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It Has a Name!!

Active
Some of you know that I'm fighting a thing called Lewy Body Dementia....One of the sides of this demonic illness is having no emotion, well, no positive emotion....Today I learned the name of this side....If you're interested at all, you'll find it interesting.

"What is ANHEDONIA?
(No Feelings, Emotional Flatlining)
Anhedonia DEFINITION:
The clinical definition below states that anhedonia is a loss of interest in activities that used to be enjoyable, and a reduced capacity to feel pleasure.
The Diagnostic Manual of the American Psychiatric Association lists it as a symptom of depression, and not a specific disorder by itself. As a result, they are often treated together as one condition.
"Emotional Flatlining EXPLANATION.
I (Jackie Kelm) am not a doctor or mental health professional, and am simply sharing what I’ve learned from my own personal experience.
Positive Emotional Flatlining is a term I created because anhedonia was close to what I experienced, but not exactly.
I found two significant differences as follows.
1. With emotional flatlining I experienced a physical inability to produce positive emotions. It was not a reduction in feelings, but the complete absence of them.
I believe emotional flatlining is a neurological condition where the brain malfunctions in a way that blocks the ability to feel emotions such as joy, happiness, gratitude, caring, and other positive feelings.
2. When I first became emotionally flat I fell into depression from being devastated by the condition.
I was able to get rid of the depression over time, but still experienced complete and total emotional flatlining. So I believe they are distinct conditions.
3. With emotional flatlining I was still able to experience negative emotions such as anger and frustration. In some cases they seemed less intense than before, but they were there.
Positive Emotional Flatlining Definition.
A physical condition that blocks the reward-system positive-feeling neurochemicals while the threat-response mechanisms continue to work and create negative feelings.
It is a distinct condition from depression that may or may not co-exist alongside it.
Examples of living with emotional flatlining include:
• Holding your baby and feeling no love or connection at all.
• Hearing your favorite song and being completely unmoved.
• Having no desire for, or enjoyment of intimacy even if you can perform physically
• Not being able to grieve the loss of someone you love.
• Having no interest or motivation to do anything, including hobbies or activities you used to enjoy.
• Faking emotions with other people, such as pretending to care when you don’t.
• Feeling totally flat during special moments such as getting married or watching your favorite sports team win a major championship.
• Having memory issues, trouble concentrating, and other cognitive difficulties.
To learn more about emotional flatlining, including a checklist of common experiences, please sign up for the free report at the top right and bottom of this page.
Clinical Anhedonia Definition.
“Anhedonia, a term first used by Ribot in 1896, is a diminished capacity to experience pleasure.
It describes the lack of interest and the withdrawal from all usual pleasant activities.
Chapman et al. defined two different types of hedonic deficit: physical anhedonia and social anhedonia.
PHYSICAL anhedonia represents an inability to feel physical pleasures (such as eating, touching and sex).
SOCIAL anhedonia describes an incapacity to experience interpersonal pleasure (such as being and talking to others).”
TYPES of ANHEDONIA:
Anhedonia definitions include different types, such as SOCIAL and PHYSICAL described above, sexual, musical, appetitive or motivational, consummatory, and anticipatory anhedonia.
TOTAL or COMPLETE anhedonia is having all of them together where there is no positive emotion or interest in any area of life, which is what I refer to as emotional flatlining.
Musical, social, and sexual anhedonia are characterized by having no sense of pleasure in these particular areas.
APPETITIVE or Motivational anhedonia is having no motivation or desire to do something, while consummatory anhedonia is not enjoying the activity itself.
ANTICIPATORY anhedonia is the inability to experience any excitement about the future.
CAUSES of Anhedonia:
The part of the brain affected with this condition is complex, because it involves a variety of functions.
In Neurobiological Mechanisms of Anhedonia (2008), Philip Gorwood, MD, PhD, suggests that “The severity of anhedonia is associated with a deficit of activity of the ventral striatum (including the nucleus accumbens) and an excess of activity of the ventral region of the prefrontal cortex (including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the orbitofrontal cortex), with a pivotal, but not exclusive, role of dopamine.”
He goes on to say that, “The role of dopamine and the ventral striatum in anhedonia, as a symptom of depression, is never-the-less a largely replicated finding; this does not mean that they explain the trait, but more likely, that they are definitely involved…among others.” Source
There is no clear agreed-upon cause at this time, though researchers are narrowing in on the parts of the brain affected.
Causes of Emotional Flatlining.
While I created a new term to distinguish anhedonia from emotional flatlining, I think there are times when the term anhedonia is used appropriately to describe emotional flatlining.
So the research above on causes of anhedonia may be relevant for emotional flatlining.
Below is a list of self-reported causes that people have made who have come to this site:
• Certain medications, including antidepressants and especially anti-psychotics.
• Certain recreational drugs
• Severe or prolonged anxiety or stress.
• Inflammation or infection
The Difference Between Flatlining and Depression.
The main characteristic that distinguishes emotional flatlining from depression is the complete absence of any positive emotion.
With depression you may have occasional, tiny, fleeting moments where you feel some little stir of a good feeling for a brief moment.
It might be as simple as seeing your cat and momentarily thinking he is cute.
Or hearing a song you like and enjoying it for an instant. With complete anhedonia you feel no positive emotion at all, at any time, with no one, or no thing.
Another characteristic of emotional flatlining is a total loss of interest. You have no motivation or desire to do things you might typically enjoy such as watching certain television shows, playing video games, having dinner with friends, surfing the internet, or listening to music.
While loss of interest is also common in depression, the difference with flatlining is the totality of the loss. It is a complete and total loss of interest and no corresponding pleasure at all.
Finally is the experience with grief. A depressed person may not care as much, or feel as deeply when someone close dies, but they will have some sense of sadness or loss.
With emotional flatlining their is not only a complete inability to grieve, there is an underlying disturbing or upsetting feeling that you can’t grieve.
Given the differences, the treatment goals for emotional flatlining should potentially be different than for depression.
I am not a doctor, so this is simply my opinion. Treating depression would seem to be more about getting rid of negative feelings, while treating emotional flatlining is more about increasing, or re-establishing positive feelings.
While they sound similar, the end results that determine treatment success would be different.
The “Pointlessness” of Emotional Flatlining.
I initially had emotional flatlining and depression, but was able to get rid of the depression while total anhedonia remained.
I was able to clearly see the difference between the two, and hesitate to mention another troubling characteristic of anhedonia that may be different from depression.
I continuously had a disturbing underlying feeling there was no point to my life.
It all seemed meaningless because I did not enjoy anything, care about anyone, or look forward to anything.
I could not feel the slightest bit of love or connection so I had no desire to be with people or even my cat.
I could not experience pleasure in any part of my life, so I had no interest in going on vacation, going out to eat, doing my hobbies, getting together with friends, or doing other normally pleasurable activities.
There was nothing I wanted to experience, nowhere I wanted to go, nothing I wanted to learn, and no one I wanted to be with.
There was no point to anything, so life seemed completely meaningless.
When I got over depression and was high-functioning with emotional flatlining, I was able to put myself on autopilot and just get things done.
But that same sense of meaninglessness continued, and I would break down at times in complete despair that I could not go on like this."
ARTICLE by Jackie Kelm
* The pictures below illustrate how i feel dementia has changed my brain! I use to be a very happy, active, social, creative person!
Now, i dont have many emotions, stay to myself alot, not very creative anymore, and getting less interested in things that use t o make me happy and enthusiatic...i just feel blase....
 
