Social Anhedonia: The Inability To Enjoy And Take An Interest In Relationships With Others

Social anhedonia is a state in which the person is unable to feel interest and pleasure in their social interactions. This means that moments shared with friends are enjoyed. Talking to people exhausts, leaving home to work, study or go to an event is something that leaves minimal and that it is preferred to avoid.

We are not facing a social anxiety disorder as such, it is a more unique reality. Although it is common to associate this condition with autism spectrum disorder and even with schizophrenia. Because what we see many times is a painful reaction to stimuli and above all a clear difficulty in handling emotional variables.

It is interesting to delve into this concept to better understand its nuances, causes and the type of profile that may be behind this type of anhedonia.

What is social anhedonia?

Social anhedonia is an indicator for three very specific realities: depressive disorders, autism, and schizophrenia.

We know that anhedonia is the inability to feel pleasure in general, to not experience interest, motivation or enjoyment in almost any aspect of everyday reality. Now, when we add the adjective “social” to this term, we are defining ground.

Social anhedonia constitutes a behavior in which the person specifically avoids public situations, interactions and everything that goes beyond their comfort zone.

Research work like the one done at the University of Wollongong (Australia) indicates something important. The human being is a social creature: we need those daily contacts with friends and colleagues to feel good. These alliances mediate our well-being and personal development.

However , social anhedonia directly shows a psychological disorder in which many more characteristics will appear that will allow a more adequate diagnosis to be made. It is a dimension that we cannot lose sight of.

How does it manifest?

Social anhedonia is a construct that is basically manifested by the inability to understand and process emotional stimuli. There is a clear maladaptive element and it is defined by the inability to feel well-being when sharing time with other people.

• This characteristic becomes more evident in adolescence. The person shows more discomfort and anxiety when they have to socialize, they lack the skills to communicate, empathize, understand and react to social codes.
• In addition, there is a striking physical symptomatology such as exhaustion, headache, dizziness. .. Exposure to any social situation is debilitating.
• The person experiences feelings of loneliness and irritability. This shows us that, in some way, they know that social interaction should be rewarding for them as for anyone and that this would give them motivation and happiness. However, they are aware of their limits, of their inability to understand and move through these socio-emotional universes.

What is the cause of social anhedonia?

From Stony Brook University (United States), researchers focus attention on a fact thanks to a study.

Social anhedonia is a phenotype of autism spectrum disorder, depression, and schizophrenia spectrum disorder. If we could detect it early in children, we could give earlier diagnoses and more adjusted intervention strategies

Many times, we can be in front of the classic withdrawn and anxious child at the same time that, far from paying attention, we sometimes label as shy or as problematic. However, we are dealing with something more than a mere problem of behavior or lack of social skills.

Many times we are faced with an autism not yet detected, a child with depression or a boy or a girl who at some point, when they reach 18-19 years, will give more clues about their schizophrenia.

How is this type of anhedonia treated?

Anhedonia, whether general or social, is always a manifestation of an underlying problem that must be properly diagnosed. When a child, adolescent or adult does not show enjoyable behavior in social situations, shuns them, suffers and does not know how to cope in those scenarios with specific emotional codes, we need to make a more exhaustive assessment.

Doctors L. Chapman and M. Raulin developed the Chapman scales aimed at detecting physical or general anhedonia and social anhedonia. This is already a valuable tool to proceed later with a proper diagnosis and know what we are facing.

In these cases, the intervention mechanism for a person with autism will not be the same as for someone with schizotypal personality disorder. However, it should be noted that both can benefit from approaches such as behavior and communication therapies, social skills education, family therapy, and education.

It is decisive not to neglect these types of situations in which the person does not show that enjoyment or motivation for relating and for establishing social ties. Let’s keep it in mind.