What does feeling numb mean

Causes and Treatment for Emotional Numbness

Feeling emotionally numb or feeling no emotions can be a symptom of several different medical conditions. It may also occur as a side effect of some medications.

Emotional numbness creates a sense of emptiness, isolation, or emotional disconnect from the rest of the world. The numbness can be unbearable for many people who experience it.

Find out what it’s like, why it happens, and how to manage and prevent it.

Emotional numbness, also sometimes called emotional blunting, can be difficult to imagine if you have not experienced it.

Some people describe it as feeling emptiness or despondency, while others report feeling isolated. Some feel as though they have no future or that there is no hope for the numbness to ever fade.

“Often I feel invisible, like I’m a ghost. I watch my family engaging with each other, but feel like there’s an invisible barrier that keeps me from joining them,” describes Amy H., who has experienced emotional numbness from depression. “I’m like a submarine drifting undetected, picking up on other people’s emotions like sonar. However, if you were to ask me what my own feelings are, I wouldn’t be able to tell you.”

Rebecca C.* has a similar experience with numbness caused by depression: “The world around me often seems slightly superficial, [like] I am simply going through the motions and can’t connect to my environment,” she explains. “It makes me feel as if there were analog TV static in my brain. I am unable to communicate or think deeply.”

Some people describe emotional numbness as feeling unfocused or ungrounded.

“It basically feels like when you zone out before you go to sleep,” Amanda D. said. “Feels like being unfocused. And sometimes, especially right when you are going through it, it’s really hard to understand how the world keeps moving when it should have stopped.”

*Some names have been changed at the request of interviewees.

There are a number of different things that can cause emotional numbness to occur. While depression and anxiety are the most common causes, others include the following:

Stress and stress hormones: Elevated cortisol levels can lead to emotional numbness in some people.
PTSD: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which may change your stress hormone levels, can be tied to depression, anxiety, and symptoms like emotional numbness.
Medication: Some medications used to treat anxiety and depression affect how the brain processes mood and emotion. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) affect serotonin levels in your brain, which could also alter dopamine levels. Most evidence is anecdotal, but a 2021 review of research suggests this could explain medication-induced emotional numbing.
Depersonalization-derealization disorder: People with depersonalization-derealization disorder may experience numbness in their minds or bodies.
Fatigue: Experiencing physical fatigue and burnout could lead some people to have emotional blunting.

Despite how it may feel, emotional numbness is not permanent. Treatment is available to provide both immediate relief and long-term remission.

The first step in treating emotional numbness is to identify and treat the underlying cause. A healthcare professional can help with this, or they may refer you to a mental health professional.

You’ll be asked what medications you take and what other symptoms you have. If your doctor thinks one of your medications is to blame, they may substitute it with something else.

If you do not already have a mental health professional, the FindCare tool can help you locate one in your area.

Immediate relief options

To start getting more immediate relief from emotional numbness, you can also try several treatment options:

Make an appointment with a mental health professional

A mental health professional can offer coping techniques to help you regain your feelings. Some professionals, like psychiatrists, can prescribe different medications.

While antidepressants typically take up to 6 weeks to start working, your doctor may prescribe anti-anxiety medication like benzodiazepines or beta-blockers for you to take while the other drug builds in your system.

Rely on your support system

Even if you’re having trouble connecting, reach out to the people who love you. They may be able to help you connect, and you may find relief in telling them what you’re going through.

Exercise

When you’re feeling numb, the last thing you may want to do is get up and move, but it’s one of the best things you can do.

Running, swimming, yoga, and kickboxing classes are all great for stress relief, but even just taking a walk around the neighborhood can help flood your brain with endorphins. To get the best results, exercise daily.

Get plenty of sleep

Getting 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep every night could help improve your mood.

Long-term care

For long-term methods of treatment and prevention of emotional numbness, you may want to follow these tactics:

Eat a healthful diet: By eating nutrient-dense foods, you fuel your body to work at its best. Specifically, fish, fresh fruit and vegetables, and other antioxidant-rich foods can improve mood regulation.

Minimize stress: Minimizing stress or improving how you manage it can positively affect your body, reduce stress hormones, and help you regain emotional feeling. Reduce the stressors in your life, and practice stress-busting techniques like meditation or mindfulness to better manage stress.

