What to do if you don’t want to do anything? Causes and treatment of apathy

• November 18, 2018
• Depressive states
• Evdokimova Irina

What to do if you don’t want to do anything? Many people experience a state when they are overcome by indifference to everything. Any actions and efforts seem pointless. At such moments, a person experiences extreme fatigue and loses interest in life. What is the reason for this condition? And how to deal with it? We will consider these questions in the article.

What it is

The state when you don’t want to do anything is called apathy in psychology. Every person has moments when it is very difficult to force himself to make any effort. This is a natural phenomenon and may be caused by temporary fatigue. But if it becomes difficult to wake up in the morning, carry out basic self-care and do usual activities, then this is no longer normal. Apathy can and should be fought.

This condition can occur in two forms:

1. Apathy with loss of desires. A person does not set any goals, he has no interest in life and dreams. Everything seems empty and meaningless. This is the most complex version of apathy, requiring the help of a psychologist.
2. Loss of will and motivation. In this case, a person is able to set various goals for himself. But it is very difficult for him to make any effort to carry out his plans. He feels tired and lacks physical and moral strength.

The answer to the question of what to do if you don’t want to do anything will depend on the circumstances that provoked the apathy. To understand them, you need to carefully analyze your lifestyle. In most cases, the lack of desires, will and motivation is due to psychological reasons. However, in some situations, medical attention may be required.

Make a to-do list and daily routine

Depressed people are often disorganized and incapable of planning. Answer yourself honestly, how often do you literally write down your to-do list for today? How often do you write down your goals that you want to achieve throughout the week, month, year? Yes, the habit of writing down all your plans and tasks on paper is the lot of well-organized people who rarely suffer from apathy, depression, or lack of desire to do anything.

Organizing your life does not mean squeezing it into a schedule. You yourself are free to choose what to put on this list; no one can force you to do it. But if you don't write down your tasks, your brain is under enormous pressure to keep them in mind throughout the day, constantly. As a result, you will forget something anyway, after which you will experience even more stress and negative emotional stress.

The second factor that is important for every person is to realize or feel the degree of fulfillment of goals and objectives. Often we cannot remember everything because we try to do everything quickly and move on immediately to something else. So cross every completed goal off your list. When you see with your eyes how much you have done throughout the day, month, year, you will feel proud of yourself. If not, you will understand which direction you need to move, which will also be useful.

Natural causes

The state of apathy can have different causes. Most often it is associated with a person’s lifestyle and characteristics of his character. Loss of desire and motivation can be caused by the following circumstances:

• fatigue and overwork;
• monotonous life;
• ordinary laziness;
• lack of self-confidence;
• impatience and desire to achieve quick results;
• emotional burnout;
• frequent stress.

If apathy is provoked by the above factors, then a person can cope with this condition on his own. If you have any difficulties, you should consult a psychologist. A doctor's help is not required in this case. Next, we will look at methods of combating apathy, depending on its origin.

Why you don’t want to do anything: the main reasons?

Before you improve your psycho-emotional state, as well as get rid of your reluctance to do anything, it is important to find the reason that causes this condition. To do this, you need to do a little self-test. Among the most common reasons that cause such feelings may be the following:

• Chronic stress;
• Lack of vitamins and minerals;
• Hormonal disbalance;
• Apathy;
• Depression;
• Emotional burnout;
• Procrastination;
• Chronic fatigue;
• The presence of foci of disease in the body.

Next, we will consider in detail tips on how to get out of this state without medications, based on many years of experience of psychologists. Try to apply all the tips, as one method will not be enough.

Fatigue and overwork

Most often, the state of not wanting anything is the result of extreme fatigue. Official duties, household chores, and the perception of a large amount of information take a lot of energy from a person. If you constantly deny yourself the necessary rest, then sooner or later your strength will be depleted. Apathy and indifference to everything sets in.

