One of the cruelest parts of depression is losing the ability to enjoy things. Food, hobbies, time with people you love — everything goes flat. Researchers call this anhedonia, and a major 2022 study wanted to know: how well does therapy actually fix it?
The study, by Alsayednasser and colleagues, followed 440 people with depression who received either CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) or Behavioural Activation — a simpler therapy approach focused on re-engaging with meaningful activities. Both approaches improved anhedonia significantly during the first six months of treatment. But here's what was striking: the improvement in the 'feeling joy again' part was noticeably less complete than the improvement in other depression symptoms. And once active treatment ended, the recovery of pleasure didn't keep improving on its own.
In plain terms, therapy works — it genuinely helps people start to feel pleasure again. But anhedonia is stubborn. People with severe loss of enjoyment at the start of treatment tended to have harder recoveries overall. This is useful to know, not as discouragement, but because it means anhedonia deserves specific attention — not just as a side effect to wait out, but as a treatment target in its own right.
If you're feeling better overall but still not enjoying life, it's worth raising that with your psychologist — because there may be more that can be done.