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Bipolar Depression – I Don’t Want Anything

April 6, 2017 Natasha Tracy

Not wanting anything in bipolar depression is very hard and hard to identify with, Watch this video to see what it's like to not even want to see your friends.It’s hard for non-bipolar people to identify with this, but when I have bipolar depression, I don’t want anything. It doesn’t matter what it is, it doesn’t matter how I used to feel about it, it doesn’t matter how good an idea it seems, I just don’t want it with bipolar depression, and that’s it.

When I Don’t Want Food Because of Bipolar Depression

I’m a foodie. I love fancy restaurants and fancy foods that comes in portions so small you can barely see them. I love stuff made with liquid nitrogen or on the antigriddle. If you called me a food snob, you wouldn’t be that far off.

That said, with bipolar depression, it all feels kind of “meh.” I want it, intellectually, philosophically, theoretically, but emotionally, the “want” just isn’t there. And that’s because the enjoyment isn’t there. The depression robs me of that. And if you don’t enjoy the fancy food made by extraordinary chefs in stunning settings, then what’s the point?

Not Wanting Anything Because of Bipolar Depression

Not wanting anything is a product of bipolar depression and is closely tied to anhedonia – the inability to feel pleasure. As I said, if you’re not going to enjoy it, why do it? And you combine this with the lack of motivation in bipolar depression and, sheesh, nothing ever happens, and when it does, I don’t really care.

Not everyone experiences this in bipolar depression, of course, as I believe it is a particularly severe variant, but some of us definitely do. I actually find it hard to envision a depression where you still enjoy anything, but enjoying some things is actually “normal” in many depressions.

I Don’t Want My Friends Because of Bipolar Depression

Understand, I love my friends. I do. They’re wonderful. But as I explain believe, bipolar depression makes me not want to even see the people I love.

As I note in the video, however, seeing my friends is actually good for me. Social interaction matters even if I don’t technically “want” it.

What Do You Want? – Bipolar Depression

All this not wanting is something others don’t understand. In fact, it’s common for people to ask me, “What do you want to do now to help your mood?”

I understand this question. It’s completely reasonable. But it feels unanswerable. Bipolar depression feels like living in a void. Everything feels like nondescript, gray, dishwater, mist. So which of those nondescript, gray, dishwater things do I want? I’d have to say “none.”

The good news is, when I find myself wanting anything, it’s usually a good sign that things are looking up. And it does happen again. But waiting out the not-wanting-anything of bipolar depression is still very, very hard.

APA Reference
Tracy, N. (2017, April 6). Bipolar Depression – I Don’t Want Anything, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2024, March 28 from https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/breakingbipolar/2017/04/bipolar-depression-i-dont-want-anything



Author: Natasha Tracy

Natasha Tracy is a renowned speaker, award-winning advocate, and author of Lost Marbles: Insights into My Life with Depression & Bipolar. She's also the host of the podcast Snap Out of It! The Mental Illness in the Workplace Podcast.

Find Natasha Tracy on her blog, Bipolar BurbleTwitter, InstagramFacebook, and YouTube.

Lizanne Corbit
April, 10 2017 at 10:22 pm

I think this is an incredibly helpful read. Attempting to explain something that is very difficult, but so important, is huge. This is such an important piece of the overall understanding.

Sarah-Kye
April, 7 2017 at 2:28 pm

Excellent as usual.

Change
April, 7 2017 at 3:33 am

FYI. The new Healthyplace format sucks. It's harder to navigate. The old format was alot better. And your video doesn't work

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Natasha Tracy
April, 7 2017 at 10:41 am

Hi Change,
Thank you for your feedback. If you have suggestions about what changes you would like to see, I’d be happy to relay them.
We are currently checking the video in all browsers. If you can tell me what browser the video didn’t work in, that would be helpful.
Thank you.
– Natasha Tracy

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