When Everything Feels “Meh”: Dealing with Emotional Numbness
- Abeer Shahid, LPC
- May 8
- 2 min read
Have you ever had a day—or several—where nothing feels particularly bad, but nothing feels good either? You’re not sad, not joyful, not even particularly anxious. You’re just… meh. If that sounds familiar, you might be experiencing emotional numbness.
Emotional numbness is often described as a state of feeling detached or disconnected from your own emotions. It's not always dramatic or noticeable. Sometimes, it looks like going through the motions, struggling to feel excitement about things you used to enjoy, or feeling indifferent even when something “should” feel meaningful.
Why Does Emotional Numbness Happen?
This state can be a coping mechanism. When your brain is overwhelmed—by stress, burnout, anxiety, depression, grief, or trauma—it might hit the “mute” button on emotions to protect you from overload. While that might work short-term, it often leaves you feeling stuck and disconnected in the long run.
Signs You Might Be Numb (and Not Just Lazy or Unmotivated)
You feel emotionally flat most days
You’re not interested in things you used to enjoy
It’s hard to connect with others emotionally
You’re constantly “on autopilot”
You sleep a lot, doom scroll, or zone out often to pass time
What You Can Do
If you’re stuck in this fog, here are a few gentle ways to begin shifting it:
Start with Sensation Reconnecting with your body can help awaken emotional awareness. Try taking a walk, holding a warm drink, stretching, or standing in sunlight. Physical sensation can serve as a bridge back to feeling.
Name What You Can Feel Even if it’s dullness, boredom, or restlessness—naming it gives your experience shape. “I feel numb” is still a feeling. Start there.
Create Mini Moments of Pleasure or Meaning Think small: lighting a candle, listening to a favorite song, watching the sky. You don’t have to feel a lot for it to still matter. These tiny moments can soften the edges of numbness.
Limit Overwhelm Emotional numbness can be a response to too much input. Try reducing multitasking or setting boundaries around social media or emotional labor.
Reach Out Talking to a friend, therapist, or even writing in a journal can make it easier to reconnect with your inner world. You don’t need to “fix” it before you talk about it.
You’re Not Broken
Feeling emotionally numb doesn’t mean something is wrong with you—it means your system is trying to protect you. But you don’t have to stay in that muted space forever. Healing doesn’t always look like big feelings; sometimes, it’s just noticing that meh isn’t the end of the story.
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