Emotional Numbness

Emotional numbness can be classified as an emotional disorder or as a defence mechanism which has evolved as a result of side-lined psychological disorders or traumatic episodes. People experiencing emotional numbness are often characterised by isolation and disengagement.

A lot of people can’t experience emotions too intensely. They can’t be affected too deeply with any circumstances or happenings around them.

It can be because they were shunned for expressing their feelings in the past or because they don’t want to get hurt and tend to shut down their emotions to not have overwhelming response to how they feel, developing a coping mechanism.

It’s not that they choose to or not to feel a certain way but the degree to which an emotion is experienced by an emotionally numb person is different from the one that’s not. Most of them want to experience grief, sadness, joy but they can’t seem to take so much interest in life. Nothing really excites them or lets them down. They tend to carry on with their life regardless of circumstances and emotions have very little effect on them.

They might sometimes come across as selfish and inconsiderate to some, but its just that they don’t consider emotions in every decision and act and are more bound to be practical.

Emotions and feelings to them might be related to weakness or makes them feel vulnerable. They don’t trust anybody, even their own choices and decisions sometimes for that matter might depend on others, to tell them how they should feel or act. They don’t have strong opinions or argue too much as they don’t’ feel the need to do so, they don’t care too much. They are mostly assertive. The repression, rejection of their emotions makes them immune to it.

They stay away from circumstances or people that call for too much emotional investment or meaningful relationships.They alienate themselves and this response becomes automatic at some point.

However, emotional numbness can be altered or reversed by therapy, by identifying the causes (the events which has caused them), the underlying disorders, or by simply acknowledging the physical aspects of emotions, like feeling heavy might be because you’re sad and sad because you’re lonely. Identifying how an event or person affects you and making little lifestyle changes can also help in overcoming emotional numbness