Apathy: symptoms and causes of this feeling

If it intensifies too much, the absence of motivation can cause physical and psychological problems.

Most of us have been unmotivated at one time or another, not wanting to do anything despite the fact that we have to do it.. Although we do act and carry out whatever we have to do, we do it with a very low level of motivation, without enthusiasm or interest, almost as if we were robots.

These kinds of daily experiences are examples of one of the most unpleasant one of the most unpleasant feelings: apathy.. In this article we will see what exactly are its psychological bases and the causes by which it can arise.

Concept of apathy

Apathy is a condition or state of lack of motivation or interest in different aspects of life. for the different aspects of life, generally associated with a state of discomfort or hopelessness. There is a cognitive and affective indifference to most stimuli, and the desire to act is conspicuous by its absence.

On the other hand, the main characteristics of this symptom are affective flattening or dulling, lack of perseverance, and reduced thoughts and behaviors and the reduction of self-generated thoughts and behaviors.

Thus, not only is initiative lost to a greater or lesser degree, but the linking of events with emotions occurs at a much lower level. This can lead to the person's performance and level of effort to perform different types of behavior. This can cause the person to decrease his or her performance and level of effort to perform different types of behavior, which in turn feeds back into the subject's demotivation. When apathy is given to a maximum degree in which it does not allow us to act normally, making it difficult to make decisions or making it impossible to start or continue performing tasks, it can be called abulia.

Apathy can be found in a primary form as a syndrome without necessarily without necessarily having an associated disorder. However, it is generally considered a symptom indicative of other disorders, both mental and physical.

Possible causes of apathy

Apathy can have a number of different causes, both biological and different causes, both biological and environmental.

Biological causes

At the cerebral level, it has been shown that there is a correlation between the presence of apathy and alterations in the connection between frontal lobe and basal ganglia, which explains the difficulty in connecting emotion and thought, as well as the reduction in behavioral initiative. Another noteworthy association with apathy occurs in the presence of lesions in the dorsolateral prefrontal and associative areas.. These lesions may explain the appearance of apathy in various physical and psychological disorders, such as dementias.

Another possible cause can be found in the consumption of substances with psychoactive effects, which by modifying the transmission of neurotransmitters can alter the normal functioning of the brain. For example, the excessive consumption of cannabis may lead to the so-called amotivational syndromecharacterized by the presence of apathy, decreased memory, and reduced drive and self-directed activity. Something similar occurs with typical antipsychotics, which, by reducing dopaminergic activity in the whole brain, cause insufficient dopaminergic activity to circulate in the brain. dopaminergic activity, they cause insufficient dopamine to circulate through the mesocortical through the mesocortical pathway, which can cause the increase or generation of negative symptoms such as alogia and apathy.

Environmental causes

At the environmental level, apathy has been found in people under constant stress or in subjected to constant stress or exposure to aversive stimulation.. The absence of sufficient positive reinforcement can also lead to a deterioration in the ability to take an interest in the environment. The existence of attitudes of helplessness and depressogenic thought patterns, with a negative view of the self, the world and the future, also contributes to wear down the mood and motivation of the person, causing apathy and even abulia.

Another element linked to apathy is the tendency to generate goals that are difficult to achieve, that exceed one's own capacity to achieve them and that often lead to frustration. often lead to frustration.

Some associated disorders

As we have seen, apathy is a frequent symptom of different disorders both organic and psychological. Here are some of them.

1. Depression

One of the disorders in which abulia can be seen most frequently is depression, in which different cognitive biases are present. that make the subject see the world, their own future and themselves in a hostile and negative way. The despair and discomfort generated can lead to feelings of apathy, being in fact one of the common symptoms that can help to make the diagnosis.

2. Dementia

In this type of disorders the apathy has a clearly organic etiology, being generated by the degeneration of the structures of the brain. by the degeneration of the cerebral structures or pathways previously or pathways previously mentioned.

3. Anxiety, stress and negative or traumatic experiences

The wear and tear caused by the continued experience of a state of tension can generate the presence of apathy, either linked to a specific aspect of reality or at a general level. Situations from which we cannot escape and which generate hopelessness and a sense of lack of control often generate a certain apathetic state if they are maintained over time.

4. Anemias

The absence in the organism of different nutrients such as vitamins or glucose can generate cognitive and behavioral alterations, including apathy.including apathy. Such anemia may be caused by poor nutrition or metabolic alterations.

5. Infections and serious diseases

Different infections and diseases can generate states of apathy in the subjects who suffer from them, both for organic causes such as the degeneration of brain structures and for the fact that suffering from them can be a hard blow at a psychological level that ends up generating apathy. Examples are cancer or HIV infection.

Treatment

Apathy is a symptom whose treatment will depend to a great extent on the aspects or disorders that cause it.. However, at a general level, different strategies can be established.

In psychological therapy

In therapy, the apathetic subject will generally benefit from those strategies that help him/her to generate plausible and achievable goals, at first with some ease and over time requiring progressively more effort. Cognitive restructuring can also be effective in modifying possible dysfunctional beliefs that may be affecting the subject's view of the world and him/herself, as well as therapies such as Rehm's self-management therapy, in order to set realistic and achievable goals. In general, increasing self-esteem and the performance of pleasant tasks is also very useful.

Lifestyle changes

Since stress and negative experiences can be other causes of apathy, time management is also essential. For this reason, it is necessary to contribute to the realization of specific schedules that leave space for relaxation, as well as the realization of different exercises and techniques that facilitate it.

A healthy lifestyle is of great help in improving the symptomatology. The control of food can make it possible to make up for different deficits that can help to generate apathy. In the same way, physical exercise is known to help generate endorphins so that its realization can be useful both in this aspect and in lowering the level of anxiety and frustration that may be behind some cases.

Also, social support and the reinforcement of initiative by others is a great help in overcoming states of apathy, especially in the face of disorders such as depression. The use of psychoactive substances, especially depressants, can have detrimental effects and help maintain and even generate apathy. Thus, the use of psychoactive substances, especially depressants, should be consumption of this type of substances should be reduced and controlled..

Intervention with psychotropic drugs

At the pharmacological level, the use of different anxiolytic or antianxiety drugs may be useful. different anxiolytic or Antidepressant drugs, such as SSRIs.such as SSRIs. Other drugs that contribute to improve the circulation of neurotransmitters such as noradrenaline and dopamine are also effective. All this as long as it is prescribed by a specialist.