Apathy meaning

Medically, apathy is a lack of goal-directed activity. It also presents as a lack of interest and emotional expression. Apathy can be a symptom or complication of several neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and stroke. While there’s no direct treatment for apathy, certain medications may improve it. Overview What is apathy? “Apathy” is a term healthcare professionals use to describe a lack of goal-directed activity and motivation compared to previous behavior. It can also look like a lack of spontaneity, interest or emotional expression. Apathy is a symptom and/or complication of several neurological conditions. Some experts consider it to be a syndrome (a collection of symptoms that often happen together, but aren’t necessarily a specific condition). In everyday life, people often consider apathy to be the opposite of empathy (the ability to understand and share the feelings of others). However, in a medical context, apathy isn’t just a lack of feeling or concern toward other people and their situations. It’s a lack of motivation and interest in general. In addition, apathy in the medical sense is something you have no control over — it’s not laziness or a choice of personal indifference. Psychological or situational apathy In the fields of psychiatry and psychology, apathy has a slightly different meaning. It usually describes emotional detachment and a reduced ability to experience pleasure (anhedonia). It typically doesn’t include ...

How Apathy Differs From Impassivity and Indifference Apathy, impassivity, and indifference all denote a lack of responsiveness to something that might normally excite interest or emotion. Apathy suggests a puzzling or deplorable inertness or lack of passion, as in “the problem of continued voter apathy.” Impassivity stresses the absence of any external sign of emotion in action or facial expression, as in “teachers frustrated by the impassivity of their students.” Indifference connotes a lack of interest in or concern about something, as in “the company’s apparent indifference to the needs of its employees.” The Greek Origins of Apathy There's no reason to be uncaring about the origins of apathy—though there is a clue to the word's beginnings in this sentence. Apathy was borrowed into English in the late 16th century from Greek apatheia, which itself comes from the adjective apathēs, meaning "without feeling." Apathēs, in turn, was formed by combining the negating prefix a- with pathos, meaning "emotion." Incidentally, if you've guessed that pathos is the source of the identically spelled noun in English (meaning either "an element in experience or in artistic representation evoking pity or compassion" or "an emotion of sympathetic pity"), you are correct. Pathos also gave us such words as antipathy, empathy, sympathy, pathetic, and even the archaic word pathematic ("emotional"). That's the danger of a teeming cast of … characters: they get jumbled in the viewer's mind, an...

What Is Apathy? It isn't the same thing as Everyone loses interest in things at one time or another. But when it happens a lot, it can affect your What Is Avolition? Avolition can look similar to apathy, but is more intense. Avolition is a total lack of motivation that makes it hard to get anything done. You can't start or finish even simple, everyday tasks. Getting off the couch to wash the dishes or drive to the supermarket can feel like climbing Mount Everest. You might not: • Respond when friends call, text, or email • Put in any effort at work or school • Pay bills or take care of other everyday tasks • Wash or groom yourself Avolition is not a condition itself. It's most often a symptom of schizophrenia, a mental disorder that affects how you think, feel, and act. It can also be a sign of serious depression or a side effect of certain medicines. Some of the antipsychotic drugs you may take to treat schizophrenia can cause it. Avolition could also be a symptom of: • Bipolar disorder • Persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) • Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PDD) • Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) • Traumatic brain injury • Alzheimer's disease People who don't get enough mental stimulation can also have avolition. For example, you could get it if you sit alone in bed all day because of an illness. It could also happen to prisoners in solitary confinement. If you don't get treatment for the problem that's causing it, avolition can affect every part of your life,...

Apathy describes an absence of feeling or This indifference can affect your motivation and leave you feeling detached from the world. You might: • stop caring about everyday tasks, hobbies, or personal interests • struggle to show interest and enthusiasm in your • feel indifferent to spending time with others • experience very little emotion or changes in mood Most people experience apathetic feelings from time to time, especially during times of stress. But persistent apathy can affect your relationships, everyday life, and overall well-being. It might also happen as a symptom of a number of medical and mental health conditions, which could get worse without treatment. Depression does not always involve apathy, and you can experience apathy without having depression. In short, they’re two different things. People living with • a drop in motivation • less interest in regular activities • less energy than usual • difficulty expressing emotion or showing interest in other people Even though apathy is not an automatic sign of If you’ve noticed these symptoms, connecting with a therapist is a good next step — depression can improve with treatment. Apathy mainly involves a general indifference and lack of motivation to do anything at all. You might also notice: • • • trouble handling your usual responsibilities or the activities of daily life • difficulty feeling and expressing any emotions • loss of interest in social activities or events • a tendency to spend more time by you...

The origin of the term apathy comes from a form of the prefix a—meaning "without," and the Greek pathos meaning "emotion, feeling, suffering." Thus, apathy was originally defined as freedom from suffering. Sometime in the 18th century, the meaning changed to a sense of being without emotion or feeling—indifference, especially to matters that are important or appealing. Apathy is a lack of interest in normal daily tasks and social activities. Healthy people experience it in varying degrees, but it also can signal several mental health conditions, including depression. Types of Apathy In a 2019 study published in the journal PLOS One, researchers identified and described distinct subtypes of apathy: • Anhedonia: The root words of anhedonia are the prefix an-, meaning "without," and the Greek hedone, meaning "pleasure." Thus, it means being in a state where you don't enjoy things you usually like to do. It is similar in some ways to apathy, but apathy is broader in scope than anhedonia. • Lethargy: Lethargy can be a state of body or mind or both. In both cases, the core component is slowness or sluggishness. Being unusually drowsy, tired, or fatigued can be aspects of lethargy. Research suggests that apathy is common, by some estimates affecting more than 10 million American adults. Diagnosis of Apathy Your doctor will ask questions about how you are feeling, your behaviors, and how you are functioning in different areas of your life. Your healthcare provider will also ask yo...

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