Anhedonia

Anhedonia is the inability, or a marked reduction in the ability, to feel pleasure in activities that used to be enjoyable. It is one of the two core symptoms of major depression (along with depressed mood) and is present in nearly every significant depressive episode.

There are two types: consummatory anhedonia (not feeling pleasure while doing the activity) and anticipatory anhedonia (being unable to look forward to or feel motivated for the activity beforehand). In depression, both are usually present — the person not only fails to feel pleasure doing things they once loved, but often can't even motivate themselves to start.

Neurobiologically, anhedonia is linked to dysfunction in the dopaminergic reward circuits — particularly the mesolimbic pathways. That's why behavioral activation (pushing yourself to act even without wanting to) is a central part of treatment: in depression, action precedes motivation, not the other way around. "Waiting to feel like it" only keeps anhedonia in place.