Active
* The pictures below illustrate how I feel dementia has changed my brain! I use to be a very happy, active, social, creative person!
Now, I don't have many emotions, stay to myself a lot, not very creative anymore, and getting less interested in things that use to make me happy and enthusiastic ... I just feel blasé ....
Hey that describes me and I do not have whatchamacallit " Anhedonia" :expressionless: and I am normal ... just ask my cats.

As long as we are not blasé about out Lord and Master Jesus - let us stay zealous of worship and love and good works. Amen
 
Active
Hey that describes me and I do not have whatchamacallit " Anhedonia" :expressionless: and I am normal ... just ask my cats.

As long as we are not blasé about out Lord and Master Jesus - let us stay zealous of worship and love and good works. Amen
When is the last time you laughed? Or smiled? When is the last time you felt any pleasure? You have cats...do they make you smile? Do they make you feel better? When is the last time you looked at your wife and melted inside? No my friend, you don't have this thing...and you don't want to.
 
Active
Here is a wonderful and uplifting testimony from a woman in our church who was healed from depression by the power of God

 
Active
Here is a wonderful and uplifting testimony from a woman in our church who was healed from depression by the power of God

Its so cool how God has healed us. I don't have depression, though some of my symptoms sound like it. What I have is dementia...That is when plaque builds up in the brain blocking the functioning of synapses (whatever they are). It shuts down many functions of the brain like emotion, cognition, and so on...In effect, the brain starts dying. When enough of the brain dies, the body will follow suit. I know that the promise of healing applies to me, that by Jesus' stripes I am healed...but my friend, its very difficult to build a house in the middle of a hurricane....I am fighting to see my healing, and the storm is getting stronger....
 
Active
Some of you know that I'm fighting a thing called Lewy Body Dementia....One of the sides of this demonic illness is having no emotion, well, no positive emotion....Today I learned the name of this side....If you're interested at all, you'll find it interesting.

