Updated on 9/20/2022

Experiencing negative emotions is never fun, but sometimes feeling absolutely nothing at all can be just as bad, if not worse. If you’ve never felt true emotional numbness before, it can be really scary the first time you go through it.

Feeling numb can be an indicator that something deeper is going on. It could actually be a symptom of a mental health condition. It’s not healthy to feel emotionally numb or despondent. What you’re feeling might be a common symptom of anxiety disorder, depression, grief, stress, abuse, or something else.

Feeling numb isn’t a healthy coping mechanism, but the good news is that once you’ve determined the cause of your emotional numbing, solutions can help you manage your feelings and cope.

Keep reading to learn more about the symptoms and causes of emotional numbness and what you can do if you or someone you know has been feeling numb lately.

Symptoms of Emotional Numbness

Symptoms of emotional numbness might include:

What Causes Emotional Numbness?Regardless of the underlying cause of your emotional numbness, the altered sensation — or rather, lack thereof — is a psychological defense mechanism, especially if you’re feeling negatively overwhelmed.“It’s easier to feel numb and shut down than to experience many emotions at once. We live in a culture of productivity, being busy, and the constant input of noise without signal. Numbness is a way to cope with this.”Therapist Elizabeth Hinkle, LMFTCommon causes of numbnessThe causes of numbness can be varied, and it might be essential to see a licensed mental health professional for an official diagnosis. Feeling numb can be the result of:Substance abuse:Various substances ranging from alcohol to painkillers to street drugs, can cause emotional numbing. In fact, that’s often why people use them; they want to feel numb and dull the pain they’re experiencing. However, using drugs or alcohol to cope with emotions can lead to addiction and other negative outcomes.Grief:While many people associate grief with sadness andcrying, it does not manifest in this way for everybody. Everyone experiences grief and processes loss differently, and sometimes the grieving process mayleave one feeling numb. This could be because you’re in denial or disbelief about your loss or because you don’t want to process the negative emotions accompanying death.Depression:It’s a misconception that people withdepressionare always sad. Instead, a depressed person’s symptoms might include an overwhelming sense of nothingness and numbness. In these situations, losing interest in doing things one once enjoyed is common.Anhedonia:Simply put,anhedoniais “the inability to feel pleasure.” Anhedonia isusuallyrelated to depression, but not always. Someone experiencing this symptom might not feel pleasure or joy from things that used to bring them joy.PTSD:Post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD) is a common cause of emotional numbness. The condition can certainly cause emotional pain and extremely unpleasant flashbacks, but sometimes people living withPTSD will also feel numb. Trauma has a way of making emotions shut down.Medications:Some people who take prescription medications for amental health conditionmight notice that, though some symptoms will improve or resolve, they’ve instead been replaced with a feeling of numbness. This is also known as “emotional blunting.”Avoiding emotions:You could be experiencing numbness if you’re simply avoiding orrepressing emotions— whether you resist acknowledging them or feeling them. This could be due to any of the above causes, or it could be a coping mechanism during tumultuous, distressing times.“Emotional numbness occurs in an effort to shut out pain, emotional and/or physical. It’s a type of unhealthy coping skill that’s only ever a temporary solution to a complicated situation.”Talkspace therapist Minkyung Chung, MS, LMHC

What Causes Emotional Numbness?

Regardless of the underlying cause of your emotional numbness, the altered sensation — or rather, lack thereof — is a psychological defense mechanism, especially if you’re feeling negatively overwhelmed.

“It’s easier to feel numb and shut down than to experience many emotions at once. We live in a culture of productivity, being busy, and the constant input of noise without signal. Numbness is a way to cope with this.”

Therapist Elizabeth Hinkle, LMFT

Common causes of numbness

The causes of numbness can be varied, and it might be essential to see a licensed mental health professional for an official diagnosis. Feeling numb can be the result of:

“Emotional numbness occurs in an effort to shut out pain, emotional and/or physical. It’s a type of unhealthy coping skill that’s only ever a temporary solution to a complicated situation.”

Talkspace therapist Minkyung Chung, MS, LMHC

What to Do if You Feel Numb

How and when you come out of your state of emotional numbness will depend on what caused you to feel numb in the first place. When you understand why you’re feeling numb, you can work to face and deal with whatever in your life is causing this unhealthy emotional reaction.

Avoid substance abuse

If you’ve been feeling numb from substance abuse, you might only be able to feel your typical emotional range again if you get sober.

Seek a mental health diagnosis from a therapist

If a mental health condition is the cause of your numbness, it’s important to voice this to yourtherapistand/or psychiatrist so you can work through the situation together and come up with a solution. Therapists can help you identify and unpack your emotions in a healthy way in a safe setting.

“It’s important to seek out professional help when one recognizes emotional numbness is occurring. Talking to someone and learning healthier coping skills will facilitate increased emotional openness and the ability to discuss and expose the situation causing the numbness.”

Talk to your doctor about your medication

If you’ve been taking medication for another condition causing you to feel numb, you should talk to your psychiatrist or doctor as soon as possible. Your mental health care team will want to know about your reaction to any medication you take. You can be prescribed a different medication, or your doctor can adjust the dosage.

Address your emotions

Sometimes dealing with your emotions can be painful. That doesn’t mean it’s OK to avoid them entirely, though. If you’re finding it difficult to walk through pain, grief, or anything else you’re experiencing, therapy might be able to help you manage and cope with your emotions.

In order to stop feeling numb, you’ll likely have to learn how to feel emotions and sit with them.

“Emotions can be scary and there is a common fear of an emotion taking over. Emotions can’t hurt us. It may feel uncomfortable to experience them; however, you can learn to ride the wave through them and know they won’t last.”

To sit with your emotions, you must be introspective and dig deep, even though that can initially feel really unpleasant. Hinkle advises, “To feel less numb, start with gently exploring your internal state of emotions — perhaps identify one that stands out.”

Consider asking yourself the following four questions to help in identifying and experiencing emotions:

Work through any grief

If you’re numb due togrief, sometimes you just have to wait it out. Everyone’s timeline for grief is different, but if you continue to feel depressed or numb for more than a year, it’s important to seek help from a licensed therapist or grief counselor.

Find Answers With a Therapist

Don’t hesitate to reach out to a mental health professional if you’re frequently feeling numb or having episodes of numbness that last for days or weeks (or longer) at a time. A licensedonline therapistcan help you determine the underlying cause of your numbness and get you back to feeling a range of emotions again.

The truth is, you don’t have to live like this. You can learn how to face and feel things in a positive, productive way, fostering healthy relationships and finding happiness in your life once again.

Our goal at Talkspace is to provide the most up-to-date, valuable, and objective information on mental health-related topics in order to help readers make informed decisions.

Articles contain trusted third-party sources that are either directly linked to in the text or listed at the bottom to take readers directly to the source.

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