Emotional Numbness: the battle of EQ

Emotional Numbness! The title of the article would have taken you by storm. The word is heavy, and a bit complex to understand as well but the meaning is simple. Emotional numbness is a mental state where in the emotions shut down and feelings may not get a reaction at the same time. When this happens for the first time, you may be nonplussed and feel helpless but what is more important is to understand the reason behind it. Let us have a closer look at what emotional numbness means, how and when does it occur, and what are its symptoms. 

What is emotional numbness?

Like we saw above, emotional numbness is a state of your mind wherein your emotions might shut down and your feelings might not feel strong enough to find an answer. But this feeling won't last long enough. It may be a temporary relief or a runaway from other pain or problems. Some might mistake emotional numbness for anxiety or grief but it is quite different from both of them. 

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What are the symptoms of emotional numbness?

The symptoms of emotional numbness are:

1. not feeling like yourself and being able to do what you usually do in a routine.
2. failing to access your feelings
3. not being able to get ahead emotionally and physically.
4. unable to fetch feelings of joy or happiness
5. being alone and preferring not to be in the society.

What causes emotional numbness?

There are certain factors that are considered responsible for causing emotional numbness and those are as follows:

1. Anxiety: anyone who is already suffering from anxiety is prone to being a victim of emotional numbness as well. High stress, fear, and excessive worry may cause negative impacts and make you fall prey to your overpowering emotions.
2. Grief: anyone who is still coping with grief which may be caused by any of the circumstances such as loss of someone dear, might feel disconnected from their emotions and experience emotional numbness. 
3. Depression: depression makes you feel disinterested and disoriented from your feelings which is one of the reasons why you may be pulled into emotional numbness during an episode of depression.
4. Mental abuse: anyone who is mentally and emotionally abused may certainly lose track of their feelings and gradually turn numb which is why abuse can be considered one of the most difficult to cope with reasons of emotional numbness. 

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How to cope?

Coping with anything that involves your mental health and emotions is not at all easy and it takes even greater courage to overcome it. But it becomes a matter of utmost importance to get rid of emotional numbness to be able to move ahead in life. Some coping mechanisms may preferably include:

1. Finding yourself a support system that also fuels your interests
2. Engaging yourself in physical activities such as athletics, swimming, etc which might ultimately prevent your mind from feeling numb.
3. Getting adequate amount of rest is also responsible for the brain to functioning responsibly. 
4. Getting rid of stress from time to time.
5. Practicing meditation and journaling to reduce stress and manage your thoughts.

All these strategies can help you achieve better mental health and prevent your brain from circling into all the places that it really does not want to.