anhedonic depression

9.9

A depression where a person cannot feel pleasure in usual activities

noun
/ˌænəˈhoʊdɪk dɪˈprɛʃən/

Specialized

: depresión anhedónica

The patient struggled with anhedonic depression, finding no joy in activities she once loved.

Examples

A period of anhedonic depression left him feeling empty and detached from the world.
Psychiatrists often differentiate anhedonic depression from other subtypes based on loss of pleasure.
Anhedonic depression can be hard to understand.
Many patients struggle with anhedonic depression after traumatic events.
The patient struggled with anhedonic depression, finding no joy in activities she once loved.
A period of anhedonic depression left him feeling empty and detached from the world.
Many patients struggle with anhedonic depression after traumatic events.

Synonyms

anhedonia

vsanhedonic depression

Specialized

1 9.9

Being unable to feel pleasure from things you usually enjoy

is the depressive form of this inability within a mood disorder

anhedonic state

vsanhedonic depression

Specialized

9.9

A period when a person cannot feel pleasure from things they usually enjoy

is the depressive type of this condition rather than a general state

Surface Forms

anhedonic depression singular

anhedonic depressions plural

Morphology

anhedonic + depression

The compound is directly compositional: 'anhedonic' means unable to feel pleasure and 'depression' denotes a depressive disorder, so together they signal a form of depression characterized by loss of pleasure. Although clinical jargon, the parts combine in a straightforward, cross-linguistically regular way, so a learner who knows both constituents would be able to infer the meaning.

Etymology

The noun anhedonic depression comes from old Greek parts: an- meaning 'without' and hedon meaning 'pleasure'. So it describes a type of depression where a person is 'without pleasure' and cannot feel joy in things they once liked.