I wrote this prompt for myself a while ago and am only just now writing about it, probably having a very different perspective on its subject matter.
Some background is in order.
Over the last handful of years, I’ve been working very hard on myself. I’ve been trying to figure out why I feel the way I do about things, how I can improve my mood and motivation, and just generally figure out a lot of things out.
And I’ve had a lot of luck!
The most obvious thing is that I have sleep apnea which I’m now treating, of course.
But in a way, I’m almost thankful that I have it, because it made me feel bad enough that I went searching for the causes of my problems and ended up working through a lot of personal things along the way. I feel that I’m generally stronger and better off now than I was at any point. Without sleep apnea, I may have never figured out some of those things because they wouldn’t have been bad enough to even look for.
Something I’ve learned is that if you have a lot of unresolved problems or you are living with a bad set of values, you’re bound to stop enjoying things. If you go long enough without dealing with your problems, eventually you spend all your time pushing those feelings down, and the net result is that you don’t feel much of anything anymore, other than maybe anger.
And I think that’s a sign.
Your body is warning you that something is going on and you need to deal with.
In a more direct and literal sense, it may just be that you’re triggering a stress response all the time and that shuts down many functions, resulting in anhedonia and other physical problems.
Regardless, the cause is unresolved problems or living poorly in some way, and the solution is to figure those things out.
Once those problems are gone, you should go back to normal and start feeling things properly again.
So basically what I’m saying is: if you stop getting pleasure from normal things, that isn’t the entirety of your problem. It’s just a symptom; a result.
It’s a warning sign that there is something else you need to deal with.
When stated this way, it’s clear that things like drugs, sex, or risky behavior that briefly makes you feel alive are not the solution. They might briefly make you feel better but they are just a band-aid.
You should have been feeling good to begin with. If you’re not, there is a reason. And you have to deal with that reason.