What is apathy and how to get out of this state?

If you throw out the song about "no-che-ho-ho, I do not want" notes of capriciousness, then we will not have a princess, but a vivid example of a girl in a state of apathy. We, women of the 21st century, complain about this condition almost as often as we rush with statements: "I'm depressed!" But do we know what's behind this? Why is it suddenly, from that, from now on, sometimes just on a flat place, the desire to enjoy life disappears and how does this feeling return? From the outside it's even annoying. She lives a virgin - healthy, attractive, able-bodied, goes to work and visits with her boyfriend, communicates with friends, can afford any kind of entertainment, but at the same time she says: "I do not want anything." She does not want to eat her favorite chocolate, she does not want to go to a cool party and fly to Paris to the heap - too. And this is not a whim. Or, say, you are watching as a friend, always with special trepidation watching her appearance, suddenly began to dress up in the fact that the first falls out of the closet, forgot about the heels and washes her head through the times. And behaves so not for the sake of the struggle for equality of the sexes. By the way, did not you ever happen this way?

Has become without feelings
The key word in describing apathy is "indifference". One of the first signs is the phrase "I do not care" and the feeling that it really does not matter. And in the sphere where life itself used to boil. When to the question: "What will you be, a juicy steak or a delightful eclair?" you say, "Well, give me a steak." But not because you crave meat or you can not tolerate sweet, but because you just have to choose something, plus you remember - to maintain life is necessary food. Speaking in psychological terms, a person with indifference refers to what is happening to him: for him there is no big difference between events that cause joy and satisfaction, and those that cause suffering and pain. Apathy is the absence of feelings. It should not be confused with abulia - a violation of the willed sphere, when one does not want to do anything. From indifference to inactivity will take some time. A person in apathy continues to work, to go somewhere with friends, to lead his usual life - by inertia, without feeling her taste. What went to the cinema, that she would sit at home, that the will, that she was captive ...

The diagnosis of "apathy" in itself does not exist. In the clinical sense - it is likely total indifference, when it captures not any part of life in a certain period, but all of it (life) entirely. But for this you need serious prerequisites (diseases): depression, schizophrenia, organic brain damage - in such a picture, a complete lack of feelings is only one of the symptoms. And then the patient is plunged into a problem with his attending physician. We want to talk about something else. Apathy can manifest itself as a "local" phenomenon in human life, a mechanism that is included in certain similar situations. For example, the following.

Excess of feelings
To feel is just as energy-consuming as doing something. And experiences (it is not important, heavy, connected with loss or grief or pleasant and happy) sometimes happens too much. Then the ingenious organism decides: "All, bust!" And like a computer, it goes into an energy-saving mode - it just turns them off. And in this there is nothing terrible. On the contrary, you have a chance to rest a little. Yes, feelings can sometimes need rest.

Excess of activity
If you are a nature addicted, then strive to achieve the goal through all the obstacles and thorns - it's your curse. Or here is another type - responsible and zealous, who works tirelessly and will not rest until he remakes everything and a little bit from above. In both these cases, the heroine lies in wait for fatigue - both physical and emotional, exhaustion. And then she is forced to lie down on the sofa, do nothing and feel nothing, because the forces no longer have anything, they have left to accomplish, achieve and overcome. The body again puts the system on an emergency minimum to gain energy for a reboot.

Protective function
Let us take an example. You went on a date with a man that you really liked. But then I tell my friends that you do not care if he calls or not. And the most amazing thing is that you do not mislead. The fact is that this way you react not to reality, but to the projection of past negative experience. If it is connected with the fact that it feels painful, dangerous, scary, then there is a temptation to go into apathy, in order to protect yourself from the alleged tortures. The way, agree, unconstructive, and wean yourself to resort to it sometimes only when working with a psychologist.

The consequences of a severe stress / trauma / crisis situation
It is absolutely impossible to feel it, it would be destructive in terms of intensity or quality of emotion. Turning them off, you could stand it and go through it. Then the situation ended, but the feelings remained turned off. It takes time to gradually begin to revive. However, this is often a development of events. The shock was so strong that it was almost impossible to start feeling again - it was terrible to meet with what you isolated yourself from as intolerable. And the psyche is protected by apathy. If stress touched a narrow sphere of life, then you notice the manifestations of indifference to it. When it comes to the traumatic situation of a more global impact, total apathy is possible. The latter, in addition, as we have already mentioned, is among the syndromes of post-traumatic stress disorder. And here you may need the help of a specialist and a certain psychological work aimed at regaining the ability to feel.

Somatic disease
Reduced functioning of the body as a whole affects the sensory and emotional sphere in particular - and its activity, alas, is weakening. And here, too, there is apathy.

When it is necessary to ring the bell so that he does not call after you, the question is individual. But one should be on the alert as the spheres of life increase, in which apathy manifests itself. Here, for example, in the example of a beautiful man who should call. When apathy really performs only a protective function, you continue to walk hard in life, only turn off feelings in one piece, with respect to a specific situation - "I do not care if we have something further with it." But if after a fresh date you do not want to do anything at all - including doing it, and you can not believe in anything good, it's more like a depressive state, it's not only and not so much about apathy.

How to get out of apathy
So, you looked at yourself from the side and found signs of apathy. Now your task is to find the context that has brought it up and, of course, to change it. Say, the case in overwork - it is necessary to "undergo treatment" rest. You see that recurring situations lead to indifference, you feel a "hint" at systemicness - perhaps you need to turn to a psychologist and deal with this pathological regularity. However, it is possible that you will manage to cope with yourself, realizing why you need this apathy. To do this, try to pass a small test. If any of these words could well be pronounced by your inner voice, read further - is this not your case?

"I live active, full of life, including emotional. I'm excited, anxious, anticipating, anxious, sad." But it happens, as if I lose sensitivity, and it seems that the situation is important for me, and I do not care what it will end. "

Most likely, what is happening to you at the moment is associated with negative experience in the past, when your sensitivity could hurt you and you turned it off. You need to get rid of his projection to the present, so that you can fully live your whole life with all the attendant emotions.

"I have no feelings - and do not.
Without them, life is easier and calmer. Good sleep, healthy eating, physical activity and not being killed at work - that's all I need. A clear head and a clear plan of action. "

Great plan! You really should rest. From excessive sensitivity accurately, and perhaps, from a constant activity. So a successful recovery. And after it, return to the world of emotions - renewed and ready to perceive it in all colors.

"I can not get rid of the feeling that I live on autopilot." Yes, I am active, successful, I have a wide range of contacts, but I do not experience any joy, although I can not say that I feel bad.

Be careful and pay attention to your emotional state. The absence of a sensible attitude towards what is happening is an alarming sign, it can be a harbinger of depression. Perhaps, it is worth to turn to a specialist to return your life belonging and feel it as a whole.