Learn to identify and express emotions: For those who have been emotionally numb for an extended time, it can be difficult to identify or process different emotions. A mental health professional can help with this. Make an appointment with a professional in your area who can help you tap into your emotions.

If you’re experiencing emotional numbness, know that no matter how you feel, you aren’t alone, and it won’t last forever.

Reach out to the people you love and make an appointment with a mental health professional. They can help you bridge the gap and bring you one step closer to feeling your feelings.

Symptoms, Causes, Treatment & Support

Depersonalization disorder is a mental health condition that’s now formally known as depersonalization-derealization disorder (DDD).

This updated name reflects the two major issues people with DDD experience:

Depersonalization affects how you relate to yourself. It can make you feel as if you aren’t real.
Derealization affects how you relate to other people and things. It can make you feel like your surroundings or other people aren’t real.

Together, these issues can leave you feeling distanced or disconnected from yourself and the world around you.

It’s not unusual to feel this way from time to time. But if you have DDD, these feelings can linger for long periods of time and get in the way of day-to-day activities.

Read on to learn more about DDD, including its symptoms and available treatment options.

DDD symptoms generally fall into two categories: symptoms of depersonalization and symptoms of derealization. People with DDD can experience symptoms of just one or the other or both.

Depersonalization symptoms include:

feeling like you’re outside your body, sometimes as if you’re looking down on yourself from above
feeling detached from yourself, as if you have no actual self
numbness in your mind or body, as if your senses are turned off
feeling as if you can’t control what you do or say
feeling as if parts of your body are the wrong size
difficulty attaching emotion to memories

Derealization symptoms include:

having trouble recognizing surroundings or finding your surroundings hazy and almost dreamlike
feeling like a glass wall separates you from the world — you can see what’s beyond but can’t connect
feeling like your surroundings aren’t real or seem flat, blurry, too far, too close, too big, or too small
experiencing a distorted sense of time — the past may feel very recent, while recent events feel as if they happened long ago

YOU’RE NOT ALONE
For many people, DDD symptoms are hard to put into words and communicate to others. This can add to feeling like you don’t exist or are simply “going crazy.”
But these feelings are likely more common than you think. According to the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, close to 50 percent of adults in the United States will have an episode of depersonalization or derealization at some point in their lives, though only 2 percent meet criteria for a DDD diagnosis.
Read one person’s account of how it feels to experience depersonalization and derealization symptoms.

No one’s sure about the exact cause of DDD. But for some people, it seems to be linked to experiencing stress and trauma, especially at a young age.

For example, if you grew up around a lot of violence or yelling, you may have mentally removed yourself from those situations as a coping mechanism. As an adult, you might fall back on these disassociating tendencies in stressful situations.

Using certain drugs may also cause symptoms very similar to those of DDD in some people. These drugs include:

hallucinogens
MDMA
ketamine
salvia
marijuana

A small 2015 study compared 68 people in recovery from substance use disorders who were abstinent for at least six months with 59 people who had never experienced a substance use disorder. More than 40 percent of those in recovery had at least mild symptoms of DDD.

Remember, it’s normal to feel a little “off” or removed from the world sometimes. But at what point do these feelings start to signal a mental health condition?

Generally, your symptoms may be a sign of DDD if they start to interfere with your daily life.

Before making a diagnosis of DDD, your primary care provider (PCP) will first ask if you:

have regular episodes of depersonalization, derealization, or both
are distressed by your symptoms

They’ll also likely ask you whether you’re aware of reality when you experience symptoms. People with DDD are generally aware that what they’re feeling isn’t quite real. If you aren’t aware of reality in those moments, you may have another condition.

They’ll also want to confirm that your symptoms:

can’t be explained by ingestion of prescribed or recreational drugs or a health condition
aren’t caused by a different mental health condition, such as panic disorder, PTSD, schizophrenia, or another dissociative disorder

Keep in mind that mental health conditions can take some time to properly diagnose. To help the process along, make sure to tell your PCP about any other mental health conditions you have, especially depression or anxiety.

A 2003 study examining 117 cases of DDD found that people with DDD often also had depression, anxiety, or both.