What to do if you don’t want to do anything? If this condition occurs due to fatigue, then you can try to overcome apathy in the following ways:

1. Give your brain a rest. Often a person comes home after work and immediately turns on the TV or computer. However, while watching TV shows and news on the Internet, the brain does not rest. At this moment, active perception of information occurs. Such a pastime also requires serious expenditure of energy. If you feel tired after a working day, it is better to take a short walk, take a bath with aromatic oils, or do yoga or meditation. This will allow your nervous system to rest and recover.
2. Make your dream come true. Every person has unfulfilled desires. In psychology, it is believed that dreams that are not realized in life also take away energy. Try to remember what you dreamed of as a child. Maybe you wanted to make some nice purchase or go on a trip. Make your childhood dream come true. This is an effective and enjoyable method of overcoming apathy.
3. Get rid of grudges. Negative emotions take a lot of strength from a person. Try to forgive the offenders, even if it is very difficult to do. You will no longer have to waste energy on unpleasant experiences.
4. Save your energy. Often, during a period of fatigue, a person forces himself to work even more. However, this only makes the problem worse. It is necessary to distinguish between ordinary laziness and exhaustion of strength. The moral and physical state of a person is subject to cyclical changes. Episodes of apathy are usually followed by periods of activity. If you feel tired, then you need to conserve your strength. You will need them for active activities in the future.

There are cases when a person works so much that he regularly lacks sleep and eats poorly. Sooner or later, this work regime leads to overwork, which can negatively affect health.

Under no circumstances should you neglect your natural needs for food and sleep. Often people during periods of overwork complain that they don’t want anything at all. This is a sign of exhaustion of the nervous system. You urgently need to normalize your daily routine and diet, otherwise you are not far from serious problems with physical and mental health.

Establish a healthy sleep routine

Sleep and the nervous system are directly related to each other. Scientists have proven that lack of sleep can negatively affect a person’s cognitive abilities, reduce overall brain performance, cause irritation, apathy, and indifference to what is happening. Longer periods of sleep deprivation can provoke increased anxiety and depression.

A person needs to sleep 7-8.5 hours a day - this time will be enough for various parts of the brain to rest. No less important is what time you fall asleep. Daytime sleep will never replace sleep at night. If you work night shifts, it is better to change jobs with a normal schedule.

The best time to go to bed is considered to be from 10 pm to 11 pm. If sleep starts later, for example after midnight, this will prevent the brain from getting enough time for deep sleep. It is in this phase that the nervous system is restored.

If you cannot fall asleep before the recommended time, read the article: How to quickly fall asleep and get enough sleep?

Monotony

If a person has to constantly do monotonous and routine work, then sooner or later he gets tired of it. After all, every day he has to perform the same tasks. There comes a moment when a person feels that he has no strength and does not want to do anything.

How to be in this case? The following techniques will help you add variety to your daily activities:

1. A change of scenery. Move your workspace to another office. If this is not possible, then change the arrangement of objects on the table. Changing your environment will give you a feeling of newness.
2. Change the way you operate. If you constantly work at a computer, then take a pen and a piece of paper. Write down your work plan. This will add some variety to your activities.
3. Change the order of actions. For example, you are used to doing some things in the morning and others in the evening. Change your usual daily routine. Move to the second half of the day everything you usually do in the morning.
4. Be physically active. A morning jog or gymnastics before the workday promotes vigor and activity.
5. Rest. Try not doing any activity for a few hours. After this, return to your daily duties. Usually, after a short pause, a person gets down to work with pleasure.

If you don't want anything, try simple things

We are all familiar with the expression: “appetite comes with eating.” This is also true when it comes to getting work done and becoming part of your daily routine. Start doing small tasks, do them very well, better than you usually do, so that you yourself enjoy it.

Often, dissatisfaction and reluctance to perform one's work and household duties can be the reason for their careless performance. If this approach is observed in all areas of your life, it can cause dissatisfaction not only among others, but also among yourself. You don't feel like you're doing anything worthwhile or worthwhile. Analyze how professional you are in your work, identify your weaknesses and work hard on them. Only with this approach will you feel satisfaction from your work.

Another biggest mistake is doing everything at once. As a result, it turns out that you will not do anything, at least qualitatively. Learn to concentrate on one thing at specific periods of time. This is how our brain works, it can only think about one thought, so everything else will be only at the subconscious level. This approach will help you do more useful things, and you will do it with quality, which will delight you. You will be able to reveal your abilities to the fullest.

Laziness

Very often, the cause of apathy is insufficient motivation. A person complains that he is too lazy to do everything and doesn’t want to do anything. At the same time, he can set various goals for himself, but he has no desire to make any efforts to achieve them.

