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Losing interest in things
Category: Mind, Mood & Sleep · All mind & sleep symptoms
What it can feel like
Losing interest in things (anhedonia) means activities, people and pleasures that used to engage you now feel flat or effortful — hobbies shelved, friends unanswered, food and sex unappealing. It is one of the two core symptoms of depression (with low mood), and it can also arrive with exhaustion states and some physical illnesses.
Possible causes
A symptom can have many causes, and most are not serious. The lists below group conditions this symptom can be associated with — common causes first. They are possibilities to discuss with a clinician, not a diagnosis.
Common causes
Losing interest can be associated with depression, burnout and prolonged stress, grief, poor sleep, alcohol, and the flattening effect of some medicines.
Other possible causes
Losing interest can also be associated with an underactive thyroid, anaemia, Parkinson's disease (where apathy can precede movement symptoms), dementia syndromes affecting the frontal lobes, and schizophrenia-spectrum illnesses when joined by other features.
Red flags — when to seek help promptly
- Losing interest with thoughts of self-harm or feeling a burden — get help the same day (US 988, UK Samaritans 116 123, or emergency services)
- Losing interest with inability to eat, wash or manage the day (severe depression pattern)
- Losing interest in a new parent, persisting beyond the early weeks (postnatal depression)
- Apathy with new tremor, stiffness or slowness (possible Parkinson's)
- Apathy with personality change in an older adult (possible frontal dementia)
What a clinician may do
A clinician will explore mood, sleep, appetite and function, ask about self-harm directly and kindly, and check physical contributors (thyroid, blood count). Depression treatment — therapy, behavioural activation (scheduled re-engagement as treatment, not reward), and medicines — is discussed by severity.
Related guides on MedicalVideos.com
Frequently asked questions
Is anhedonia different from laziness?
Completely. Laziness preserves the capacity for pleasure — the lazy person enjoys the hobby once started. Anhedonia removes the pleasure itself, so starting brings no reward, which then looks like laziness from outside. The distinction matters because anhedonia is a symptom to treat, not a trait to shame.
What is behavioural activation?
A core depression therapy built on the finding that motivation follows action rather than preceding it: small, scheduled, values-based activities are reintroduced before they feel appealing, and pleasure and mastery ratings gradually return. It sounds simple; structured properly it matches other therapies for mild to moderate depression.
Related symptoms — Mind, Mood & Sleep
Browse the L section of the A–Z list or return to the Symptoms A–Z hub.