People may experience episodes of apathy with certain psychological conditions, such as major depression and schizophrenia. In addition, people who experience traumatic events may develop apathy syndrome (indifference and emotional detachment) as a way to protect themselves mentally and prevent further distress.
The origin of the term apathy comes from a form of the prefix a—meaning "without," and the Greek pathos meaning "emotion, feeling, suffering." Thus, apathy was originally defined as freedom from suffering.
Sometimes, apathetic feelings are a result of things we can recognize and change—for example, we're feeling bored at work or we're no longer attracted to someone we once felt attracted to. But sometimes apathy is a symptom of a larger issue we're facing, like trauma, grief, or an underlying mental health condition.
If the feelings of apathy you experience are caused by something clearly identifiable, like a repetitive routine or burnout, it can be helpful to change up your routine. Try new things that challenge or fulfill you in different ways, such as a new hobby, a new exercise routine, or making new friends.
Negative thoughts, demoralizing events, and tedious routines can all lead to apathy. To overcome apathy, one must give oneself compassion, empathy, and understanding.
Depending on the cause of apathy, available medications include: Antidepressants. For apathy linked to depression or dementia, antidepressants are a great choice. Although there are many options, drugs like Desyrel (trazodone), Zelapar (deprenyl), and Luvox (fluvoxamine) have been proven effective in studies.
Apathy is one of the most common neuropsychiatric symptoms in older adults,1–4 and is increasingly prevalent with advancing age.
Losing interest or pleasure in activities or people that once gave you enjoyment, may be due to overworking, relationship problems or being in a temporary rut. However, a loss of interest in many things or people, that is ongoing, can sometimes be a sign you have a mental health condition.
As a response, apathy is a way to forget about these negative feelings. This type of common apathy is usually felt only in the short term, but sometimes it becomes a long-term or even lifelong state, often leading to deeper social and psychological issues.
When you lose the ability to feel or express any emotions, this is called flat affect. If you feel numb only to positive emotions but are still able to feel negative emotions, this is called anhedonia. Anhedonia is a common symptom of depression and shows up in a lot of mental health conditions.
Borderline personality disorder is a unique mental health condition “marked by an ongoing pattern of varying moods, self-image, and behavior.” BPD is often associated with low self-esteem, persistent feelings of boredom or apathy, self harming behaviors including but not limited to suicide threats or attempts, unstable ...
An apathy syndrome is defined as a syndrome of primary motivational loss, that is, loss of motivation not attributable to emotional distress, intellectual impairment, or diminished level of consciousness.
But even though anxiety is such a powerful emotion, not all of the symptoms it causes are as filled with energy. In fact, one of the most common symptoms of extreme anxiety is apathy.
The opposite of empathy is apathy. Apathy means "indifference," "a lack of feeling," or "a lack of ability to feel compassion" for someone or something. In contrast, empathy is the ability to identify, relate and feel compassion for a person, particularly a person who is suffering or hurting somehow.
Some common synonyms of apathetic are impassive, phlegmatic, stoic, and stolid. While all these words mean "unresponsive to something that might normally excite interest or emotion," apathetic may imply a puzzling or deplorable indifference or inertness.
Apathy can often be a self-defense mechanism that is a disguise for an unfulfilled need for acceptance and love.
When you're feeling disinterested, it can be helpful to turn to friends and family for support. Let them know that you're struggling with this lack of interest. Sometimes just spending time around other people can lift your mood.
Healthline explains that anhedonia (a loss of interest) can have several different presentations: “Social anhedonia is often defined as an increased disinterest in all aspects of interpersonal relationships and a lack of pleasure in social situations.
Some common synonyms of disinterested are aloof, detached, incurious, indifferent, and unconcerned. While all these words mean "not showing or feeling interest," disinterested implies a circumstantial freedom from concern for personal or especially financial advantage that enables one to judge or advise without bias.
Apathy is much more common in people with dementia than in older people who don't have dementia. About 2–5% of older people without dementia have apathy, but about 50–70% of people with dementia have apathy. People who have any type of dementia can have apathy.
Diagnosing apathy
Apathy is associated with brain changes. It often occurs in the early stages of dementia and persists as the disease progresses, and is one of the most common neuropsychiatric symptoms in people with dementia.
Apathy is a debilitating syndrome associated with many neurological disorders, including several common neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, and focal lesion syndromes such as stroke.
Bipolar disorder I (BD-I) is defined by episodes of mania, depression and euthymic states. These episodes are among other symptoms characterized by altered reward processing and negative symptoms (NS), in particular apathy.
Apathy and depression have a lot in common, such as low energy or a lack of motivation. However, unlike apathy, depression is a psychological condition requiring a diagnosis using a specific set of criteria.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), commonly used to treat depression, are associated with loss of motivation, anergy, and lack of curiosity often referred collectively as apathy.