lack of interests/libido

[richy1991]

hey all
iv suffered from anxiety for a month or two now
its been alot better lately but im still not 100%
i still have a couple of symptoms but one that is really bugging me is the lack of interests/libido

i dont really enjoy anything atm that i use to like, e.g sex, dance, video games, music atc.

will this pass and will i start enjoying things again?
is there any self help that i can do to spark my enjoyment again?
any information/advice would be appreciated

thanks
richy

[Robbed]

This sort of thing is actually VERY common with anxiety disorder. And, as in your case, it can often happen after you have made significant recovery from the anxiety itself. It does pass, though. Patience is key here, as there really isn't anything you can do to FORCE yourself to get over this. Also, you might at least TRY doing some of the things you enjoyed before. Try not to focus so much on how much less enjoyable they are, and you might find that you have a better time than you thought you would (even if you still don't have as good of a time as you used to).

[notmyself30]

Richy - I feel the same way. My psychiatrist told me that my anxiety has caused depression and this is why I don't enjoy doing the things that I used to love to do. So I take it one day at a time because if I think about not doing the things I love then I get anxious even more. Do you take any meds?? I was on a SSRI that made me have no libido and then I was put on another that made me sex crazy!! I am now anti depressant free and I just go with the flow.

[gaara]

hey all
iv suffered from anxiety for a month or two now
its been alot better lately but im still not 100%
i still have a couple of symptoms but one that is really bugging me is the lack of interests/libido

i dont really enjoy anything atm that i use to like, e.g sex, dance, video games, music atc.

will this pass and will i start enjoying things again?
is there any self help that i can do to spark my enjoyment again?
any information/advice would be appreciated

thanks
richy

heh tell me about it man, i'm going through the exact same thing which is really sort of scaring me since i've never had this feeling before. A "flat" "meh" feeling you don't really look forward to anything etc.

Im going to see someone about it but my only problem is that it's been going on for almost a month now. How do I recover from it? It's all that I think about 24/7 so maybe that's why i'm not able to enjoy things because i'm so busy focusing on if im enjoying whatever im doing or not.

Anyone have any luck with this/how they got out of it?

[richy1991]

hey all

yeah it really sucks and im finding it the most annoying symptom
tbh it does feel more like depression than anxiety
im not on any meds and i havnt taken any since this all started
iv been told to get over my anxiety i need to distract myself as much as possible but its soo hard when i dont enjoy anything or even look forward to doing anything
its even got to the point where the thought of getting myself a new car dosnt appeal to me
iv got my first appointment with someone on wednesday so hopefully that will help

richy

[danstelter]

I'm not sure how much I experienced this, but I know I've been there before. Try something new! Maybe something that you've always though of doing, but have never actually done. Or, just try something completely random. I know that for some time I suffered from a lack of diversity of interests - I just did the same thing way too often.

[richy1991]

so iv just gotta persevre with it then and try to enjoy things?

richy

[neverknowwhen]

I have found that talking things out with someone who is trained to listen and can direct you into more healthier ways of thought patterns that help you. One thing I have learned is you can't do it all yourself. I thought I knew waht my underlying issues were and I did but I needed someone elses help to direct me into more healthier ways of thinking that stopped my anxiety.

I had talked to partners over the years, friends, family, parents but someone who wasn't directly involved seemed to work better for me., However you have to be truly open to hearing things you don't want to hear and sometimes you will get worse before you get better but the long term benefits of going through the therapy route for me have been immense. I am now looking forward optimistically to the rest of my life as I am dealing more effectively with ingrained issues I had.

I always knew I had tthem but didn't know how to deal with them. Getting the right therapist is also key. I had someone before who I struggled with but this one has been great. Sometimes events in life trigger anxiety and it is learning how better to deal with them in the now that helps so much.

Best of luck.

[richy1991]

ahh thats good then cus im going to see my first "help person" for the first time tomorrow so hopefully it will help

cheers
richy