"What is ANHEDONIA?
(No Feelings, Emotional Flatlining)
Anhedonia DEFINITION:
The clinical definition below states that anhedonia is a loss of interest in activities that used to be enjoyable, and a reduced capacity to feel pleasure.
The Diagnostic Manual of the American Psychiatric Association lists it as a symptom of depression, and not a specific disorder by itself. As a result, they are often treated together as one condition.
"Emotional Flatlining EXPLANATION.
I (Jackie Kelm) am not a doctor or mental health professional, and am simply sharing what I’ve learned from my own personal experience.
Positive Emotional Flatlining is a term I created because anhedonia was close to what I experienced, but not exactly.
I found two significant differences as follows.
1. With emotional flatlining I experienced a physical inability to produce positive emotions. It was not a reduction in feelings, but the complete absence of them.
I believe emotional flatlining is a neurological condition where the brain malfunctions in a way that blocks the ability to feel emotions such as joy, happiness, gratitude, caring, and other positive feelings.
2. When I first became emotionally flat I fell into depression from being devastated by the condition.
I was able to get rid of the depression over time, but still experienced complete and total emotional flatlining. So I believe they are distinct conditions.
3. With emotional flatlining I was still able to experience negative emotions such as anger and frustration. In some cases they seemed less intense than before, but they were there.
Positive Emotional Flatlining Definition.
A physical condition that blocks the reward-system positive-feeling neurochemicals while the threat-response mechanisms continue to work and create negative feelings.
It is a distinct condition from depression that may or may not co-exist alongside it.
Examples of living with emotional flatlining include:
• Holding your baby and feeling no love or connection at all.
• Hearing your favorite song and being completely unmoved.
• Having no desire for, or enjoyment of intimacy even if you can perform physically
• Not being able to grieve the loss of someone you love.
• Having no interest or motivation to do anything, including hobbies or activities you used to enjoy.
• Faking emotions with other people, such as pretending to care when you don’t.
• Feeling totally flat during special moments such as getting married or watching your favorite sports team win a major championship.
• Having memory issues, trouble concentrating, and other cognitive difficulties.
To learn more about emotional flatlining, including a checklist of common experiences, please sign up for the free report at the top right and bottom of this page.
Clinical Anhedonia Definition.
“Anhedonia, a term first used by Ribot in 1896, is a diminished capacity to experience pleasure.
It describes the lack of interest and the withdrawal from all usual pleasant activities.
Chapman et al. defined two different types of hedonic deficit: physical anhedonia and social anhedonia.
PHYSICAL anhedonia represents an inability to feel physical pleasures (such as eating, touching and sex).
SOCIAL anhedonia describes an incapacity to experience interpersonal pleasure (such as being and talking to others).”
TYPES of ANHEDONIA:
Anhedonia definitions include different types, such as SOCIAL and PHYSICAL described above, sexual, musical, appetitive or motivational, consummatory, and anticipatory anhedonia.
TOTAL or COMPLETE anhedonia is having all of them together where there is no positive emotion or interest in any area of life, which is what I refer to as emotional flatlining.
Musical, social, and sexual anhedonia are characterized by having no sense of pleasure in these particular areas.
APPETITIVE or Motivational anhedonia is having no motivation or desire to do something, while consummatory anhedonia is not enjoying the activity itself.
ANTICIPATORY anhedonia is the inability to experience any excitement about the future.
CAUSES of Anhedonia:
The part of the brain affected with this condition is complex, because it involves a variety of functions.
In Neurobiological Mechanisms of Anhedonia (2008), Philip Gorwood, MD, PhD, suggests that “The severity of anhedonia is associated with a deficit of activity of the ventral striatum (including the nucleus accumbens) and an excess of activity of the ventral region of the prefrontal cortex (including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the orbitofrontal cortex), with a pivotal, but not exclusive, role of dopamine.”
He goes on to say that, “The role of dopamine and the ventral striatum in anhedonia, as a symptom of depression, is never-the-less a largely replicated finding; this does not mean that they explain the trait, but more likely, that they are definitely involved…among others.” Source
