Emotional Numbness: When You’re Not Sad, But You’re Not Okay

Not every mental health struggle looks like crying or crisis.

Sometimes it looks like:

• Scrolling endlessly without joy

• Ignoring texts because everything feels like too much

• Feeling nothing… when you know you should feel something

• Saying “I’m fine” when you’re more frozen than fine

This is emotional numbness—a lesser-talked-about trauma and burnout response.

Why It Happens:

• Long-term stress, grief, or disconnection

• Burnout from emotional caregiving or chronic pressure

• Nervous system shutdown from feeling overwhelmed

How to Start Thawing Gently:

1. Name it. “I feel emotionally shut down right now.”

2. Stimulate one sense at a time. Hold a warm drink, step into sunlight, light a candle.

3. Lower the bar. Choose one small task, not ten.

4. Let safe people know. Even just saying, “I feel weirdly flat lately” opens the door.

You’re not broken. You’re protecting yourself.

But you don’t have to stay numb. There’s life waiting for you on the other side of the freeze—and you can thaw at your own pace.