6 Signs You Might Be Comfortably Numb to Your Emotions

 

If you’re emotionally numb, it can be hard to tell that you are. You’ve learned not to feel certain emotions, and life has become easier in many ways because of it. You don’t cry when you get hurt; you don’t scream when you’re angry; and you definitely don’t care that much about anything that happens in the world around you.

 

1) Discomfort with emotions

As a human being, you have the ability to experience a wide range of emotions. The more time you spend avoiding unpleasant feelings, the more uncomfortable you'll become with them. This can lead to a disconnected sense of self and an inability to feel empathy for others. If you notice any of these six signs of emotional inhibition schema in your day-to-day life, it might be time for some soul searching. Take a moment to explore what's preventing you from feeling your emotions, so that you can gain control over them again. It is possible that one of the following factors is holding you back:

Grief: When we grieve a loss or are grieving on someone else's behalf, it can feel impossible to share our pain with others. Grief can also cause us to detach from people in order to protect ourselves. Sharing your thoughts about this loss with someone who understands will help you find peace and make room for healing.

Shame: Shame has two different effects on us: It may prevent us from experiencing emotion at all, or it may cause us to focus excessively on our failures as a way of distracting ourselves from other painful feelings like shame. Identifying where the source of this shame stems from, and developing healthy coping skills, will allow you to move past it and start living a happier life.

Anxiety: Anxiety often causes us to shut down emotionally because we're constantly worrying about worst case scenarios happening. In order to start calming those anxious feelings, take care of yourself by setting boundaries between work/home life and eliminating toxic people/situations from your life. Recognize when you're projecting onto something or if you're trying too hard not to show emotion--both are ways anxiety manifests itself in daily activities.

 

2) Poor emotional awareness

In the DSM-5, there is no emotional inhibition diagnosis. However, people who are unable to feel or express their emotions often have a host of other psychological and mental health conditions. The following is a list of 6 signs that you might be comfortable numb to your emotions:

1) Difficulty identifying feelings – One major sign that you are comforatbly numb is difficulty identifying feelings. If you don't know what you're feeling, then it's hard to know how to process those feelings and appropriately share them with others.

2) Difficulty expressing feelings – Another symptom of emotional inhibition schema is difficulty expressing feelings with others. This can lead people into bottling up all their emotions which can cause additional problems in the long run like depression or anxiety. It's important to identify these feelings so they can be processed appropriately and shared with others.

3) Lack of emotional intensity – Another sign of emotional inhibition schema is a lack of intense emotions. It may seem like life events don't really phase you or create any deep emotion inside. On the contrary, this person may go through life without ever experiencing anything very deeply, especially positive emotion as well as strong negative ones such as anger or sadness.

4) Unable to understand own emotions - An inability to understand one's own emotions also points towards emotional inhibition schema because it means that they can't accurately identify what they are feeling at any given time so they aren't able to take appropriate steps in addressing the issue at hand.

 5) Constantly justifying behaviors/actions - People who use denial to cope with difficult situations will tend to come up with excuses for why they did something wrong instead of taking accountability for their actions. These justifications usually make little sense, but provide them some kind of way out from facing the reality of what happened.

6) Unstable moods - A final sign that someone is dealing with emotional inhibition schema is mood swings; where someone can feel good about themselves one minute and terrible the next. There isn't a constant happy medium because they swing between feeling on top of the world to being completely despondent and lifeless.