There is no clear agreed-upon cause at this time, though researchers are narrowing in on the parts of the brain affected.
Causes of Emotional Flatlining.
While I created a new term to distinguish anhedonia from emotional flatlining, I think there are times when the term anhedonia is used appropriately to describe emotional flatlining.
So the research above on causes of anhedonia may be relevant for emotional flatlining.
Below is a list of self-reported causes that people have made who have come to this site:
• Certain medications, including antidepressants and especially anti-psychotics.
• Certain recreational drugs
• Severe or prolonged anxiety or stress.
• Inflammation or infection
The Difference Between Flatlining and Depression.
The main characteristic that distinguishes emotional flatlining from depression is the complete absence of any positive emotion.
With depression you may have occasional, tiny, fleeting moments where you feel some little stir of a good feeling for a brief moment.
It might be as simple as seeing your cat and momentarily thinking he is cute.
Or hearing a song you like and enjoying it for an instant. With complete anhedonia you feel no positive emotion at all, at any time, with no one, or no thing.
Another characteristic of emotional flatlining is a total loss of interest. You have no motivation or desire to do things you might typically enjoy such as watching certain television shows, playing video games, having dinner with friends, surfing the internet, or listening to music.
While loss of interest is also common in depression, the difference with flatlining is the totality of the loss. It is a complete and total loss of interest and no corresponding pleasure at all.
Finally is the experience with grief. A depressed person may not care as much, or feel as deeply when someone close dies, but they will have some sense of sadness or loss.
With emotional flatlining their is not only a complete inability to grieve, there is an underlying disturbing or upsetting feeling that you can’t grieve.
Given the differences, the treatment goals for emotional flatlining should potentially be different than for depression.
I am not a doctor, so this is simply my opinion. Treating depression would seem to be more about getting rid of negative feelings, while treating emotional flatlining is more about increasing, or re-establishing positive feelings.
While they sound similar, the end results that determine treatment success would be different.
The “Pointlessness” of Emotional Flatlining.
I initially had emotional flatlining and depression, but was able to get rid of the depression while total anhedonia remained.
I was able to clearly see the difference between the two, and hesitate to mention another troubling characteristic of anhedonia that may be different from depression.
I continuously had a disturbing underlying feeling there was no point to my life.
It all seemed meaningless because I did not enjoy anything, care about anyone, or look forward to anything.
I could not feel the slightest bit of love or connection so I had no desire to be with people or even my cat.
I could not experience pleasure in any part of my life, so I had no interest in going on vacation, going out to eat, doing my hobbies, getting together with friends, or doing other normally pleasurable activities.
There was nothing I wanted to experience, nowhere I wanted to go, nothing I wanted to learn, and no one I wanted to be with.
There was no point to anything, so life seemed completely meaningless.
When I got over depression and was high-functioning with emotional flatlining, I was able to put myself on autopilot and just get things done.
But that same sense of meaninglessness continued, and I would break down at times in complete despair that I could not go on like this."
ARTICLE by Jackie Kelm
* The pictures below illustrate how i feel dementia has changed my brain! I use to be a very happy, active, social, creative person!
Now, i dont have many emotions, stay to myself alot, not very creative anymore, and getting less interested in things that use t o make me happy and enthusiatic...i just feel blase....
I hear you, brother. I'm not quite at that level, but somewhere on that spectrum. I refuse to medicate (all types including alcohol) except a couple Tylenol p.m. before bed sometimes. What I find helpful is staying engaged in God's word, with God's children, and sharing the gospel message. We have the cure for death, and there's lots of people out there that are dying who are lost and afraid. Not all will listen, but ours is simply to share what we know we have.
 
