Emotional Numbness
We often feel disconnected with ourselves not having any emotion in particular to deal with but constantly feeling distant with our emotions, reactions and responses. It is absolutely normal and fine for me to say we are all tired to a certain extent; going through the same thing daily can be overwhelming and exhausting. However, we are expected by the society to be strong and brave, some emotions are not meant to be expressed so suck it all up (the male are mostly affected by this) and move on. Some would say expressing your emotions is a sign of weakness rather than strength.
Emotional numbness is a defense mechanism employed by the mind to avoid intense and overwhelming emotions accumulated from the past and present. When we probably feel nothing which is absolutely something; it is more or less a response to being overwhelmed by too many feelings (mostly trauma) and that makes us emotionally numb.
We are all going through different versions of the same thing and how we express, manage and work through them all definitely differs. Being emotionally numb makes you unable to feel and experience your emotions in wholesomely.
The fear of not experiencing or expressing certain emotions so as not to break down or be tagged weak and other names makes us bottle or repress our emotions. These contribute to a traumatic event and the tendency to be emotionally numb is prevalent in such individual.
What causes emotional numbness?
1. Psychological, emotional, physical, sexual and spiritual abuse.
2. Constant punishment or reprimand for expressing ones emotions.
3. Severe traumatic experience such as grief, rape, violence and heartbreak.
4. Adverse childhood experiences such as isolation, neglect, emotionally/physically absent parents or care givers.
5. A deliberate coping mechanism
The danger of disconnecting from one’s emotions is detrimental as it affects the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health. These invariably lead to depression, addictions, isolation, chronic and somatic illnesses.
Common signs of emotional numbness
1. Feeling empty.
2. Inability to fully participate in life.
3. Difficulty expressing strong negative and positive emotions.
4. Always nonchalant about most things.
5. Disdain for people who live their lives.
6. Social withdrawal from friends and family.
7. Constant boredom and restlessness.
8. Indecisiveness.
Come back to life from being emotionally numb by doing the following:
- Find out why you feel numb.
- Meet your basic needs like food, shower and sleep.
- Talk therapy, cognitive behavior therapy.
- Journal.
- Talking with others (friends and family) and stay connected i.e. socialize.
- Exercise and connect with nature.
- Identify your values.
8. Live by your values.
9. Practice patience and gratitude.
’’We cannot selectively numb emotions, when we numb the painful ones; we also numb the positive emotions’’ -Brene Brown.
Connecting to my emotions is blissful, it helps me feel, learn, grow and reflect.
Don’t forget that YOU MATTER.
OLOLADE AWAYE.
Content Creator
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