Anhedonia (can't feel joy or pleasure)

[[Ne...]]

Anhedonia...I never even knew this word prior to my benzo hell!  Here I am 8 1/2 years later in my sixth tortuous setback (tenth month) and not being able to feel joy and pleasure, I believe, is the worst of all my hellish mental symptoms.  Not for one day...not for one single second can I "feel" pleasure or joy EVER!  I'm wondering how many of us suffer from Anhedonia and I'm wondering if that, too, is why I have had to force feed during my setbacks since the "pleasure" of food and eating is nonexistent?  Just the thought of having to prepare food and eat makes me feel sick.  When I heal in between setbacks, joy and pleasure comes back but my setbacks are way longer than my healings. Last time it was a "window" of almost 9 months and my 5th setback prior was 18 months.    

[[4M...]]

I have bad anhedonia too. I'm almost 9 years off.  It definitely sucks. Mine comes in waves tho. It's probably vagus nerve related. Benzos do damage to the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve can send signals to the brain that can block the reward center. Good luck to you my brother.

Edited December 31, 2023 by [4M...]

[[Ca...]]

Oh yes, have had it straight through the whole Benzo ordeal. There have been certain exceptions though worth mentioning: 1 would be food, that's never failed. Some things do seem to taste differently which is weird. I didn't know it was a thing until I spotted it somewhere on here. 2 would be dreams. I've had euphoric dreams at night yet depression anxiety etc in the daytime. The more recent trend though is becoming more nightmarish than euphoric. 3 would be certain points where something I hear spots in music seem to poke through the bubble as does comedy spots but the quality is not quite the same. And I would say that's how it all is, really lacking in a genuine quality experience.

[[Ne...]]

I guess not too many people have anhedonia.  Mine never goes away until the setback is over.  I'm entering month 11 of this setback.  This is 8 1/2 years since my last crumb.    Catt02, so food is fine for you and you have an appetite?  If I never I had to eat, I would be fine.  And I normally LOVE to eat!

[[Ne...]]

On 30/12/2023 at 22:12, [[4...] said:

I have bad anhedonia too. I'm almost 9 years off.  It definitely sucks. Mine comes in waves tho. It's probably vagus nerve related. Benzos do damage to the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve can send signals to the brain that can block the reward center. Good luck to you my brother.

My anhedonia never goes away while I am in my severe setbacks which are worse than initially tapering.  No waves, no healing, nothing until the very end when the setback is over.  Last setback was 18 months.  This one I'm in my 11th month.

[[mr...]]

On 03/01/2024 at 16:24, [[N...] said:

I guess not too many people have anhedonia.  Mine never goes away until the setback is over.  I'm entering month 11 of this setback.  This is 8 1/2 years since my last crumb.    Catt02, so food is fine for you and you have an appetite?  If I never I had to eat, I would be fine.  And I normally LOVE to eat!

i do, i dont feel pleasure from almost anything anymore. im just existing. its like my brain stopped producing the right chemeicals like dopamine and serotonin

[[wi...]]

It’s really getting hard to endure anhedonia. I’m losing hope.

what sucks is even when I accomplish things I should feel good about, I feel nothing. Like I’m flat and zombie-like.

its been a few years.

Feels kinda like it’s attached to brain fog. Doctors just say I’m suffering from severe depression. They do not understand.

[[Ne...]]

Widesky...absolutely me, too!  NEVER feel good about anything.  Not being able to feel joy or pleasure prevents me from doing anything.  When I'm home alone on the weekend, all I do is lay and distract to my taped TV shows.  Normally, I would be cleaning, organizing and working in the yard and spending time with the grandchildren.  But, of course, anhedonia is just one of our symptoms.  I do wonder if I could feel joy and pleasure, if I would be able to function normally in spite of the constant anxiety, tremors, weakness, muscle aches and severe fatigue etc.