Active
Its so cool how God has healed us. I don't have depression, though some of my symptoms sound like it. What I have is dementia...That is when plaque builds up in the brain blocking the functioning of synapses (whatever they are). It shuts down many functions of the brain like emotion, cognition, and so on...In effect, the brain starts dying. When enough of the brain dies, the body will follow suit. I know that the promise of healing applies to me, that by Jesus' stripes I am healed...but my friend, its very difficult to build a house in the middle of a hurricane....I am fighting to see my healing, and the storm is getting stronger....
In addition to praying in tongues for that does not require cognitive functioning of your brain
I recommend fish oil (omega 3) 4-6 capsules and vitamin E (helps to absorb the full benefits of the fish oil)
and on other day take a small glass (40 ml) of extra virgin cold pressed olive oil (naturally full of vitamin E)
both these natural products are God given and do help the brain to heal and function better.
 
Active
I was just reminded, when I questioned what it must be like to be normal, to feel, to do, that my body may be sick but my spirit is completely healthy...That I should live in the Spirit....Sage advice...
 
Active
Can anyone tell me what its like to be normal, to have no fog in the head and no dark borders limiting the thinking? What's it like to be able to remember what happened ten minutes ago and to understand it right off the bat? What's it like to sit with a group of people and be able to keep up with the conversation without crashing with fatigue?
 
Loyal
Can anyone tell me what its like to be normal, to have no fog in the head and no dark borders limiting the thinking? What's it like to be able to remember what happened ten minutes ago and to understand it right off the bat? What's it like to sit with a group of people and be able to keep up with the conversation without crashing with fatigue?
To know what it is to be normal in the sense you speak of, one would have to have your experiences as well to compare the two. Otherwise it would just be "normal".
 
Active
Can anyone tell me what its like to be normal, to have no fog in the head and no dark borders limiting the thinking? What's it like to be able to remember what happened ten minutes ago and to understand it right off the bat? What's it like to sit with a group of people and be able to keep up with the conversation without crashing with fatigue?
Forget normal: it's a relative term and the goalposts are always moving, with the world redefining normal to suit whatever it likes. Instead, know with certainty that you are normal in spite of all that ails you because you have God's truth. God's truth is absolute and does not change. Nick Vujicic is normal, he has no arms or legs, he was born that way. Nick Vujicic also knows God's absolute truth, and that's how he lives. Blessings brother.
 
Member
What I have is dementia...That is when plaque builds up in the brain blocking the functioning of synapses (whatever they are). It shuts down many functions of the brain like emotion, cognition, and so on...In effect, the brain starts dying. When enough of the brain dies, the body will follow suit
forgive me for asking, but how do you know this is actually what you have?
 
Active
If you look into it, there are about twenty symptoms to LBD If you have only four, they say you have it...I have them all...and the experts agree. Here is an example...This happened two days ago....
.Last evening, just before dinner, our old cat jumped off his shelf on top of a cabinet behind my chair...He tends to land hard anyway, but this time when he landed, on the back of my chair, it scared me so bad I actually yelled. I could feel my heart pounding at hyperspeed and I was so tense that if I had not been firmly planted in my chair, I might have actually gone into orbit. The cat landed on the floor and I kind of swiveled my ankle bumping him to one side away from me...It was NOT a kick...He didn't squalk. He didn't even slow down. He just kind of scrootched to one side and kept on going. But the manure went into the air conditioning anyway. Wife and daughter lit right up, and were all over me for kicking the little fuzzball.
The part that really shocked me though, was that within a very short time my head wanted to explode, my eyesight would not focus beyond a few feet, and everything was weird....I don't know how to describe that last part, its like everything was surreal and dark edges. Then last night I was in bed at eleven, up at eleven thirty this morning and slept an entire 45 minutes...I could not turn off my brain or even slow it down....
Today I feel like the morning after a nuclear blast. My head aches, my hands and wrists hurt and feel on fire. I'm seeing and feeling the world through a fog..
 
