What causes apathy in a person?

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.

What is apathy a symptom of?

Apathy can be a symptom of mental health problems, Parkinson's disease, or Alzheimer's disease. It often lasts a long time. You may lack the desire to do anything that involves thinking or your emotions. The term comes from the Greek word "pathos," which means passion or emotion. Apathy is a lack of those feelings.

What is the root of apathy?

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.

What mental illness causes apathy?

Apathy may also occur in various psychiatric and neurological disorders, including schizophrenia, stroke, Parkinson's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, Huntington's disease, and dementias such as Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, and frontotemporal dementia.

What can cause extreme apathy?

What is Apathy? How To Break Past It.

Is apathy a mental illness?

Apathy is a Sign of Many Mental Health Conditions

Anhedonia: Literally meaning “without pleasure,” people with anhedonia no longer enjoy activities that they usually do. Lethargy: People who are lethargic feel abnormally slow, sluggish, heavy, or fatigued. Lethargy can affect people physically and mentally.

Is there medication for apathy?

Dopaminergic agonists seem to be effective for apathy. Acetylcholine esterase inhibitors, methylphenidate, atypical antipsychotics, nicergoline, and cilostazol are another choice. Medication choice should be determined according to the background and underlying etiology of the targeting disease.

Does anxiety cause apathy?

The Many Ways Anxiety Creates Apathy

It's a lack of desire to engage in activities, make changes, or find crave anything positive. Apathy can affect each and every anxiety disorder, and while is most common with severe anxiety.

Is apathy a symptom of bipolar disorder?

Many people with bipolar get things done—we simply don't feel great about it in the moment. It is up to us to find a way around this apathy and to keep going. Then, we will get to feel the 'regular' emotions of success.

What is an example of apathy?

Apathy, or the absence of emotion, is a feeling of generalized indifference and unaffectedness. The term can be used in a variety of contexts. For example, an apathetic voter is one who has not committed to any candidate because they are uninterested in the election.

Is apathy genetic?

Summary: Scientists have found evidence of a biological basis for apathy in healthy people. Research could shed light on the way some people become pathologically apathetic, for example after a stroke or with Alzheimer's disease.

What does it mean when you don't care about anything?

Feeling as if you don't care about anything anymore may be related to anhedonia or apathy. Anhedonia is a mental state in which people have an inability to feel pleasure. It is often a symptom of mental health conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, and substance use.

Is apathy a symptom of schizophrenia?

Apathy is considered one of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, but its natural history and relationship to other clinical characteristics have not been systematically studied.

Can apathy be good?

Apathy is a normal way for humans to cope with stress. Being able to "shrug off" disappointments is considered an important step in moving people forward and driving them to try other activities and achieve new goals.

What is it called when a person shows no emotion?

apathetic. / (ˌæpəˈθɛtɪk) / adjective. having or showing little or no emotion; indifferent.

How do I start caring again?

Whatever little thing you find to care about, focus on it for a while. Then, when you feel ready, use the care you feel for it as a stepping stone to find another thing to care about, and then another. Go slowly so as not to overextend yourself and your emotional output.

What do you do when your partner is apathetic?

Make sure to speak openly with your partner about your feelings of apathy. Tell them how you're feeling without guilt or blame, and discuss ways in which both of you could make the relationship work. Also, make sure to listen to your partner's side of the story without placing blame and engaging in personal attacks.

What is bipolar thinking?

Bipolar disorder, formerly called manic depression, is a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings that include emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression). When you become depressed, you may feel sad or hopeless and lose interest or pleasure in most activities.

How can you tell the difference between bipolar and narcissism?

Perhaps the one identifiable distinction is that the bipolar individual is usually experiencing strongly elevated energy along with elevated mood whereas the grandiose narcissist will experience their inflation on a psychic level, but he or she may not feel like they have three times their normal amount of physical ...

Can anxiety make you feel detached from reality?

Called depersonalization (feeling like your self is unreal) or derealization (feeling like the world is unreal), it can be a jarring, unsettling experience. And it not unusual for people who are struggling with severe anxiety and panic attacks.

What is frontal apathy?

Apathy is a recognized feature of strokes that affect portions of the medial frontal cortex including the ACC, as well as NAc, ventral pallidum, caudate nucleus, and medial thalamic nuclei.

What is the opposite apathy?

Opposite of lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern. interest. concern. enthusiasm. passion.

Can antidepressants make you apathetic?

SSRI antidepressants are sometimes associated with something called emotional blunting. This can also include such symptoms as feeling indifferent or apathetic, being less able to cry and less able to experience the same degree of positive emotion as one normally would.

Is apathy a symptom of ADHD?

People who have inattentive ADHD are often spacey and sometimes display apathetic behavior (apathy is a lack of interest or enthusiasm, some might call it “laziness”). Adults who don't manage the ADD may develop mood disorders like anxiety or depression, or have social problems as a result of the condition.

What does apathetic attitude mean?

Definition of apathetic

: affected by, characterized by, or displaying apathy : having or showing little or no interest, concern, or emotion apathetic voters apathetic indifference an apathetic attitude/response It's really easy to feel apathetic about politics and forget how much they affect our daily lives.—