In ancient Greece, a group of people championed the philosophy of hedonism, an idea which considers pleasure to be the inherent value or good in life. Followers of hedonism spent their lives maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain, believing momentary pleasant sensations to be the highest goal in life. It’s from these people that we get the word hedonistic, meaning indulgent, decadent, or pleasure-seeking. But people who are addicted to drugs sometimes face a harrowing state that’s diametrically opposed to the hedonist lifestyle of old—anhedonia, a condition in which the body is physically incapable of experiencing pleasure.   Anhedonia occurs when the brain’s pleasure and reward system, involving the mesocortical reward circuit and the dopaminergic mesolimbic, experiences a decline in function. Researchers have suggested that long-term drug use hampers regular dopamine production and circulation in the brain, leading to extremely low levels of dopamine and an inability to experience pleasure. There are methods of treating anhedonia, including therapy, medications, and social support, and drug rehab programs or sober living can offer clients assistance in this challenging time, but full recovery can take months. Anhedonia can also play a significant role in prompting relapse, hindering those in recovery from maintaining sobriety.   Contrary to the moralistic model of addiction, people who are addicted to drugs don’t continue using just because they are chasing a high. Their motivation is not the pursuit of sensual pleasure, as hedonism might encourage, but, in fact, the…