Lack of pleasure in most things, most days
Cause
When the chemicals in your brain get out of balance, you can have difficulty feeling pleasure or happiness. Lack of sleep, excessive stress, drug or medication use, hormone imbalances, thyroid problems and a myriad of other things can cause this to happen. Fortunately, once you know what is causing the problem, most of these things can be addressed with some relatively simple interventions such as getting enough quality sleep, improving your nutrition, identifying and addressing what is stressing you out, and getting a physical to make sure that the cause isn't something physical like hypothyroid or chronic fatigue syndrome.
Function
This is your body's way of signaling that 1) there may be a problem, and 2) forcing you to address it. After all, nobody wants to be depressed for very long.
How You Cope
Think back over a few times when you have been depressed, even if it was just for a few hours.
- What did you do to help yourself feel better? Did you call a friend? Go on a walk? Distract yourself with something? These are all tools you already have in your toolbox that work, to some degree, to help you feel better. You want to build on these tools.
- What makes you happy? Comedians? Funny YouTube videos?