On Feeling Numb and What to Do about It

I squint and groan as my eyes attempt to adjust to the assault of light that has rudely invaded upon the darkness of my eerily silent room. “What now”, I think. ‘So and so mentioned you in a comment.’ It’s my friend. They’ve tagged me in what I have to admit is an exquisite meme. Cannot be argued. Top-tier stuff. Undeniably hilarious.

But I don’t laugh. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I laughed…or cried for that matter. Lying there in the shadows, it is this moment of uncomfortable realization which reveals to me that I have not actually felt anything in a really long time. It seems that somewhere along the line I took one look at the emotional spectrum and said, “your services are no longer required here.”

I’ve numbed out.

What does it mean to “numb out”?

Emotional numbing (or dissociation) is a coping mechanism whereby we disconnect from our feelings. If we practice this continuously over time, it can lead to a decrease in our capacity to feel our emotions and react to our environment.

Dissociation is associated with psychological conditions such as depression and PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), but it is primarily a coping strategy developed in response to various stressors.

Why do we do it?

So, what is the logic behind this strategy? What do we stand to gain from shutting down our emotional processing centers? Why do we as intelligent beings decide that in order to survive, we ought to not feel anything?

Well, there are a few potential reasons.

1. Our survival depends on our ability to adapt to stress

Evolution will tell us that we are automatically inclined to find solutions to our problems. Hungry? Eat. Thirsty? Drink. Tired? Sleep. We are naturally sensitive to internal change, so much so that we instinctively employ coping strategies in response to all stressors, including our own emotions.

Just as our bodies know to protect us from the stress of over-heating by producing sweat, our minds know to protect us from the stress of overwhelming feelings by disconnecting us from our emotional processing centers.