7 Indicators That You Might Be Experiencing Social Anhedonia

Life comes with ups and downs, joys and sorrows, mourning and celebration. Our emotions can act as a useful indicator of when you might need support. For most people, pleasure, happiness, and joy are tied to many life experiences. What if you could not feel these things? If that’s happening to you, you may be experiencing anhedonia.

What Is Anhedonia?

You may have heard of hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure. Anhedonia is its opposite — the inability to enjoy something. We use the term anhedonia when someone is unable to enjoy the good things in their life.

There are two types of anhedonia. The first is physical anhedonia, which is when someone cannot enjoy physical sensations such as physical touch from another person or the taste of food. The second is social anhedonia, which is when someone cannot enjoy the companionship of other people. Both types of anhedonia can be symptoms of depression, other mental health conditions, and physical health conditions, as well as side effects of certain medications.

How Common Is Social Anhedonia?

Social anhedonia is more common than its physical counterpart. It is not comparable to social anxiety; it’s not introversion or fear, resentment, or negative feelings about social situations. Instead, anhedonia refers to a diminished or missing capacity for enjoyment.

7 Signs of Social Anhedonia

1. Social Withdrawal

Social withdrawal is the avoidance, removal, or isolation of yourself from social activities. This could look like no longer showing up to social gatherings like family dinners or a night out with friends, or even no longer engaging with friends remotely (through texting, social media, etc.).

2. Lack of Relationships

Social anhedonia can make you uninterested in relationships with other people. You may find yourself no longer wanting to pursue and maintain friendships, romantic relationships, and/or family relationships. If interpersonal interaction is not enjoyable to you, you may refrain from engaging in the relationships you have or starting new relationships.

3. Reduced Emotional Response

While most people might smile, hug, and celebrate the news and lives of their loved ones, people with social anhedonia might struggle to do so. Symptoms include a reduction or inability to show and feel emotional responses to social interactions, both verbal and nonverbal.

4. Depression

Both physical and social anhedonia can be rooted in preexisting depression, but this does not apply in all cases. If you’re struggling with some form of depression and find yourself withdrawing or preferring solitude, you might be experiencing social anhedonia. Be sure to mention this symptom to your doctor or mental health provider – it will help them help you.

If you are experiencing an inability to enjoy the good in your life and you aren’t already working with a physician or therapist, consider doing just that. A physician can look at possible physiological causes (like an out-of-whack thyroid, certain vitamin deficiencies, or medication side effects) for your symptoms, and a mental health professional can help you heal whether the causes are physical or not. Reach out to a therapist in your area today!

5. Poor Social Adjustment

When facing a new situation where you must adjust to the social climate, you might struggle to adapt if you’re dealing with social anhedonia. The skills you’ve acquired and are used to using in this type of setting may no longer be working for you. You might feel like you have to “fake it” in social situations where you’re not feeling genuine pleasure.

6. Decreased Overall Positivity

Another indicator of social anhedonia is the inability to be positive. The old you might provide encouragement, offer solutions, or bring optimism to a situation, but social-anhedonia you might not be able to. Instead, you might tend to say nothing or be pessimistic.

7. Monotone or Flat Vocal Expression

Lastly, if you’re feeling no pleasure or joy, you might also use a monotone or flat vocal expression that sounds uninterested or distracted. If this is a trend over time (versus, say, just a couple of days of flat verbal affect due to feeling blue, down, or exhausted), it could indicate social anhedonia.

Conclusion

Social anhedonia is more common than you might think. It’s a major symptom of depression. If you are experiencing any of these indicators or symptoms, consider working with a mental health professional. To learn more about your options, click here.

Struggling with anhedonia or depression? Start your search for a therapist who can walk this road with you and help you heal.

References

Healthline. (2018, September 17). Anhedonia: Symptoms, Treatment, and More. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/anhedonia.

Neither and Both: Understanding Ambiverts

If introversion and extroversion are the poles on a spectrum, ambiverts are the people who fall in the very middle of that spectrum. 

As we’ve recently been exploring, extroverts typically feel emotionally filled up and energized after social interactions. In contrast, introverts typically feel emotionally filled up and energized when they spend time alone. And while no one is a pure extrovert or introvert, most people find that they fall more on one side or the other. But some people don’t see themselves in the definitions of introverts or extroverts or see themselves in both. Where do they fit? 

I’m Not an Introvert… I’m Not an Extrovert…What Am I?

Ambiversion is a term used to describe individuals whose social needs vary. Sometimes, what restores and refreshes them is time spent alone or in tranquil environments. At other times, they find social and high-energy situations energizing and restorative. They don’t fall neatly into one of the other boxes, so this third term was created for them: ambiverts. Just like an ambidextrous person can use both their right and left hand with pretty equal strength and skill, so an ambivert is both internally and externally focused, and can be alone or 

The Middle of the Road

Labels can promote self-exploration and understanding, but when you don’t fit any of the available labels, you start to wonder about yourself. That’s why the introduction of the term “ambivert” is important–because there are people who truly do fall in the middle, and now we have a way to talk about that middle-space, understand it, and appreciate that, just like their introverted and extroverted counterparts, ambiverts are not alone in their operational patterns. 

While introverts and extroverts tend to be fairly predictable in their social needs, ambiverts are not. This isn’t a bad thing! Ambiverts are actually the most emotionally diverse group out of the three.

7 Signs You Might Be an Ambivert

Context Affects Your Needs 

Depending on the situation, you might feel like an extrovert one day and an introvert the next. Context plays a big role in this; when you consider your current social needs, what you’ve been up to in the last week or day can play a significant role in what you need right now. Some days, you might feel like being in a crowded room full of people; others, you might want to stay home. Both are okay.

You Have a (Changing) Social Limit

Your extroverted friends may expect you to always want to be out and about with them, but if you’re an ambivert, some days that is just not the case. Your social limit changes from day-to-day, and it’s okay to need time to yourself.

You Prefer Deep Conversation But Are Also Good at Small Talk

Ambiverts can do it all, but at the end of the day, they value more in-depth conversations. They like to get to know others in a meaningful rather than superficial way.

You Can Be Reserved and Outgoing

With constantly changing social needs, ambiverts are often quite self-aware out of necessity. Thus they generally know when to set their boundaries and withdraw, and when to let loose and be outgoing and energetic. This balance is great for maintaining all types of relationships.

You Can Be Something of a Chameleon

One unique aspect of ambiverts is their ability to shift how you’re showing up in a moment to fit the needs of the situation. For example, if you’re chatting with a friend who is quiet and withdrawn, you might go into your outgoing-mode, while if you’re talking to someone with a lot of chatty social energy, you might pull back a bit and go into your listening, attentive, introverted-friend mode. You may be an ambivert if you find your friends are all over the spectrum in their personalities and social needs since you can (and often do) shift a bit, like a chameleon, to suit them pretty easily. 

New People Are Great as Long as Your Friends are With You

Ambiverts may initially present themselves to new acquaintances in a more reserved way until they are comfortable enough to open up and express their more extroverted side. Having a familiar friend along can ease this process. 

You Need Alone Time AND Social Time

Alone time is still critical to the ambivert who enjoys being social. Both situations fill them up in different ways. It’s almost like ambiverts have two tanks, a social tank and an alone-time tank, that both need to be maintained. 

What Ambiverts Bring to the Table

Ambiverts naturally offer a balancing influence to society. They grease the wheels in social situations. They can relate to just about anyone, which means they can be the relational glue in friendships and true peacemakers when conflict arises. Ambiverts also bring a contemplative self-awareness that can inspire others to do the work of being introspective, self-attuned, and capable of healthy boundaries.