: can accompany others like schizophrenia and orexia nervosa and substance 17 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:13,280 Speaker 1: misuse disorders. It can also signal issues like Parkinson's disease. 18 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:17,399 Speaker 1: Antedonia can be both social, meaning the person no longer 19 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:22,480 Speaker 1: feels joy being around people or physical meaning sensations like touch, 20 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:26,480 Speaker 1: say a hug can feel empty or food can taste bland. 21 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:31,640 Speaker 1: The causes of antidonia can vary, and while it's associated 22 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 1: with depression, a person doesn't necessarily have to have depression 23 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:39,120 Speaker 1: to have antedonia. Experts believe antedonia may be linked to 24 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:42,560 Speaker 1: changes in brain activity and an inability to produce or 25 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 1: respond to a feel good hormone called dopamine. Some research 26 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 1: that's been performed with rats indicates that antedonia may be 27 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 1: tied to an overactive prefrontal cortex, impacting the dopamine neurons 28 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: and interfering with the pathways the control how and why 29 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:05,800 Speaker 1: we seek out and experienced desire and rewards. Other research 30 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 1: indicates that other brain areas and structures like the amygdala, 31 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:12,800 Speaker 1: which processes emotion, the striatum, which is associated with the 32 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:16,239 Speaker 1: reward system, and the insula, which is connected to self 33 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:21,520 Speaker 1: awareness and consciousness, might also be involved. While there's no 34 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:25,200 Speaker 1: single way to treat antidonia, many mental health experts often 35 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: lean on strategies prescribed for depression, including talk therapy and 36 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: medications like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or s SR eyes, 37 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 1: which is a wide class of drugs, including common brand 38 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:42,280 Speaker 1: names like prozac, lexapro, and zoloft. There is, however, evidence 39 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 1: to suggest that s SR eyes aren't extremely effective at 40 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: treating the antidonia that can come with depression. As a 41 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 1: potential alternative, study found that ketamine quote rapidly reduced the 42 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: levels of antdonia in people with treatment resistant bipolar disorder, 43 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:03,080 Speaker 1: but more research is needed to understand the positive and 44 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:07,400 Speaker 1: negative implications of these and other medications on the issue. 45 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:12,320 Speaker 1: For now, mental health experts are continuing to incorporate antdonia 46 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 1: assessment into their work with clients and working with them 47 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:20,720 Speaker 1: to find coping strategies. Mass said, in cases of depression 48 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:24,600 Speaker 1: long or short term, I always screen for antdonia if 49 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:27,280 Speaker 1: a client screens positive for it, and then it's really 50 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 1: about looking at everything that's going on and treating the 51 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:33,760 Speaker 1: depression as a whole until there's relief from that. It's 52 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:36,120 Speaker 1: impossible to tell if the antidonia is part of the 53 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:39,960 Speaker 1: depression or something that exists on its own. If someone's 54 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,080 Speaker 1: case history tells me they've never had antidonia until the 55 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:46,400 Speaker 1: depression hit, in that case, it's likely more treatable than 56 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:49,440 Speaker 1: if it had always existed and is more of a baseline. 57 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:57,360 Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article and hadonia when 58 00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:00,000 Speaker 1: Nothing Feels Good Anymore on how stuff works dot Com. 59 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:03,160 Speaker 1: Written by Michelle Konstantinovski. Brain Stuff is production of I 60 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:05,640 Speaker 1: Heart Radio in partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com and 61 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 1: is produced by Tyler Klang. For more podcasts from my 62 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or 63 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:13,600 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.