You open your laptop. Think about what needs to get done. Maybe you should go to the gym. Run errands. Start that project.
And then … nothing happens.
There's no pull to begin. No sense that effort will lead to anything good. So you put it off. Then you put it off again.
This is where anhedonia and depression-related procrastination often meet.
Anhedonia is the loss of pleasure or interest in things you once enjoyed. The kind of procrastination that comes with depression is different from everyday avoidance. It's driven by low motivation and a brain that no longer expects activities to feel rewarding.
Doctors often group these reward-based symptoms into a specific "domain" within depression – separate from mood, energy, or appetite changes. And they can be some of the toughest to treat.
"Depression is a multifaceted disorder," says Marcus Hughes, MD, a psychiatrist with Yale Medicine who studies depression. "The domain that encompasses anhedonia and subsequently procrastination is one of the trickier ones to get ahold of, even when other symptoms improve."
During a WebMD Reddit AMA about managing depression, Hughes, an assistant professor with Yale School of Medicine and a psychiatrist at Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital, fielded questions about anhedonia and procrastination.
Here, he shares how he helps people understand what's happening, and how to start moving forward when joy and motivation are hard to find.
Why You Keep Putting Things Off
If you can't get started on things like work, chores, or hobbies that once sparked joy, you may assume you're just being lazy. But procrastination isn't a character flaw. "It's a brain issue," Hughes says. "It's not a 'you' issue. It's not a 'try harder' issue."
The problem lies in your reward system. Under typical conditions, your brain is supposed to:
- Anticipate something will feel good.
- Experience a reward from the action.
- Remember that reward and push you to do it again.
Hughes explains it with a simple example.
"Let's say you love Pepsi," he says. "When you start thinking about the Pepsi, your brain is already releasing dopamine, saying yes, you want a Pepsi and that's what you need to get … there's that anticipation. And then when you get it and you consume it, your brain's like, 'Yes, this is great. Keep doing it.'"
That first step, expecting a payoff, is what gets you motivated and moving.
With depression, especially when anhedonia is part of the picture, the "this is worth it" signal weakens. You may understand, on a logical level, that something matters or used to feel worthwhile. But if your brain isn't giving you a sense of reward ahead of time, it's much harder to get started.
"If you're not able to anticipate a positive reward … you might say, 'Why would I do that?' " Hughes says.
There's another piece that can make things even harder.
Some activities deliver fast, high-level rewards. This includes social media, gaming, or substance use. When those are part of your routine, they can shift what your brain starts to expect from everything else. "The more time you spend doing those things, reality seems to pale in comparison," Hughes says.
When that happens, it's harder to look forward to everyday things.
You may start to feel that daily tasks like going for a walk, washing dishes, or answering emails aren't worth the effort. And you may find yourself going back to the same high-reward activities – like scrolling on your phone – because that's where your brain expects to feel good.
Put together, procrastination becomes a predictable outcome.
Framing it this way doesn't give you a free pass to avoid responsibilities. But, Hughes says, it does change the question from "What's wrong with me?" to "What's happening in my brain, and how can I work with it differently?"
How Treatment Can Help You Get Started
There isn't a specific medication or therapy that targets anhedonia on its own. But one approach consistently stands out: behavioral activation. That's when you just do the thing, even if you don't feel like it. "It's kind of a 'fake it till you make it' situation," Hughes says.
With behavioral activation, the goal is to expose your brain to positive experiences and let the motivation follow. To get started, Hughes often asks people to track what they do in a day.
For about a week, write down things like:
- When you wake up
- How long you stay in bed
- Whether you brush your teeth, shower, or eat
- How much you exercise
- How much time you spend on screens
- What tasks you want to do but keep putting off
From there, the focus shifts to concrete, planned changes. For example:
- Take a walk at 3 p.m.
- Call a friend on Saturday.
- Work on a project for 10 minutes.
- Read five pages in a book.
When you do something over and over, your brain has more chances to learn that certain activities feel good. Even small wins can help rewire your reward pathway.
"It's like, OK, I went to the gym a few times, and now I feel a little bit better, or my muscles look a little bigger," Hughes says. "I'm going to keep going."
If you have a lot of trouble with motivation, you can start with tiny changes. "There's no task too small," Hughes says.
For some, that might mean:
- Sitting up in bed instead of lying down
- Putting one foot on the floor in the morning
- Standing for a few seconds before getting back into bed
With practice and repetition, those micro-steps can turn into getting up at a consistent time, taking a shower, going outside, or doing a brief workout.
How to Find Meaning When Nothing Feels Good
When you're dealing with anhedonia, the question isn't just: What do I enjoy? It often turns into: What's the point of anything? Hughes says this is where exploring conversations around meaning and purpose start to matter.
"I think I'm a smart guy, and I like giving patients advice," he says. "But there are some people that have kind of spent their life talking about these things."
He often points people to the work of Viktor Frankl, who wrote about finding meaning even in extreme suffering. The idea isn't to compare experiences, but to show that meaning isn't something you stumble into, it's something you create.
Hughes also draws on the Japanese concept of ikigai, which looks at fulfillment across several areas:
- What you enjoy
- What you're good at
- What the world needs
- What you can be paid for
Work is just one piece of that. And if you're like many people, it may be the only piece you've thought much about.
When you're depressed, it's easy to focus on what's going wrong. But, Hughes says, feelings of emptiness can also come from not knowing what matters to you in the first place.
Hughes suggests asking yourself: What would you do if money weren't a factor?
"Some people say things like, 'I'd be flying kites every day if I didn't have to work,' " Hughes says. "So I say, 'OK, let's work on getting you a kite to fly maybe once a month.' "
Other answers can be just as simple:
- I'd spend more time outside.
- I'd do something creative
- I'd move my body more.
- I'd cook healthier food.
The goal isn't to change everything about your life. It's to take those ideas and make them real in small, doable ways. That process can take time. And it's often easier with support.
"We emphasize a community approach," Hughes says. "We ask people's loved ones and friends to get on board … so they can hold you accountable to do these things, even when you're not in the mood."
When to Seek Treatment
Hughes says one of the most important things to watch is how long your depression symptoms last and what they keep you from doing.
"If people are having a hard time completing tasks, feeling good about things, or socializing, it's really important to talk to a mental health professional," he says. "And if you're having persistent symptoms that affect your functioning and quality of life, that's when it's time to do an intervention."
Here are a few signs it may be time to seek more support:
Your symptoms aren't going away. If you've been waiting months or years for joy and motivation to come back on their own, it's time to check in with a professional. Waiting it out can mean missing out on relief.
You've tried other treatments. If therapy, standard medications, and behavioral strategies haven't helped enough, other options may be worth exploring. Treatments like ketamine, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), or elECTroconvulsive therapy (ECT) can help target harder-to-treat symptoms like anhedonia.
Your safety is at risk. If you're having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, or you're not able to meet basic needs like eating, bathing, or getting out of bed, you may need a higher level of care, like an intensive outpatient program (IOP) or a short hospital stay.
Just as important, Hughes adds, is how you think about what you're going through. Depression isn't a sign that something is wrong with who you are. It's a medical condition that responds to treatment.
And like with any other medical condition, you don't have to push through or figure out how to manage symptoms on your own.
"If you have a heart attack, you wouldn't say, 'Maybe if I just wait, I won't have any more,' " Hughes says. "You go to the doctor. It's the same for mental health issues."
Show Sources
Photo Credit: E+/Getty Images
SOURCE:
Marcus Hughes, MD, assistant professor, Yale School of Medicine; attending psychiatrist, Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital.