The most effective treatment for DDD usually involves some type of therapy, especially psychodynamic therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

With the help of a therapist, you can learn about DDD, uncover and work through any past trauma or risk factors, and explore coping strategies to get through future episodes.

Concerned about the cost? Our guide to affordable therapy can help.

Finding a therapist can feel daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Start by asking yourself a few basic questions:

What issues do you want to address? These can be specific or vague.
Are there any specific traits you’d like in a therapist? For example, are you more comfortable with someone who shares your gender?
How much can you realistically afford to spend per session? Do you want someone who offers sliding-scale prices or payment plans?
Where will therapy fit into your schedule? Do you need a therapist who can see you on a specific day of the week? Or someone who has nighttime sessions?

Once you’ve jotted down some notes about what you’re looking for, you can start to narrow in on your search. If you live in the United States, you can search for local therapists here.

quick tip
If you find yourself in a situation where you feel your symptoms starting to creep up on you, try engaging all of your senses. This can help ground you in your body and surroundings.
Try:
holding a few ice cubes
smelling spices or an essential oil
sucking on a hard candy
listening to and singing along with a familiar song

For some, medication may also be helpful, but there isn’t a specific medication that’s known to treat DDD. Antidepressants may be helpful, especially if you also have underlying depression or anxiety.

But for some people, these can actually increase DDD symptoms, so it’s important to keep in close contact with your PCP or therapist about any changes in your symptoms.

Feeling disconnected from reality can be unsettling and overwhelming, especially if you experience it on a regular basis. You might start to think your symptoms will never go away.

In these situations, it can be helpful to connect with others facing similar issues. This is especially helpful between therapy appointments.

Consider joining an online support group, such as:

DPSelfHelp. com, an online support group where people discuss depersonalization, including what’s worked for them and what hasn’t
Facebook communities, including Depersonalization/Derealization Support Group and Depersonalization

If someone close to you is experiencing symptoms of DDD, there are several things you can do to offer support:

Read up on the condition. If you’ve made it to this point in the article, you’re probably already doing this. There’s no need to become an expert on the subject, but having a little background info can help. This is especially true for DDD, as its symptoms are often hard for people experiencing them to put into words.
Validate their experience. You can do this even if you don’t understand what they’re feeling. A simple “That must feel very uncomfortable, I’m sorry you’re dealing with this” can go a long way.
Offer to go to a therapy session with them. During the session, you can learn more about the symptoms they experience or what triggers them. If they’re unsure about therapy, offering to join them for the first session may help.
Understand it might be hard for them to reach out for help. It doesn’t hurt to make sure they know you’re available for support if they need you. Don’t assume silence means they don’t need or want help.
Respect their boundaries. If they tell you they don’t want to talk about their symptoms or any past trauma, don’t push the subject or take it personally.

Numbness, loss of sensation - causes, examination and treatment in Astrakhan| Symptoms

Diseases affecting the largest part of the brain (stroke, tumors, multiple sclerosis, degenerative diseases of the brain)
Signs: Loss of sensation on one side of the face and body affected by the disease, and loss of the ability to recognize objects when touched. Usually weakness, loss of coordination, and other symptoms that indicate dysfunction of the nervous system.

Disorders affecting the upper part of the brain stem (stroke, tumors, abscesses)
Signs: Loss of sensation on one side of the face and body affected by the disease. Often double vision.

Disorders affecting the lower part of the brain stem (stroke, tumors, degenerative diseases of the brain)
Signs: Loss of sensation on one side of the face and on the opposite side of the body affected by the disease. Often visual disturbances and difficulty chewing, swallowing and speaking.

Disorders affecting the width of the spinal cord (compression of the spinal cord due to trauma, tumors, ruptured or herniated disc, hematomas or abscesses, acute transverse myelitis)
Signs: Loss of sensation and usually weakness below a certain level of the body. Sensitivity on the face is not lost. Usually urinary retention, loss of bladder and bowel control, and/or decreased sexual response, including erectile dysfunction in men.

Cauda equina syndrome due to pressure (ruptured or herniated disc, spread of a malignant tumor to the spinal cord)
Signs: Numbness, mainly in the thighs, buttocks, bladder, genitals and in the area between them. Usually back pain. Often urinary retention, loss of bladder and bowel control, and/or decreased sexual response, including erectile dysfunction in men.

