What Can We Learn From Apathy?

Listless states are not necessarily negative. We need to see them as moments that allow us to work and balance our emotional world, and get to know ourselves better.

Apathy is for many a synonym of depression. Although these are sometimes similar sensitive feelings or reactions, it is important to stress that they are not the same thing.

The point is that differentiating them can be a bit confusing. However, to put it simply, one could say that apathy is based on alterations in motivation. Whereas depression is directed towards the emotions. And, while the two often appear together, there are occasions when one manifests without the presence of the other.

In this article, we’ll focus on apathy, and we’ll try not to conjure it up as a completely negative feeling or emotional image, and focus a little more on its usefulness.

What is apathy?

Scientifically, apathy is defined as a neurobehavioral syndrome, which means that it is related to the brain and the way it affects behaviors.

In itself, apathy is recognized by the absence of will and interest. And often, it’s also like an absence of emotions. All of this refers to the daily activities that a person can perform or any circumstance that surrounds them.

Aside from being confused with depression, it is also mistakenly used as a synonym for indifference, inattention, and even drowsiness.

We will see that when a person has apathy, they can be attentive, awake, and even happy. What is happening is that she has a noticeable lack of interest in some or maybe all kinds of activities.

Is it 100% negative?

If we fully understand its definition, we will realize that it is not a disease, let alone a disability. In fact, it can be viewed simply as a temporary condition, which may or may not be voluntary.

However, since we live surrounded by a society that does not stop and values ​​facts and actions in a meaningful way, it is not surprising that apathy is seen as something negative. But is this the case? In fact, not really.

It is not a negative state, especially when it is voluntary and selective.

In fact, we can appreciate this statement with certain doctrines like Buddhism. If we pay attention to it, Buddhism is a kind of directed apathy.

This discipline or religion seeks to appease overreactions, passions and emotions. All this in order to find inner and outer fulfillment.

What should we pay attention to?

Apathy can often be linked to psychological illnesses, but we again stress that this is not.

However, in all cases, whether voluntary or preceded by illness, the result is the same. Little initiative in carrying out activities and a decrease in feelings and emotions.

What must be clarified is that in the presence of an image of apathy, we are also in a calm state of mind.

• It can help us better recognize our thoughts, emotions, sensations and feelings.
• This way we could be in a more optimal state of consciousness.

The benefits of apathy

Having made it clear that apathy is not exactly a negative state, we might mention some of its benefits.

1. Apathy helps us achieve emotional balance

We mentioned above that in a state of apathy we have the ability to recognize and assess our emotions and feelings more effectively.

So when we understand how we feel and how and why we react, it is possible to find our emotional balance.

2. It gives us more time to decide

Without action, we have more time to decide. It is an opportunity that we can give ourselves when we do not act or react.

This can help us have even more time to assess situations and thus make better decisions.

3. It allows us to enter emotional consciousness

Apathy is often linked to depression. We generally react defensively to both executives. We want to get out of it quickly and become “active” and “positive” again.

In this situation, it is advisable to take the time to listen to our apathy .

If we do, we can enter a state of emotional awareness that allows us to identify the reasons for our sadness or loss of motivation, and thus be able to work on an emotional evolution.

Finally, it should also be considered that there are cases of involuntary and prolonged apathy (chronic states) which require consultation with specialists.

To identify these cases, it suffices to analyze whether or not we can easily move away from apathy. If these attempts fail, we recommend that you consult a specialist.