Known As Emotional Numbness, Recognize The Characteristics Of Emotional Deadness

Illustration of emotional numbness or emotional numerness (Freepik/stockking)

YOGYAKARTA Have you ever felt life goes on, but it's like not being 'presented' emotionally? The condition when a person finds it difficult to feel any emotions is called emotional numerness or emotional numbness. This makes you not really feel happy, sad, or angry. This, explains the characteristics of feeling numb so that you can understand yourself better. If some of the characteristics feel very familiar, maybe it's time to pay attention to your emotional health.

When you feel numb, while having a fun moment you feel flat. Citing Psychology Today, Friday, November 28, a licensed psychologist at Konice Webb, Ph.D. says that the characteristics of a numb person emotionally, he is not enthusiastic when undergoing a happy moment. His feelings remain flat, it feels distant from reality and feels not directly involved in real events.

When dealing with situations that usually trigger feelings of sadness, you actually feel normal. Not because you are strong, but because you have difficulty accessing these feelings. In fact, logically, it should be painful. This can make you misunderstand yourself, as if you don't care, even though you are just numb.

You do your daily routine without feeling connected, just doing your job. Wake up, work, eat, sleep, repeat without meaning. There is no passion for things that used to make you excited. It's as if the body is walking, but the heart is far behind.

When asked 'what do you feel?', you find it difficult to answer. Even distinguishing whether you're tired, sad, or angry can be a challenge. Feelings like running away and not having a shape. This often makes you prefer to answer, 'I don't know.'

More emotional interactions with other people feel tiring or make you want to avoid them. When someone is laughing or crying, you don't know how to respond. Not selfish, you just can't connect. Over time you are more comfortable yourself and avoid in-depth conversations.

Many people describe it as a vacuum in the chest. There is a 'less' feeling, but I don't know what's lacking. It's uncomfortable, but it's also unclear what's wrong. This void often makes you confused whether you are really alive or just surviving.

Often, emotional immunity is a mechanism for self-protection from severe stress, trauma, or childhood that is full of emotional neglect. The brain of people who experience it seems to say, Pain is too heavy. So it's better not to feel anything'. However, surviving in this mode makes you lose a lot of life's color.

Experiencing emotional numbness does not mean being abnormal or lack of empathy. In fact, it can be a sign that you or people who experience it have been holding back the burden of feeling without a place to vent it for too long. By recognizing its characteristics early, you can start hugging yourself again and slowly open up space to feel. If this condition makes life even more severe, you don't have to face it alone. Find professional support that can help you find the way to who you really are.