When Apathy Is Not Just An Emotional State
Try to deal with it
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, apathy is a feeling of not caring about something. It may be one of the most difficult symptoms to manage. Apathy is not just an emotional state; it’s also a clinical condition that causes someone to have little to no interest in things that would usually excite them. This article will explain everything you need to know about apathy.
What Causes Apathy?
Apathy can be caused by many different things, but some of the most common causes include:
- Anxiety disorders. Because anxiety is often debilitating, it can make it difficult to function normally in daily life.
- Brain tumors. Brain tumors can cause apathy by affecting serotonin levels in the brain.
- Brain injury. A brain injury can cause damage to the frontal lobe of the brain. This is the part of the brain that controls emotions and other things like judgment, impulse control, etc.
- Neurological disorders.Neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, etc., can cause apathy along with other symptoms.
- Medical conditions. A number of medical conditions can cause apathy as a side effect, including diabetes, hypothyroidism, etc.
- Depression. Depression is a mood disorder that causes a person to feel hopeless, and uninterested in things that would normally make them happy. This can lead to apathy as a side effect.
The Difference Between Emotional Apathy And Clinical Apathy
Emotional apathy is the feeling of being uninterested or bored with life in general. When you’re experiencing apathy in this sense, you’re still able to feel joy or enjoy things, but they don’t excite you the way they normally would. Apathy in the clinical sense is a disconnection from one’s emotions. This is a condition that psychiatrists treat. In short, emotional apathy is more like boredom, while clinical apathy is the absence of emotion. They can be caused by different things, but are both present in people with apathy.
How Does Depression Cause Apathy?
One of the symptoms of depression is apathy. This can be confusing to understand because sadness and apathy are two completely different things. However, the two are often conflated because they both fall under the category of “negative emotions.” If you’re dealing with depression, you may feel apathetic towards everything because you’re feeling sad about things on a deeper level.
Anxiety And Apathy
Apathy can become a side effect of anxiety because anxiety can become so overwhelming that it’s difficult to function normally in daily life. In extreme cases, someone with anxiety may not be able to leave the house or have any social contact. It’s so important to seek help as soon as possible if you think you might be struggling with anxiety.
Bipolar And Apathy
Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder that causes drastic mood swings. As a person with bipolar undergoes manic episodes where they feel an extreme amount of energy and pressure to accomplish things, they will also experience depressive episodes where they feel extremely unmotivated. During depressive episodes, a person may exhibit signs of apathy, which is a tiresome symptom of the condition.
Traumatic Events And Development Of Clinical Apathy
If you experience a traumatic event, you may develop clinical apathy as a result. This can be caused by any type of event that has a major emotional impact on your life, like the death of a loved one, a serious accident, etc. During a traumatic event, your brain goes into survival mode and shuts down all areas that aren’t essential to your survival. If your brain shuts down your emotions, clinical apathy can develop and last for a few months after the event.
Apathy is a complicated symptom of many different mental health conditions. It’s often hard to understand how someone could feel so uninterested in life, but the condition can affect anyone who has a mental illness.
The author of this article is a therapist from the Sensera app. Sensera is a daily 10-minute self-therapy app. It’ll help you to cope with various mental problems (anxiety, self-esteem, relationship issues). Feel better with CBT audio sessions and exercises. Download now.
