Emotional numbness is a layperson’s term for psychological symptoms that might better be termed as detachment. When a person is emotionally numb he may feel cut off from emotional response, even if one is warranted. This symptom can arise after an extreme shock or loss. It also may be a persistent symptom with conditions like posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, depression, or bipolar disorders. Sometimes the symptom is a side effect of certain medications, or the term may be more loosely used to exaggeratedly describe people who seem to have difficulty getting in touch with their emotions.
There are many definitions of what the condition feels like. People may say they can’t feel, the things that would ordinarily make them happy or sad have no effect, or that they just have a strange sensation of detachment, as though part of the self holds back and does not participate in ordinary living. The reaction is quite common in times of grief or loss, and in a way, at first it may be an adaptation that is useful. For example, someone making funeral arrangements for a loved one may feel numb or detached, and not feeling the extent of grief at that time may make it possible to get through the early days after a loved one has died.
If the feeling persists, problems are created. It may be important to not feel when the first shock for loss occurs, but it becomes very important to feel the extent of that loss, so that people can mourn and move on. Persistent emotional numbness arrests the grieving process, though it may seem that remaining numb keeps away the full emotional extent of the loss, which is very hard to bear. People don’t usually choose to stay numb consciously, but with grief, some may remain unconsciously detached to protect themselves from the reality of a loss.
In most cases, people have no direct or indirect choice in their feeling of emotional numbness. In conditions like posttraumatic stress disorder, this detachment is part of the symptoms that make up the disorder. Breaking through that barrier is elemental to successful treatment.
Some other conditions like schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, and personality disorders like schizoid, are also associated with detachment or numbness during certain phases. In particular, schizophrenia is often associated with what is called flat affect, or very little emotional response. The voice may sound monotonal and devoid of emotion, and facial expressions or gestures may also seem uninterested on emotionless, too. Occasionally, medications used to treat psychiatric disorders actually cause a degree of emotional numbness, and if possible these medications need to be changed.
Ultimately, humans are not meant to remain emotionally numb, and if this state exists for any substantial period of time, a person requires help. Medical examination should rule out possible drug causes. Then therapy, plus possibly medication for psychiatric conditions, can help restore patients to a more attached feeling to themselves and the world.