Member
paragraphs, man.. paragraphs..

btw, about 3 years ago, i had more than one person tell me on reddit that i'm skitzophrenic.. just from the poor language structure.
 
Active
Some of you know that I'm fighting a thing called Lewy Body Dementia....One of the sides of this demonic illness is having no emotion, well, no positive emotion....Today I learned the name of this side....If you're interested at all, you'll find it interesting.

"What is ANHEDONIA?
(No Feelings, Emotional Flatlining)
Anhedonia DEFINITION:
The clinical definition below states that anhedonia is a loss of interest in activities that used to be enjoyable, and a reduced capacity to feel pleasure.
The Diagnostic Manual of the American Psychiatric Association lists it as a symptom of depression, and not a specific disorder by itself. As a result, they are often treated together as one condition.
"Emotional Flatlining EXPLANATION.
I (Jackie Kelm) am not a doctor or mental health professional, and am simply sharing what I’ve learned from my own personal experience.
Positive Emotional Flatlining is a term I created because anhedonia was close to what I experienced, but not exactly.
I found two significant differences as follows.
1. With emotional flatlining I experienced a physical inability to produce positive emotions. It was not a reduction in feelings, but the complete absence of them.
I believe emotional flatlining is a neurological condition where the brain malfunctions in a way that blocks the ability to feel emotions such as joy, happiness, gratitude, caring, and other positive feelings.
2. When I first became emotionally flat I fell into depression from being devastated by the condition.
I was able to get rid of the depression over time, but still experienced complete and total emotional flatlining. So I believe they are distinct conditions.
3. With emotional flatlining I was still able to experience negative emotions such as anger and frustration. In some cases they seemed less intense than before, but they were there.
Positive Emotional Flatlining Definition.
A physical condition that blocks the reward-system positive-feeling neurochemicals while the threat-response mechanisms continue to work and create negative feelings.
It is a distinct condition from depression that may or may not co-exist alongside it.
Examples of living with emotional flatlining include:
• Holding your baby and feeling no love or connection at all.
• Hearing your favorite song and being completely unmoved.
• Having no desire for, or enjoyment of intimacy even if you can perform physically
• Not being able to grieve the loss of someone you love.
• Having no interest or motivation to do anything, including hobbies or activities you used to enjoy.
• Faking emotions with other people, such as pretending to care when you don’t.
• Feeling totally flat during special moments such as getting married or watching your favorite sports team win a major championship.
• Having memory issues, trouble concentrating, and other cognitive difficulties.
To learn more about emotional flatlining, including a checklist of common experiences, please sign up for the free report at the top right and bottom of this page.
Clinical Anhedonia Definition.
“Anhedonia, a term first used by Ribot in 1896, is a diminished capacity to experience pleasure.
It describes the lack of interest and the withdrawal from all usual pleasant activities.
Chapman et al. defined two different types of hedonic deficit: physical anhedonia and social anhedonia.
PHYSICAL anhedonia represents an inability to feel physical pleasures (such as eating, touching and sex).
SOCIAL anhedonia describes an incapacity to experience interpersonal pleasure (such as being and talking to others).”
TYPES of ANHEDONIA:
Anhedonia definitions include different types, such as SOCIAL and PHYSICAL described above, sexual, musical, appetitive or motivational, consummatory, and anticipatory anhedonia.
TOTAL or COMPLETE anhedonia is having all of them together where there is no positive emotion or interest in any area of life, which is what I refer to as emotional flatlining.
Musical, social, and sexual anhedonia are characterized by having no sense of pleasure in these particular areas.
APPETITIVE or Motivational anhedonia is having no motivation or desire to do something, while consummatory anhedonia is not enjoying the activity itself.
ANTICIPATORY anhedonia is the inability to experience any excitement about the future.
CAUSES of Anhedonia:
The part of the brain affected with this condition is complex, because it involves a variety of functions.