In psychology, laziness is considered as a lack of volitional qualities. This greatly complicates a person’s life and prevents them from realizing their dreams and desires. How to overcome laziness and motivate yourself? The following techniques can be used:

1. Make a plan. If you need to complete a task, write down the required procedure on paper. The plan must be drawn up in detail and step by step. After you complete a certain action, mark it on paper with a check mark. You will see the final goal getting closer and closer thanks to your efforts.
2. Picture your dreams. If you set a goal for yourself, then try to visualize it. Choose a picture or photo of your dream and hang it in a visible place. This will motivate you to take action.
3. Make a list of achievements. Write down on paper all the important things that you have managed to accomplish in the past. Re-read it several times. This will create the necessary motivation. After all, if you were able to achieve achievements earlier, then it is quite possible for you to do it now.
4. Do nothing for some time. Try turning off your TV, computer, and phone. Sit on a chair and do nothing. You will soon realize that it is very difficult to be in a state of complete idleness. After this, you will happily take on work that until recently seemed difficult.

Always worry about what others will say about them

This phenomenon is especially common among men and women over 30 years of age. It is during this period that disappointment with life sets in. People fail to find good jobs and build a career. This affects their self-esteem. The psyche includes a defense mechanism that forces them to assert themselves in the eyes of other people.

How does this happen? Such people diligently spend money to create a good-looking image. They buy clothes that they cannot afford and take out expensive phones on credit. They invite relatives from all over the country to the wedding and arrange a “feast for the whole world” to show their importance.

There's nothing wrong with throwing a luxurious wedding if you can afford it. But it’s better to spend your last savings on improving your financial situation, rather than on momentary celebrations.

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Uncertainty

When a person is not confident in his abilities, he gives up and does not want to do anything. Usually this condition occurs after failure. It becomes very difficult for a person to make decisions. After all, he does not believe that his efforts will lead to the desired result and is setting himself up for failure in advance.

Uncertainty and difficulty in making decisions take up a lot of energy. A person complains that he is constantly in a bad mood and doesn’t want anything.

How to help yourself in this situation? Psychologists advise writing down on paper all the important tasks that you need to solve. Then you should create a schedule for their implementation. Also describe step by step all possible ways to solve these problems. Think in advance about your plan of action in case of failure. You will be much less afraid of failure.

Understand your emotions

Try to understand your feelings; we can often confuse or even mix them up. In any case, no psychologist will help you if you yourself do not understand why it is difficult for you to receive satisfaction from life. Ask yourself:

• Do I know exactly what is bothering me?
• Is it possible to solve this issue?
• If not, how can I change my attitude towards what is happening?
• Am I feeling tired or sad?
• Am I more angry or frustrated?

Feelings may be mixed, in which case try to write them down. After reading them, you will be able to assess your condition yourself. Often, people who previously posted on social networks realized years later, thanks to reading old posts, that they were depressed.

Impatience

There are times when a person wants to achieve the desired result as quickly as possible. However, he faces unexpected difficulties. As a result, apathy sets in and you want nothing. For example, a person decided to lose weight. He goes on a diet and leads an active lifestyle. However, the extra pounds come off very slowly. With low motivation and lack of will, a person feels apathy and stops making any efforts to combat excess weight.

Not all problems can be solved quickly. Making your wish come true may require a lot of effort. You should not fall into apathy at the first failures. Remember that the more work you put into solving a problem, the more valuable the result will be.

If something doesn’t work out for you right away, then this is not a reason to refuse to complete the task. Analyze your way of doing things. Perhaps you should consider alternative ways to achieve your dreams. Consider the difficulties that arise as useful life experience and will training.

You think that nothing depends on you

Reason #4 is your perception of yourself as a victim of circumstances. And everyone knows perfectly well how hard they can press. And when everything piles up like a snowball, it’s easy to start feeling crushed by this lump, when you can’t breathe or move. And the longer you are in such captivity and numbness, the more helpless and worthless you feel and the more difficult it is to do anything at all to get out. And here, you see, there’s no time for desires either. It would be good to survive, to somehow stay afloat.

What to do? Such a view of things is only an illusion caused by being inside the situation, inside the problem. If you try to abstract yourself at least a little and look at the situation from the outside, as if someone else were in it, then you can see a way out, and not just one. But remember: in order to distance yourself from the situation, you need to make an effort on yourself - there is no other way.

And one moment. Do not immediately take on the solution of a global, complex problem. You are unlikely to be able to conquer Everest. Start small - with easy tasks or small parts of a difficult task that you can do now. To do this, break it down into steps and make a plan-route for your movement to the final goal. This way you won’t get lost on this path and won’t wander in circles.

Plus, by performing simple actions, you can get out of the perception of yourself as a victim and feel that a lot depends on you. This will allow you to gain strength and self-confidence.