 

3) Difficulty expressing emotions

It's easy to feel numb when a loved one has passed away or when you're in the middle of a really difficult time. It can be hard for many people to express emotions, but often it's because they don't know how. They may have grown up in a family where emotions weren't talked about or feelings were ignored. But there are some signs that you might be comfortably numb and not even know it. The first sign is difficulty expressing emotions. If you find it difficult to cry, empathize with someone who is grieving or react normally in response to an emotional event then this could be a sign of emotional inhibition schema. The second sign is using shoulds on yourself: Do I look like I'm ok? Do I sound happy enough? Am I grieving enough? When these shoulds start coming from within rather than from outside sources then they can lead to feeling uncomfortable with your own emotion. A third symptom is criticizing yourself as soon as something happens: As soon as we say something dumb at work we judge ourselves harshly instead of realizing that we're only human and made an error in judgment- which happens sometimes! Another symptom of emotional inhibition is that perfectionism: We never want to make mistakes so we set unrealistic goals and standards for ourselves and get mad at ourselves when we inevitably fail. Finally, another symptom of emotional inhibition schema is denial. There are times where it's good to block out emotions temporarily in order to deal with a more serious issue- but if you find yourself doing this habitually then it might be indicative of an unhealthy tendency towards avoiding negative feelings.

 

4) Fear of negative evaluation

The fear of negative evaluation is also known as social anxiety disorder, and is characterized by an excessive fear of being judged or embarrassed in public. People with this disorder may be afraid to speak up for themselves and are often preoccupied with what other people think about them. This can lead them to make decisions based on how it will affect other people rather than what they want for themselves.

Other signs that someone might be comfortably numb are if they avoid taking risks because they don't want anything to go wrong, or if they feel like there's nothing left worth fighting for. They may worry too much about the future, their past mistakes, or the needs of other people instead of focusing on their own needs. In extreme cases, a person suffering from social anxiety disorder may become depressed or even contemplate suicide. If you're feeling anxious about how you appear to others, chances are high that you're uncomfortable showing your true self to others.

The next sign of emotional inhibition is called perfectionism: those who struggle with perfectionism have unrealistic standards and expectations for themselves that they constantly strive towards but never meet. If you find yourself feeling chronically unsatisfied or always dissatisfied with your work then you likely suffer from some degree of perfectionism. The more time invested in a task increases its importance; but at some point, any additional time spent becomes counterproductive since the work won't get better no matter how long we spend trying to perfect it. Perfectionists tend not only have high standards for themselves but also put pressure on other people around them.

 

5) Social isolation

If you find yourself withdrawing from people and feeling like you have no friends, this is one of the warning signs of emotional inhibition schema. If you're isolating yourself from society because you don't want to be around other people, it can be difficult to break out of the cycle. One way to combat this is by trying out new activities that put you in the company of others. This might be something as simple as going for a jog or cooking dinner with a friend. It can also be helpful to talk about what's going on and how it makes you feel with someone who cares about your wellbeing or close family member or friend. The more emotionally connected you are with those around you, the easier it will be to regain some sense of belonging and connection. As an added bonus, isolation can make you susceptible to anxiety attacks and depression. So try not to shut everyone else out just because they don't understand what's going on with you. Find ways to interact with them and show them that you do care about them. The important thing here is to make sure you're getting enough social contact while avoiding too much exposure so that it doesn't overwhelm you.

 

6) Unhealthy coping mechanisms

Many people are able to function in their day-to-day lives without feeling any emotions. They may think of themselves as being fine. But this is a type of coping mechanism called emotional inhibition schema, and it's a sign that you're in need of some serious self-care.

1.     If you are constantly on guard, trying not to let your feelings show or if you have a tendency to bottle up your emotions, this could be a sign that you're comfortable numb.

2.     If you feel numb all the time and don't know what it feels like to be sad or angry, then this could also be indicative of emotional inhibition.

3.     When you realize that everything in your life has felt gray and void of color, it's important to take action before things get worse.

4.     People who are uncomfortable with their own feelings will go out of their way to avoid feeling them at all costs.

5.     You may find yourself constantly seeking out distractions just so you don't have to deal with anything else but when it starts impacting other aspects of your life such as work or relationships, this might be a warning sign.

6.     Finally, there's no shame in asking for help from someone who can provide assistance from an objective viewpoint. Sometimes we just need someone outside our own head telling us the truth about how we really feel - even if it hurts - so we can move forward.