Amotivational syndrome: causes and its 15 common symptoms

Many people who use marijuana end up showing disinterest in everything and apathy.

The amotivational syndrome is a psychological condition characterized by a loss of interest in social situations and participation in activities of all kinds. One of its characteristic features is marked apathy.

This syndrome is more likely to appear in people who consume cannabis for a long period of time. In this article we will delve into this phenomenon and respect its most important characteristics.

Motivational syndrome: what is it?

The motivational syndrome presents many similarities with depressionThe person feels unwilling to do anything and projects an intense apathy, but also feels distant from his or her emotions and those of others.

According to some research, the main cause of amotivational syndrome is found in the frontal parts of our brain, those involved in social behavior, motivation or reasoning ability.

Causes

Studies suggest that it is very characteristic of people who consume marijuana.It is very common in individuals who use marijuana, so it tends to appear in individuals who use this drug. Although there are many advocates of cannabis use, in the article "Marijuana: science reveals its long-term effects on the brain" we already told you about some of the side effects of this substance in regular and chronic users.

However, experts say that the appearance of this condition is not exclusive to marijuana use, but is associated with the frequent use of substances that cause instant gratification. frequent use of substances that cause instant gratification..

In reality, many individuals who consume marijuana do not suffer from this syndrome, so some researchers suggest that the personality of some people may be the main cause of its appearance. In other words, it could be that individuals who suffer from this syndrome are predisposed to suffer from it, and marijuana would be a triggering factor.

In any case, its causes are not clear, so there is still a lot of work to be done in this line of research.

What characterizes this syndrome?

Although the causes are not very well defined, the characteristics and symptoms of motivational syndrome are. But what are these characteristics? In the following lines we explain them to you.

1. Apathy

As already mentioned, apathy is one of the characteristic symptoms of amotivational syndrome, apathy is one of the characteristic symptoms of the amotivational syndrome.. This means that the person lives in a state of permanent disinterest and feels unmotivated with respect to his life and the environment that surrounds him. Nothing attracts his attention or makes him feel like doing things.

2. No future plans

Since in the present he feels apathetic and uninterested, this also manifests itself in the future. The person lacks life goalsThis fits perfectly with the lack of interest he suffers from. His future does not concern him, nor do the people around him.

3. Passivity

Apathy in these people not only shows respect for themselves and their goals, but, as I have said, an individual also has a lack of interest in the future. is passive to the environment and surrounding stimuli. He has serious difficulties when performing activities and paying attention to any task.

4. Conformism

The lack of vital objectives makes his personal development impossible and turns him into a conformist person. The person lives in his comfort zone, from which he is unable to leave. He becomes lazy and has a state of mind in which his body weighs him down when performing any activity.

5. Loss of principles

The person lives immersed in a reality in which nothing interests him**, lacks principles and ideals**, and his life itself ceases to have meaning. There is no motivation to act. And doing anything is like walking uphill.

6. Lack of emotion

Not only does the person not connect with his or her ideals, but is unable to live his emotions and feelings.. He does not experience them, neither towards himself nor towards others. Even good news is meaningless.

7. Isolation

This causes the person to isolate himself, to stop having contact with others. That is to say, that the motivation is not only in reference to activities, as it could be if he/she were a lazy person, but he/she does not seem to care about interpersonal relationships. He is not interested in anything or anyone.

8. Introversion

The person adopts an introverted attitude, in which he directs his attention to his internal events and thoughts. His capacity for external attention is minimized..

9. Sadness

Individuals with amotivational syndrome may also feel great sadness, as they are not aware of why they feel this way. That is to say, the person has serious difficulties to identify the reason for their disinterest..

10. Lack of affection

The lack of emotional connection is accompanied by a lack of affection, so he/she will not identify with anyone and will not bond with the individuals around him/her.

11. Deterioration of social skills

This can also be observed in the deterioration of social skills and a lack of interest in communicating with other people. The person has serious difficulties in relating to others and, as I said before, tends to isolation.

This has to do with something very simple: relating to other people, especially if they are not well known, costs effort and the use of numerous cognitive resources. Consequently, someone in this kind of state of mind will probably tend to adopt a passive attitude and avoid situations where conversation or interaction with others is required.

12. Decreased concentration

Since the person invests his attentional resources in internal attention, his external attention, both broad and narrow, is affected. This causes difficulties at the cognitive level, as the person has difficulty processing information. His memory is also affected.

13. Slowness of movement and decreased reflexes.

The attitude of apathy and decreased attention also affects their ability to perform movements. Not only that, but he also presents slow reflexes and other psychomotor alterations.

14. Neglect of personal care

Demotivation and lack of interest is also manifested in his or her self-careand the person stops taking care of him/herself, grooming and even cleaning him/herself.

Hygiene is seen as an unimportant "whim", despite the fact that the simple fact of not taking care of oneself has a direct and very negative impact on the person in the short term: for example, through dust (dry skin particles) that passes into the Respiratory system.

15. Difficulty in sexual relations

Disinterest in sexual relations is also a reality, and you may stop having sex. This can complicate your sex life, and different problems may appear, such as those discussed in the article "The 8 most frequent sexual problems and how to treat them".