Stress

If a person experiences a stressful situation, it can bring both benefit and harm. For example, you need to complete important work on time. In this case, the central nervous system is mobilized, and the brain works much more productively than usual. Such stress helps to increase performance and improve memory.

But if a stressful situation drags on, the brain becomes overtired from constant stress. A person feels very tired and doesn’t want anything. This causes great harm to mental and physical health. Prolonged stress leads to a loss of joy and a negative perception of the future.

After difficult experiences, a person may lose interest even in his favorite activities. There comes a state when you don’t want to do anything. What to do, how to recover from prolonged stress? Psychologists give the following recommendations:

1. Don't dwell on your feelings. Often people constantly remember a stressful situation. This forces them to experience negative emotions again and again, which take a lot of energy. Let go of past experiences and do not return to them. Don't reproach or blame yourself for failures.
2. Talk to people who have already experienced a similar situation. For example, you lost your favorite job and feel sad and anxious about it. Talk to a person who was also fired, but found a way out of this situation. This will tell you the right decision.
3. Give yourself some rest. Maintain a proper sleep schedule and try to get healthy sleep. This will help you recover from stress.
4. Don't try to predict events. In a state of stress, the future is seen exclusively in black colors. This puts a person in a negative mood. Try to live only for today for a while and solve everyday problems. When your state of mind is normal, make a plan for your future actions and follow it.

Mistakes when working with objections I don’t need anything

Very often, I hear how incorrectly, in my opinion, ineffectively, they try to teach how to work through objections. I don’t need anything .

Here are phrases and approaches that, in my opinion, do not work effectively :

1. If you hear “I don’t need anything,” you can say: “Well, of course you don’t, because you haven’t heard our offer yet, if you hear it, you will be interested.” This does not work.
2. Sometimes some trainers even recommend using such manipulations: “Aren’t you interested in additional income?” This question is aimed at getting the “Yes, I want to become richer” out of the client. Of course, there is a possibility that someday this will work for some clients. But if we are talking about the b2b sales segment and communicating with adequate clients who have long understood all these techniques, this will not work. And moreover, the impression of the manager himself, of the seller who will answer like that, will be spoiled.

They want to manipulate me, why should I continue to communicate with this person? (the client will think)

3. I am also surprised that some consultants advise answering the objection “I don’t need anything”: “Will you take it for 100 rubles?” or “And if we give you a 50% discount, will you take it?” That is, we immediately bend in price and, accordingly, the value of the offer itself falls. I talked about this in the video “ The “Expensive” Objection.” What to say? "

Avoid such mistakes and use more modern techniques. Let's look at these techniques.

Emotional burnout

This condition occurs in people whose work involves stress. Emotional burnout often occurs among doctors, teachers, and social workers. In prolonged stressful situations, the psyche tries to protect itself and “turns off” the emotional sphere. A person’s desires disappear, apathy sets in, and he doesn’t want anything. The employee becomes nervous, irritated and indifferent to his clients. He feels inner emptiness and fatigue.

What to do if you don’t want to do anything due to emotional burnout? Psychologists assess this condition as borderline between normal and pathological. If nothing is done, a person may develop psychosomatic diseases. The following measures will help cope with professional burnout:

1. Take enough time to rest. Try not to think about work during weekends and vacations.
2. Eliminate sweets, strong tea and coffee from your diet.
3. In your free time, don’t overload your brain with too much information.
4. Be physically active, take walks in the fresh air more often, and do not neglect morning exercises.
5. Share your experiences with loved ones and friends. Don't keep your emotions to yourself.
6. If necessary, take light sedatives based on medicinal herbs.
7. If the state of emotional burnout does not go away for a long time, then seek help from a psychologist.

When you need a doctor's help

Above we looked at situations where apathy is temporary and provoked by external circumstances. But what to do when you don’t want to do anything for a long time? Persistent and causeless apathy is an alarming sign. In such cases, a person may need the help of a psychotherapist or psychiatrist. After all, loss of interest in everyday activities can be a sign of pathological conditions:

• asthenia;
• chronic fatigue syndrome;
• depression;
• schizophrenia.

How to distinguish ordinary apathy from symptoms of the disease? The following manifestations should be alarming:

• causeless and persistent decrease in mood;
• unmotivated anxiety;
• feeling tired even after a long rest;
• decreased memory and mental ability;
• loss of interest in everyday activities;
• inability to perform work duties;
• progressive loss of strength;
• emotional coldness.

