Posted by fachad on February 19, 2003, at 13:18:28
In reply to fachad what do you mean??? » fachad, posted by LAURA777 on February 18, 2003, at 16:23:15
Laura,
> "Ok, so you are describing anhedonia as if it were a defect of perception, like color blindness..."
> what do you mean by this statement ??
All I meant by that was that at this point in your life, you were working from the perspective that anhedonia is based in physiological and chemical processes, and your efforts were directed toward understanding those processes, how they related to other psychopathologies like addiction, and how current pharmacotherapy could be utilized to correct the underlying problems.
> are you saying that my experience of my emotions and what is felt is contingent on my perception of them ???
No, just the opposite.
Someone who is biologically color blind does not have any influence on the way he sees color - that is determined by physical structures in his eyes, nerves, and brain. No matter how he deals with it, or what he decides it "means", he just doesn't have the visual experience of "green" or whatever, because the physical structures necessary to have that experience are not there.
> like if i am happy i can change that emotion with a mere perception ???
No, my earlier posts were suggestive along those lines. I was trying to present the possibility that SOME of the experiences you were describing were subject to interpretation and that a change of perspective COULD be a way to deal with them.
But as I read more of your posts, and looked at the articles you linked, I realized your perspective was oriented more toward understanding of biological underpinnings and pharmacological treatments. So I put up the post in question to let you know that I think I figured out where you are coming from.
>Anhedonia definition is , inability to experience pleasure ... the positive feelings of our wonderful range of emotions is closely linked to our ability to experience pleasure ..
Did you check out the links from BLTC? Thinking about you reminded me of those articles, and when I went back and re-read them I really thought you would relate to that perspective and get something out of them. I don't know if you saw this post, but when I put it up I was thinking primarily of you and how it fit your situation:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030208/msgs/140654.html
> Endorphins are directly related to this .. and as far as i know there is nothing on this planet that enhances these except noxious addictive chemicals .. so basically i am screwed ..
Not everyone believes you are screwed; the whole BLTC effort described in the above link is really a multi-layered attack on the exact problems you are describing. Take another look thru their stuff, and click thru a few links from their sites, and possibly this will enable to see things more optimistically.
-fachad
poster:fachad
thread:138954
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030219/msgs/201868.html