“My decline in motivation might be, at least in part, organic.”

In today’s episode, I share research and anecdotal evidence of my own experience in managing a perceived decline in motivation as I step into my early 50s. While there are popularized and straight forward cognitive explanations that point to a decline in motivation with age, changes in motivation and the, “get up and go” approach to activation, are caused by an array of contributing factors. However, it was surprising to learn that there may be an organic changes in the basal ganglia accounting for at least some of the variance.

FMP 89 – Decline in Motivation

1. What We Do:
   
   • Behavioural Medicine and Health Psychology
     
   • Providing easily accessible content designed to help you design your own transformative experience.
     
   
   
2. Today:
   
   • I review the well documented problem of changes in motivation as we age, and the resulting health impact.
     
   • I share my own challenges with staying motivated with injury and how the behavioural activation has been my go-to.
     
   
   
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Decline in Motivation

1. What the research says:
   
   • Decline in motivation has root causes associated with age:
     
     • Organic Changes: The striatum is part of the basal ganglia – responsible for the “get up and go” attitude – It appears to decline with age.
       
     • Psychiatric Illness: Late life depression as we age can lead to decreases in motivation.
       
     • Perception: We see the changes happening to our body and changes in key relationships in our life. This leads to changes in motivation.
       
     • Generalized Anhedonia: Low motivation can be related to anhedonia (clinical and non-clinical) and can lead to health consequences as we age such as increased sarcopenia, increased inflammation secondary to lower activity and increased weight, changes in critical relationships in their life.
       
     
     
   
   
2. My Own Experience:
   
   • Increased weight has led to increased injury and therefore pain.
     
   • Routine takes over.
     
   • Cost benefit analysis of effort to outcome often leads to not doing an activity.
     
   • Long game feels, “too late”.
     
   
   

Behavioural Activation

1. Prioritizing behaviour over emotions or cognition.
   
2. Setting clear goals.
   
   • 30 minute walk every day
     
   • Connect with a friend in person three times a week.
     
   • Improved diet.
     
   
   
3. Techniques:
   
   • Setting the scene – place the object to motivate.
     
   • Stimulus Control – Destructive habits decrease if stimulus is unavailable.
     
   • The power of scheduling and accountability.
     
   • The power of reward no matter how big or small.
     
   
   

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