Why Do I Feel Numb?

Feeling numb emotionally or lacking emotions can be a sign of many medical conditions, and it can also be a side effect of certain drugs or alcohol abuse. If you feel numb and it is causing you to feel isolated, empty, or disconnected from others, mental health and addiction treatments here at Sylvia Brafman can help you feel better.

The Feeling of Emotional Numbness

The feeling of emotional numbness can be hard to describe. It can feel different from one person to the next. With this being said, some people describe feeling numb as the following:

• Feeling empty or sad
• Isolation from others
• Feeling like there is no hope for the future
• Feeling like they are a ghost or a shell of a person
• Watching others engage and not feeling any happiness inside themselves
• Feeling like there is a barrier between you and others
• Hanging onto everyone else’s emotions but not being able to identify your own
• Where the world seems fake, and reality doesn’t seem right
• Feeling ungrounded or even unfocused
• Feeling like you are constantly zoning out
• Using alcohol or drugs to hide from the pain

Do you find that you are constantly feeling like this? If so, you might feel numb and not realize it. In other cases, the person knows they feel numb but don’t know what to do. Either way, our team can offer you the mental health and/or addiction treatments needed to get your emotions and life back on track. 

Reasons Why You Might Feel Numb

There are numerous reasons why a person might feel numb. As noted above, the descriptions of feeling numb can vary from person to person. With that being stated, some of the primary causes of why a person may feel numb include:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Stress
• Stress hormones (higher cortisol levels)
• Certain medications, such as depression and/or anxiety medications, that affect dopamine and serotonin levels in the brain
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Bipolar disorder
• Depersonalization-derealization disorder 
• Chronic fatigue

Are you dealing with any of these causes of emotional numbness? If so, you don’t have to keep going through this problem alone. Here at Sylvia Brafman, we have a team of trained professionals who can help you to retrain your brain, get mental health conditions under control and help you to get back your healthy emotions and feelings.

How We Treat Emotional Numbness at Sylvia Brafman

We have experienced and trained mental health and addiction treatment professionals with years of experience treating symptoms of mental illness, including emotional numbness. Do you feel emotionally numb? If so, we want you to know that the lack of emotions doesn’t have to be permanent. We offer treatments that can provide you with short and long-term relief.  The first thing that you need to do to stop feeling numb is to identify what is causing you to feel that way in the first place. Is it a mental health disorder? Are you feeling depressed? Do you take a medication or drug that is causing you to lack proper emotions? You don’t have to figure this out on your own. The SBMHC team is here to help you get to the bottom of it.

Some of the things we may ask include the following:

• Are you taking medications?
• Do you abuse alcohol and/or drugs?
• What other symptoms do you currently have?
• How long have you felt numb?
• Do you have any diagnosed mental health and/or physical health conditions?

Short-Term Relief Options

It is important that our clients get relief as soon as possible. With this being said, many short-term relief options can be used now and in the long run, too. Some of these options include:

• Seeing an outpatient therapist 
• Learning coping skills (even just one can make all the difference)
• Getting on appropriate medications
• Relying on people you can trust to help you through it
• Exercising daily (mental and physical exercises are recommended)
• Get the proper amount and quality of sleep your body needs (7 to 9 hours is generally the recommendation for adults)

If you can start working on these tips, it will make a difference in how you are feeling. It should make you feel better, even if it doesn’t completely change the emotional numbness. Progress in mental health treatment takes time and usually happens in stages. The important thing is to start somewhere and get a professional diagnosis if you can. From there, a therapist, counselor, psychiatrist, or psychologist can begin to develop a treatment plan for you.

Long-Term Care for Treating Emotional Numbness

There are also many long-term care options for treating emotional numbness. Some of these options include the following:

• Eating a healthy, nutrient-dense diet (the health of your body has a measurable effect on mental health)
• Minimizing your stress levels (research shows that reducing stress hormones helps people to regain feelings and emotions (ex. practice coping and stress-relieving skills, get support, meditate, and be mindful)
• Learning how to identify what your emotions are and how to express them properly
• Going to intensive outpatient, partial hospitalization, or inpatient treatment programs (these programs offer therapy and other treatment services to help you figure out how you are feeling and change it into something positive)

Do you feel numb? If so, don’t wait any longer. You don’t have to do this alone. Reach out, and we can help you get the treatment and services needed to get your emotions back in the right direction.

Get Help with Your Emotional Management Today

Now that you know why you might feel numb and what you can do about it, you don’t have to keep struggling with your emotions or the lack thereof. Here at Sylvia Brafman, our team is ready and able to help you manage and access your emotions. Contact us today for help if you feel numb or have other mental health or addiction-related issues.