Have you ever tried engaging in an activity you love, but found you either found it boring or your enjoyment was numbed? This is a normal feeling that almost everyone can relate to, and it’s called apathy.

While apathy can come and go, there are times when it becomes a chronic issue that hinders all areas of life.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about apathy, including:

• What it is
• What causes it
• How to stop it

What is Apathy?

Apathy is an intense lack of interest. It can demotivate people and leave them feeling empty. This can affect:

• Relationships
• Work
• School
• Hobbies

Almost everyone will feel apathetic at some point in their lives, but some people experience it chronically. This can cause long-term complications and make life incredibly difficult.

Symptoms of Apathy

Because apathy affects a person’s ability to care, it can be hard to pinpoint what the symptoms are. Naming apathy symptoms can help you understand what’s happening and how to deal with it.

Here are some of the symptoms associated with apathy:

• Difficulty staying focused and completing tasks
• Feeling indifferent
• Low energy
• Reduced desire to participate
• Low motivation to complete tasks
• Lack of interest in activities
• Not enjoying things you used to enjoy
• Lower than usual emotional responses

Symptoms of apathy can range from inconvenient to distressing.

Related Article: Doomscrolling

What Causes Apathy?

The cause for apathy ranges from mental health struggles, situational problems, and neurological complications.

Physical and Neurological Complications

Physical complications to the brain can cause apathy.

• Brain injury from a strong strike to the head
• Stroke
• Tumors

These issues disrupt communications within the brain, causing dysfunctions in reward processing, dopamine signaling, and executive functions.

Mental Health Struggles

Many mental health issues include apathy as a symptom. The mental health considerations most closely associated with apathy include:

• Depression: Can cause apathy due to the chemical and behavioral changes emblematic of depression.
• Trauma: Often causes apathy as a defense mechanism, so the brain doesn’t have to process the trauma.
• Compassion fatigue: Emotional exhaustion numbs emotions and distances people from others, making it difficult to cope.

If you’re experiencing apathy due to any of these issues, mental health treatment or therapy can help you find ways to manage symptoms and deal with your apathy.

Related Article: Depression

Situational Issues

Apathy is often triggered by life events. These may include:

• Moving
• Job stress
• Burnout
• Family issues

When you feel exhausted from big changes, it’s typical to feel more withdrawn and overwhelmed. This leads to feelings of apathy. Maybe you’re too busy, distracted, or overwhelmed to care about the things you used to. Whatever the issue, you’re not alone, and you can learn to manage these distressing feelings.

Related Article: What Is and Isn’t Burnout?, How to Deal With Compassion Fatigue

How Do I Stop Being Apathetic?

Apathy doesn’t feel good. It can be distressing to feel like you can’t do the things you used to enjoy. Like you want to care and get focused, but something just isn’t clicking.

Apathy is a well-documented issue that many people struggle with. These are some ways you can try to deal with apathy.

Prescription Medication

If your apathy is caused by a physical ailment or a neurological issue, there may be prescription medication that can help. 

• Cholinesterase inhibitors: may help improve apathy associated with Alzheimer’s
• Stimulants: also have positive effects for apathy associated with Alzheimer's

If you have apathy due to depression, antidepressants can help improve some apathy symptoms.

If you’re wondering if prescription medication is a good idea for your situation, talk with your health care provider, and never take prescription medications outside of their guidance.

Professional Help

Therapy isn’t only for people in a crisis. It’s a place to process frustrations from everyday issues and problems. Apathy might seem like a small issue, but if it’s getting in the way of the life you want to live, it may be time to consider attending counseling.

Some causes of apathy can be treated with the help of counseling and therapy. Issues like:

• Depression
• Burnout
• Anxiety
• Trauma

While in counseling, you’ll develop coping skills, learn about yourself, and work through any unprocessed trauma. This can help you get a better idea about what’s causing your apathy and how to avoid it.

Consider What Triggers Your Apathy

Understanding what events or issues occurred around the time of developing apathy can help you better understand how to move past it.

Consider these questions to help you better understand your issues with apathy:

• What happened before you started to feel apathetic?
• Which areas of life do you feel most apathetic about?
• Is your apathy tied to a specific task or environment?

This is not an exhaustive list of questions you should be considering, but they can help you get on the right track for understanding what triggers your apathy.

Make Lifestyle Changes

If you’re able to understand what makes you feel apathetic, you may be able to make some changes here and there to help manage your apathy symptoms.

Some lifestyle changes that can help people with apathy include:

• Setting new routines
• Engaging in physical activity like walking or working out
• Prioritizing sleep and a well-balanced diet

These changes are not intuitive and may take some research on your part. However, when taking a holistic approach to apathy, you’ll likely start to see changes soon.

Consider Your Working Conditions

Work is often the source of apathy for many people, and for good reason. It’s easy for work tasks to become dull, boring, and repetitive. 

If you find yourself feeling apathetic about your work, consider looking for ways to liven up your work situation.

• Ask for new tasks
• Try to remove tasks or projects you aren’t interested in
• Talk with managers about how you’re feeling
• Reorganize your desk or work in a new location
• Address burnout and take time away from work

Changing things up can help give context to what you can enjoy about your work. Talking with managers about what you’re feeling can also open opportunities to work on projects and locations that you actually enjoy.

Think about what parts of your job are truly interesting to you and try to find ways for you to pivot into those roles.

Practice Self-Care

When you feel burnt out and overwhelmed, it’s easy to forget about yourself. You may feel too tired or distracted to consider ways you can try enjoying yourself.

Self-care can be a particularly helpful tool for moving past your apathy. It works in two ways:

• Give yourself time to relax and think about yourself
• Helps you discover what you’re interested in

Self-care can look like almost anything, including:

• Exercise 
• Sleep
• Nutrition
• Spending time with friends and family

Self-care can also help you engage in tasks that you find boring and uninteresting. By thinking of self-care as a treat for doing something you’re apathetic about, it can motivate you to be more engaged.

Be Nice to Yourself

As you try to manage apathy and get back to feeling motivated, you’ll likely hit a lot of speed bumps along the way. Try to recognize that it’s a process that will take time.

Apathy is not something that you can just shrug off. It’s usually caused by external issues, and it’s usually not your fault.

When you’re experiencing apathy, work on being gracious to yourself. Practice self-compassion when your best efforts don’t work. 

Get Help With Apathy At Inner Balance Counseling

Counseling can be helpful for all the issues in life. Whether you’re experiencing apathy due to a mental health issue or just can’t seem to get encouraged about life, general mental health counseling can help you better understand what you’re experiencing and how to move past it.

At Inner Balance Counseling, we help people live the life they want by providing personalized mental health care. We help a wide variety of clients live a more fulfilling life.

‍Request a consultation and start taking control of your apathy.