Polyneuropathies (use of certain drugs, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, metabolic disorders such as uremia, vitamin B12 deficiency, HIV infection, Lyme disease)
Signs: Numbness and unusual sensations in approximately the same areas on both sides of the body, mainly in the feet and hands. Sometimes weakness and loss of reflexes.

Demyelinating diseases (multiple sclerosis)
Signs: Often weakness or clumsiness and sensory disturbances (tingling or numbness), sometimes changes in vision and speech.

Disorders affecting the spinal nerve root (torn or herniated disc, crushing of the bones of the spine due to arthritis or osteoporosis)
Signs: Pain that sometimes shoots down the arm or leg. may feel like an electric shock, aggravated by spinal movement, coughing, or Valsalva maneuver. Often weakness and/or decreased or absent reflexes in the area for which the nerve root is responsible.

Disorders affecting the plexus (compression syndrome at the outlet of the chest, trauma, malignant tumor that has spread to organs near the plexus, brachial neuritis)
Signs: Numbness, pain and/or weakness over a relatively large area of the limb.

Mononeuropathy (carpal tunnel syndrome, peroneal nerve palsy)
Signs: Numbness with or without pain, often weakness and/or decreased or absent reflexes in the area supplied by one nerve.

Numbness of the legs and arms - treatment, symptoms, causes, diagnosis

Numbness is an abnormal sensation that can occur in any part of the body, but is most often felt in the arms and legs. The symptom of numbness is often accompanied by tingling, and can range from fairly harmless, such as in the hands on cooling, to a sign of a serious, life-threatening condition. Numbness is a fairly common symptom. Numbness of the extremities is often accompanied by an emotional context with a sense of detachment and a decrease in emotional coloring, which is usually a sign of depression. In a physical context, numbness is usually the result of damage, circulatory problems, or pathological changes to certain nerves.

In addition, there may be periodic bouts of numbness and tingling due to the presence of certain health problems, such as neurosis or a migraine attack. Also, episodes of numbness can occur during attacks of fear caused by the expectation of life-threatening events, and in such cases, numbness is caused by shallow breathing and affects, most often, the fingers and mouth area.

Numbness of the hands is manifested by a feeling of loss of sensation in the hands, this condition is often referred to by patients as "asleep" hands. Numbness may be accompanied by a pins and needles sensation. Often this numbness occurs after sleeping with your hands under your head. Numbness of the hands is usually caused by the presence of carpal tunnel syndrome, in which compression of the median nerve occurs. Most often, carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by compression of a nerve in the carpal tunnel. In addition, hand numbness may be due to trauma, hypothermia, or systemic diseases such as diabetes mellitus. If hand numbness is accompanied by shortness of breath, nausea, palpitations, then this may be a sign of acute, life-threatening conditions and requires emergency medical attention.

Numbness in the legs is a loss of feeling or sensation in the legs, resulting from a disruption in the connection between the peripheral nerves and the central nervous system. Usually, leg numbness is associated with impaired circulation in the lower extremities. Most often, this numbness occurs when sitting cross-legged for a long period of time. In such cases, lifting and walking can get rid of numbness after a certain period of time. But numbness in the legs can also be a sign of serious damage to nerve fibers due to mechanical factors (disc herniation, radiculopathy) or nerve damage due to somatic diseases.

Causes

Numbness can be a sign of a wide range of diseases or conditions that include blood flow restriction or nerve damage.

Temporary numbness may be associated with any activity that causes prolonged pressure on the nerve(s), such as sitting cross-legged or riding a bicycle for long distances. Numbness can also occur due to moderate or severe orthopedic or vascular conditions, or conditions and diseases that cause damage to the nervous system. In some cases, numbness is a symptom of a life-threatening condition that requires emergency medical attention.

Cardiovascular causes of numbness

Numbness can be caused by a lack of blood flow to a certain area due to conditions such as:

Arteriovenous malformations
Buerger's disease
Deep vein thrombosis (thrombosis in the legs can break off, which can lead to pulmonary embolism in the lungs, heart attack, stroke)
Frostbite
Diseases of the peripheral arteries (atherosclerosis of the vessels, in which there is a narrowing of the arterial bed).
Raynaud's syndrome, in which persistent spasm of peripheral vessels occurs and blood circulation is disturbed in the distal extremities. Vasospasm is usually provoked by cold or sometimes stress.

