Anhedonia after alcohol consumption

[VictorLawrence]

I used to be a happy person, living my daily life the way I wanted to live it. I had the chance to work on my passion everyday, and was waking up excited to work on new project . Spending hours learning how to get better at my crafts and improve my skills, damn it was so good. I was doing music, drawing, painting (I used to love create things ), hanging out with friends, doing a lot of sports (used to LOVE watching but mostly practicing sports like basketball, soccer, and running, i loved running) taking care of me and the peoples i love and my family, i honestly couldn’t be more happy than I was (I wish to anyone to find a passions and living it that way, it’s truly amazing ), until 8 month ago when my life drastically change for the worse.

10month ago I got alcohol poisoning at a party with friends (I don’t drink often at all just occasionally, I’m not a heavy drinker), and I woke up the next day with a condition called anhedonia (inability to experience pleasure in anything). At first I didn’t pay much attention to hit thinking it was just a temporary problem caused by alcohol, nothing really important. But the problems remain for weeks, and then months. I’ve seen multiple psychologist, psychiatrist, doctors, neurologist etc…and they all called my case « atypical » cause they don’t think it’s depression (I also don’t think it is regarding my previous life and the so sudden change) but cannot pinpoint where the problem comes from. I’ve also done multiple MRI, CT Scan, blood test, kidney and bladder scan,etc… and they all came back fine. During all this lapse of time I tried to maintain a normal life but after a while I couldn’t and gave up. On top of that my sleep as been completely disrupted (started like 2 days after the event), I don’t have problems falling asleep but I keep waking up multiple time for no reason every nights. I’ve been giver battery of medication like benzo, hydroxyzine or even zopiclone for sleep but, none of them had any effect. Out of curiosity I tried drinking alcohol 4 month after the event and 3 days ago, but can’t feel the « high » effect anymore. Basically I can’t feel the endorphins/dopamine or the pleasure hormones that the body usually send you. I want insist on the fact that this is not due to depression at all, it happened overnight without any latent underlying condition. I’m thinking about maybe the glutamate excess that this alcohol consumption as trigger during the hangover, and then cause damages to the reward system (maybe the basal ganglia idk,), and I hope not some permanent ones.

So since this event I can’t be creative anymore, all the previous thing I told above don’t bring me pleasure anymore ( when I say pleasure I refer to feelings the hormone like endorphin/dopamine kind of thing flowing in my body). I can’t feel orgasm, runner high, appreciate a movie/photo/art, music make me feel nothing anymore, I can still taste food but don’t get pleasure from it, I feel disconnected when talking with friend cause I don’t feel touched emotionally by every subject we used to talk about or even new one anymore, and the list goes on. I’m exhausted by the lack of proper sleep and can’t workout anymore cause my body don’t recover properly and is sore ( also cause I can’t feel the high from sports anymore, which as the time goes by, really demotivate me).

Now after all this months, I (of course now) feel depressed cause my life completely changed in one night and I regret everyday going to this party that night. Idk what to do anymore, I’m still using all the energy I have left to do activities, or things I use to like before but nothing change a slightly bit. I can’t appreciate the present moment anymore, because of this. It’s hard cause I lost everything I loved, passion, interest etc… the thing that made my life worth living and I don’t know what I’m gonna do in the future. It seems like I fried my brain or the reward circuits in it permanently this night, and I hope I’m wrong stating this. I dont want to die (I’m only 21), but I also wonder what’s the point of staying alive just to be alive and not being able to enjoy anything you know?

Do some people got the same thing with alcohol or a sudden onset of anhedonia that remained ? And if yes have you find a way to get better?

[ModestoGarr]

Shot in the dark: the Glutamate rebound led to kindling which isn't going away.

[ebarinu]

Alcohol can have serious effects on the brain and body, especially in cases of alcohol poisoning. It's possible that the alcohol triggered a change in your brain's reward system, leading to anhedonia.
It's important to keep seeking help and support, even if progress is slow. Have you considered looking into therapy or counseling specifically focused on coping with anhedonia? Sometimes, a different approach or perspective can make a difference.
Also, I recently discovered one inpatient rehab near me that could offer additional support and resources. It's important to have a strong support network during difficult times like these.