If you notice at least one of the above symptoms, you should visit a doctor. Do not hesitate to contact a psychiatrist. After all, without treatment, apathy will progress. Modern therapy methods will help you return to an active lifestyle.

Next we will look in more detail at diseases accompanied by apathy.

Asthenic syndrome

What to do when you don’t want to do anything and feel a complete loss of strength? If apathy is observed for a long time, then this may be a manifestation of asthenic syndrome. This condition develops after suffering pathologies, especially infectious ones. The body is greatly weakened after illness. A person has to spend a lot of energy doing even simple things. As a result, the nervous system is depleted. The patient becomes irritable, hysterical, and tearful. He gets tired quickly even after little effort.

It is very difficult to cope with this condition on your own. You will need the help of a psychotherapist. To treat asthenic syndrome, vitamin complexes and nootropic drugs are used. After a full course of therapy, the condition returns to normal, and the apathy gradually disappears.

How to deal with apathy?

If apathy is only a temporary condition, you can try to cope with it yourself. This is the best time to make some changes in your daily schedule. Find time to relax, recuperate, and pay more attention to work-life balance. Regular relaxation practice, autogenic training or participation in stress reduction workshops can bring the expected results. Taking care of a healthy, balanced diet and regular exercise should go some way to alleviating the negative feelings associated with apathy.

Pathological fatigue

There are times when a person experiences constant fatigue that does not go away even after a long rest. In addition, the patient is worried about muscle weakness, his whole body aches, he does not want and cannot do anything. The person feels exhausted, but has great difficulty falling asleep. In this case, doctors make a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

Modern medicine does not know the exact causes of the disease. There is an assumption that CFS is caused by a disorder of the autonomic nervous system. This is a rather complex pathology, and it is impossible to cope with it on your own. In this case, only consulting a doctor will help. Currently, drugs based on levocarnitine (Carnitene, Cardonate) have been developed. They help significantly reduce the feeling of fatigue.

Listen to positive music for your mood

A study by scientists showed that music can have a positive effect on the emotional state of patients with nervous system disorders. During the study period, it was found that therapy can reduce anxiety, relieve stress, apathy, and reduce depression.

Certain combinations of sounds increase motivation and self-confidence. Music has a good effect on the functioning of the brain in general; it has been noted that when listening to compositions, neural connections are improved, memory and the ability to memorize are supported.

In addition, as medical practice in Western countries shows, music can reduce pain, which is also useful for depression. But avoid compositions with depressive content, motives that cause sadness and melancholy.

Depressive disorders

If a person is bothered by an unreasonable bad mood for a long time, then doctors diagnose depression. Apathy is one of the manifestations of this pathology. With depression, a person loses interest in life, experiences constant melancholy and anxiety. His appetite decreases and sleep deteriorates. In severe cases, suicidal thoughts appear.

There is also an asthenic form of depression. Apathy and loss of strength are the leading symptoms of this pathology. It becomes difficult for a person to take any action. He feels very tired even after simple work. Such patients are usually deeply worried about their condition. They reproach themselves for “laziness” and passivity, and often feel guilty. As a result, depression only gets worse.

If you experience these symptoms, consult your doctor as soon as possible. Otherwise, depression will become chronic, and it will be much more difficult to treat. In the initial stage, psychotherapy sessions help. In more severe cases, the use of antidepressants with anti-anxiety and activating effects is indicated.

Age

When thinking about the apathy and mental states of your relatives, it is worth paying attention to the age factor. Teenagers often experience low mood, which, on the one hand, is due to developmental norms, and on the other hand, should not frighten parents too much. Chronic blues are also a common companion for older people. This fact makes them a social group particularly susceptible to feelings of apathy.

Schizophrenia

This mental illness is accompanied by apato-abulic syndrome. The term "abulia" means a pathological lack of will. The patient experiences the following painful symptoms:

• untidiness and failure to comply with basic hygiene standards;
• loss of interest in any activity;
• complete passivity;
• lack of emotions;
• pathological isolation;
• indifference to loved ones and to oneself.

If a patient with depression does not want to do anything, then he is usually very worried about this. A patient with schizophrenia is usually emotionally cold. He has no criticism of his condition.

In this case, there is no point in shaming a sick person. His untidiness and laziness are a consequence of severe pathology. Apato-abulic syndrome is a symptom of an advanced form of schizophrenia. Only a qualified psychiatrist can help the patient. The use of antipsychotics with an activating effect can slightly improve the patient's condition.