Avolition: Meaning, signs, causes, impact, and treatment

Reviewed by Brooks Baer, LCPC, CMHP

Written by

therapist.com team

Last updated: 08/27/2025

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If you’ve ever wondered why someone might sit for hours doing nothing, or why basic self-care becomes impossible for some people, avolition might help explain what you’re observing.

What is avolition?

Avolition is a decrease in motivation to start and continue working toward goal-oriented tasks or activities.¹ It affects people both internally (making them losing interest and drive) and in what they actually do (avoiding activities they used to start on their own). The lack of activity comes from an inner loss of motivation—not from outside factors.

It can occur on its own, but it’s most often a symptom of an underlying mental health condition.² Avolition and schizophrenia are closely related, as it’s a core negative symptom of the disorder. But it can also show up in other conditions, such as bipolar disorder or depression.³

People with avolition alone don’t necessarily feel sad or anxious, have trouble sleeping, or have thoughts of hurting themselves. Instead, they often feel emotionally empty or numb.

Signs of avolition

Avolition can throw up roadblocks in every part of life, from basic self-care to keeping up with friends. The symptoms mostly show up as a lack of motivation or energy for things that used to be easy.

Common signs include:⁴

• Losing interest in self-improvement in different life areas
• Stopping daily maintenance tasks like personal grooming or making meals
• Avoiding bigger responsibilities like jobs, school, or socializing
• Staring at the TV for hours without really watching
• Spending most of the day alone at home

If you’re experiencing any of the above symptoms and they’re impacting your daily life, or the life of someone you care about, consider reaching out to a mental health professional for evaluation and support.

What causes avolition?

Studies indicate that lack of motivation may be driven by problems with anticipating pleasure (anticipatory anhedonia).⁵

Your brain’s reward system typically motivates you by helping you anticipate good outcomes. But when you’re dealing with avolition, this anticipation system doesn’t work properly, which makes it hard to get started on tasks even when you know they’re important.

Avolition in mental health and medical conditions

In most cases, avolition is an underlying symptom of a complex mental health condition like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or some personality disorders.⁶

Avolition-like symptoms are also a key feature of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).⁷ When people with IBD report feeling “fatigued,” what they’re actually describing is a lack of motivation to start and continue activities. This may suggest a broader link between motivational impairment and chronic illness fatigue.

Avolition can stem from a condition (primary) or other factors (secondary) like medications or factors in your environment, such as social isolation.⁸ This distinction matters for treatment.

Impact on daily life and well-being

In people with schizophrenia, avolition is a stronger predictor of poor functioning than cognitive ability.⁹ This means that motivation problems can have a bigger impact on daily life than memory or attention difficulties.

People with avolition do fewer productive activities and spend more time doing passive activities or nothing at all.¹⁰ When researchers ask them about their daily routines, they usually report doing just one thing at a time, and it’s typically something inactive.

Avolition is a major predictor of poor quality of life, even more so than other negative symptoms common in schizophrenia like blunted affect (reduced emotional expression).¹¹ The impact on relationships, work, and self-care creates a cycle where reduced activity leads to further isolation and decreased motivation.

Assessing avolition

Mental health professionals use structured interviews and rating scales like the Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS) to identify avolition.¹² The assessment looks at both what patients report feeling and what can be observed in their behavior.

The assessment process takes time because avolition can be tough to measure objectively, requiring professionals to gather information from different sources to get the full picture.

Treatment options for avolition

Currently, no medications have been approved specifically for treating avolition.¹³ But specialized therapy programs which include tasks designed to boost motivation may be a good option.

Traditional therapy methods may not be effective since avolition can make it difficult for clients to participate. However, one study showed promising results with “therapeutic invigoration” tasks that drew from cognitive behavioral therapy and guided imagery therapies.¹⁴ Much more research is needed, but treatments that cater specifically to a lack of motivation are being developed.

In some cases, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) may be a viable option. TMS is a non-invasive treatment that uses magnetic fields to target specific brain regions. In patients being treated for schizophrenia, non-invasive brain stimulation seemed to work better for improving avolition and anhedonia than other symptoms.¹⁵

Research suggests that treating avolition can improve other negative symptoms too.¹⁶ This makes avolition a key target for comprehensive treatment.

Supporting someone with avolition

Whether you’re a family member, friend, or caregiver, understanding how to help someone with avolition makes a significant difference in their recovery. Helpful approaches include:

• Offering gentle support and structure
• Breaking large tasks into tiny, doable steps
• Celebrating small accomplishments
• Encouraging professional mental health support
• Being patient with the recovery process

If you or someone you know are struggling, visit our directory to find a mental health provider who can identify any underlying conditions and create strategies for coping. The right therapeutic relationship can make a significant difference in recovery.