In Neurobiological Mechanisms of Anhedonia (2008), Philip Gorwood, MD, PhD, suggests that “The severity of anhedonia is associated with a deficit of activity of the ventral striatum (including the nucleus accumbens) and an excess of activity of the ventral region of the prefrontal cortex (including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the orbitofrontal cortex), with a pivotal, but not exclusive, role of dopamine.”
He goes on to say that, “The role of dopamine and the ventral striatum in anhedonia, as a symptom of depression, is never-the-less a largely replicated finding; this does not mean that they explain the trait, but more likely, that they are definitely involved…among others.” Source
There is no clear agreed-upon cause at this time, though researchers are narrowing in on the parts of the brain affected.
Causes of Emotional Flatlining.
While I created a new term to distinguish anhedonia from emotional flatlining, I think there are times when the term anhedonia is used appropriately to describe emotional flatlining.
So the research above on causes of anhedonia may be relevant for emotional flatlining.
Below is a list of self-reported causes that people have made who have come to this site:
• Certain medications, including antidepressants and especially anti-psychotics.
• Certain recreational drugs
• Severe or prolonged anxiety or stress.
• Inflammation or infection
The Difference Between Flatlining and Depression.
The main characteristic that distinguishes emotional flatlining from depression is the complete absence of any positive emotion.
With depression you may have occasional, tiny, fleeting moments where you feel some little stir of a good feeling for a brief moment.
It might be as simple as seeing your cat and momentarily thinking he is cute.
Or hearing a song you like and enjoying it for an instant. With complete anhedonia you feel no positive emotion at all, at any time, with no one, or no thing.
Another characteristic of emotional flatlining is a total loss of interest. You have no motivation or desire to do things you might typically enjoy such as watching certain television shows, playing video games, having dinner with friends, surfing the internet, or listening to music.
While loss of interest is also common in depression, the difference with flatlining is the totality of the loss. It is a complete and total loss of interest and no corresponding pleasure at all.
Finally is the experience with grief. A depressed person may not care as much, or feel as deeply when someone close dies, but they will have some sense of sadness or loss.
With emotional flatlining their is not only a complete inability to grieve, there is an underlying disturbing or upsetting feeling that you can’t grieve.
Given the differences, the treatment goals for emotional flatlining should potentially be different than for depression.
I am not a doctor, so this is simply my opinion. Treating depression would seem to be more about getting rid of negative feelings, while treating emotional flatlining is more about increasing, or re-establishing positive feelings.
While they sound similar, the end results that determine treatment success would be different.
The “Pointlessness” of Emotional Flatlining.
I initially had emotional flatlining and depression, but was able to get rid of the depression while total anhedonia remained.
I was able to clearly see the difference between the two, and hesitate to mention another troubling characteristic of anhedonia that may be different from depression.
I continuously had a disturbing underlying feeling there was no point to my life.
It all seemed meaningless because I did not enjoy anything, care about anyone, or look forward to anything.
I could not feel the slightest bit of love or connection so I had no desire to be with people or even my cat.
I could not experience pleasure in any part of my life, so I had no interest in going on vacation, going out to eat, doing my hobbies, getting together with friends, or doing other normally pleasurable activities.
There was nothing I wanted to experience, nowhere I wanted to go, nothing I wanted to learn, and no one I wanted to be with.
There was no point to anything, so life seemed completely meaningless.
When I got over depression and was high-functioning with emotional flatlining, I was able to put myself on autopilot and just get things done.
But that same sense of meaninglessness continued, and I would break down at times in complete despair that I could not go on like this."
ARTICLE by Jackie Kelm
* The pictures below illustrate how i feel dementia has changed my brain! I use to be a very happy, active, social, creative person!
Now, i dont have many emotions, stay to myself alot, not very creative anymore, and getting less interested in things that use t o make me happy and enthusiatic...i just feel blase....
(Hugs)
 
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