Orthopedic causes of numbness

Numbness can also be caused by minor or major orthopedic conditions that cause nerve damage:

Whiplash neck
Bone fractures
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Degenerative diseases of the intervertebral disc
Herniated disc
Compression pinched nerve
Osteoporosis

Neurological causes of numbness

Numbness due to nerve compression or nerve damage may be due to diseases such as:

Alcoholism
Brain tumors
Diabetic neuropathy
Encephalitis
Heavy metal poisoning such as lead poisoning
Hypothyroidism
Multiple sclerosis
Peripheral neuropathy
Spinal cord injury or tumors
Stroke
Systemic lupus erythematosus
Myelitis
Myelopathy
Vitamin B12 deficiency

Numbness during pregnancy

Pregnant women face many changes in their body and numbness is one of them. Some pregnant women develop carpal tunnel syndrome and this is thought to be due to water retention in the body during pregnancy.

As the fetus develops, fluid accumulates in the body, tissues swell, including in the wrist area, compression of the median nerve occurs and carpal tunnel syndrome develops. Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome are more pronounced in the morning, as there is an accumulation of fluid in the body at night. As a rule, the syndrome of the carpal tunnel of pregnancy is cured on its own after delivery.

Numbness in children

There are many reasons why children may experience numbness in various parts of the body. Malnutrition, lack of vitamins and minerals can cause numbness in the lower extremities, this is especially true for a lack of B vitamins. Sports injuries can also cause numbness. Therefore, in childhood, parents need to pay attention to children's complaints of numbness, which lasts more than a few minutes and may be a sign of damage to ligaments, tendons or bone fractures. Often, anxiety in childhood can be a source of numbness of the lips and face.

Symptoms

Numbness is usually due to poor circulation in a certain area or nerve damage. Sensory disturbances (numbness) can also be the result of infection, inflammation, trauma, and other pathological processes. In most cases, numbness is associated with non-life-threatening conditions, but it can also be a sign of a stroke or tumor.

Numbness in the extremities is often associated with pain or may be accompanied by other sensory disturbances such as burning, tingling. Strokes also present with movement and speech disorders. Depending on the cause, numbness may disappear quickly, for example numbness in the hand that occurs when a person is sleeping with his head on his hand, disappears after a few hand movements. Chronic numbness of the leg or arm over a long period of time, usually indicating some level of nerve damage, such as from diabetes mellitus or multiple sclerosis. Chronic numbness of the fingers may be due to nerve entrapment, as is the case with carpal tunnel syndrome. In any case, numbness that lasts for more than a few minutes is worthy of attention and medical attention. And if a person has numbness in the groin area and dysfunction of the bladder and intestines, or there are signs of paralysis, confusion, speech impairment, then in such cases it is necessary to seek emergency medical help.

Symptoms that may accompany numbness:

Anxiety
Burning sensation
Frequent urination
Increased numbness or tingling while walking
Itching
Low back pain
Muscle spasms
Neck pain
Pain in other parts of the body
Pins and needles sensation
Rash
Hypersensitivity to touch

A number of symptoms that accompany numbness can be a sign of serious conditions and this must be taken into account by the doctor, as emergency medical care and necessary medical procedures are often required.

These symptoms are:

Lethargy or momentary loss of consciousness
Labored breathing
Difficulties in walking
Dizziness
Loss of control over voluntary urination or defecation
Visual impairments
Numbness in the head, neck, back
Paralysis
Speech disorders (dysarthria)
Weakness

Diagnosis and treatment

The doctor prescribes an examination plan based on the history of the disease, examination of symptoms and physical examination, which includes both instrumental and laboratory examinations.

To treat numbness, first of all, it is necessary to find out the cause of this symptom. If numbness is associated with circulatory disorders, diabetes or multiple sclerosis, the underlying disease is treated, both with the help of conservative methods of treatment, and with an operative method (for example, in case of vascular diseases).

Learn more