- Date posted
- 4y
- Date posted
- 4y
Hey i just recently experienced this it’s okay there’s no need to worry it’s called (emotional numbness) im not sure what the main cause of it is but some people say it’s either from experiencing extreme anxiety or depression to the point where ur body starts to protect you from it and that’s what leads to emotional numbness what helped me through this is that i kept reminding myself that it’s okay and remember to not put pressure on yourself to feel it’s okay these feelings will start coming back again you just have to allow yourself to go through this don’t panic everything will get back to normal you just have to give it time.
- Date posted
- 4y
You have no idea how comforting that is to hear. Thank you so much. I’m slightly worried because I don’t think I had extreme anxiety or depression recently and I thought this only happened recently to me (although this time last year they were both pretty bad because I was really struggling with ocd so that makes me think how long have I possibly unknowingly been living with emotional numbness). Have you started to feel better recently?
- Date posted
- 4y
@Clementine Yes i really got better when i started to not force the feeling whatever the situation is i started to not push myself no matter how bad it is. It HELPED ME A LOT i really recommend you to not put pressure on yourself to feel it’s okay it’s just temporary you’ll start to feel again don’t worry.❤️❤️❤️
- Date posted
- 4y
@m.m Thank you so much. It’s so comforting just to know that I’m not the only one who’s felt like this and that there’s hope. I’m glad you’re feeling better now :)
- Date posted
- 4y
Absolutely. When I turned 16, that was when the OCD decided to pop in and say hello. It left me experiencing severe anxiety and guilt. After some time I started to feel emotionally numb. As m.m said, it’s your brains way of protecting yourself from any further stress. I worry about the exact same things, so much so that it turned into an obsession (luckily my SSRI’s are doing their job). I think, for me, I know I need to come to terms with the trauma that the OCD caused and face my fears. Obviously easier said than done, because I’m still using this app. Hope this helps. 😊
- Date posted
- 4y
It absolutely has helped, thank you. It’s just nice to know that I’m not alone in this feeling because that’s scary to think about. Unfortunately it’s always easier said than done but at least we know it’s possible :)
- Date posted
- 4y
Hi Clementine! I remember you. Sorry to hear you're struggling right now. I've been struggling with strong feelings of envy recently and began to feel like I may never feel content again. We can get through this though 🙂.
- Date posted
- 4y
Oh my goodness, hi! I haven’t been on here in months because honestly I was doing so much better. I remember you too and honestly you helped me so so much. Sorry to hear you’ve been struggling too but you’re right, we’ll be ok :)
Related posts
- Date posted
- 16w
I haven’t posted here in a while but I just wanted to ask a question. While having ocd is it normal to have days when you don’t feel like talking to anyone even if you wanted to? I have felt this for a while and I can’t figure out why do I feel like that. Usually I’m a very talkative person and even when I don’t feel like talking to anyone I always talk to my boyfriend but now even talking to him feels like a burden and I just don’t understand why. This situation has also made my intrusive thoughts even worse:( Idk what to do and what to feel like, I’m feeling kind of empty and emotionless. I was diagnosed with ocd some months ago so I’m kind of new to all this stuff and that’s why I’m asking. I don’t want to ask questions in a compulsive way and I try very hard to avoid it if that makes any sense. I would be very grateful if someone could answer me:)
- Date posted
- 13w
I am not sure if this is something that’s specific to ocd, but the ocd definitely has something to do with it if it’s not an ocd thing. Every emotion I feel (more specifically sadness, disappointment, etc.) feels like it’s amplified by 100000x. Any little thought that even makes me slightly let down literally makes me feel so upset to where I just want to lay in bed all day because I’m so bummed out. Here’s a recent example of this. This sounds so stupid I know but I recently went to a concert for a band that I have a lot of nostalgia tied to. I knew I would have a good time at the concert but i literally was in awe the entire time by all the emotion i felt and how good the concert, singing, performance and everything was. They even came so close to us and were singing there for about 20 minutes like within 20 feet of me (and I’m pretty sure one of them saw me but i might be delusional). in the moment i was literally just thinking like wow in this moment were here together like they could be anywhere in the world right now and here they are within 20 feet of my face. The point is I haven’t been able to stop with this hyper fixation on them and I can’t even look at my concert videos and looking at other peoples makes me so jealous and sad for some reason yet I can’t stop watching videos of them because it’s makes me so sad/so happy at the same time. I know people might say this is just post concert depression but this has gone way beyond that but this is typical for me to feel it this deeply like sick to my stomach. that’s a common thing for me where my hyper fixations sometimes make me sad where I just don’t wanna do anything except lay down and stare at the wall. this is very hard to explain and I hope it makes sense. This also could be a part of my depression but I’m not sure. Anyways please respond if you relate/have answers and sorry this is so long and wordy!💓
- Date posted
- 7w
After I started experiencing SOOCD for the past 5 years, I have had absolutely no sexual drive and no (barely anything) attraction to men. I’ve also sort of been emotionally numb for a very long time and I think it’s due to the years of anxiety and horrible depression. Ive been living like a rock, im just floating through life. I have no interests, no hobbies, zero motivation, no goals, and i feel like im going to be stuck like this forever. TMI !!!!!! I think the last time I felt actual genuine arousal/excitement was when I reconnected with my ex a couple years back and that was literally just for a day because SOOCD shut that down quickly. Since my SOOCD started when i was young i never fully felt aroused when I was being intimate. I wanted to do it and I wanted to feel things so badly but I couldn’t/i couldn’t get fully turned on. A month ago I was starting to feel happier, the intrusive thoughts/compulsions were very rare, and I was rarely experiencing the grounds response or or triggered (even though i still had no libido or attraction). I was doing pretty good and I recently got into a new relationship and my boyfriend literally woke up the attraction, I slowly felt myself becoming less numb. Just hanging out with him I started thinking “wow he’s so cute” “i want him to kiss me” “i wish he would hold my hand” “his smile is nice why is he so fine”. I felt something so sweet and It made me so so happy. We had such sweet dates and I was starting to feel like I was getting myself back. I still didn’t have a sexual drive (it was waking up slowlllyyy) and my flare up was starting to get worse so I couldn’t fully enjoy being intimate. My flare up has gotten pretty bad again lately i’m questioning all the things I felt with him and all the attraction and feelings are being clouded by intense anxiety, doubt, and worry. It triggers the SOOCD thoughts so bad and in the shower i was worrying that my anxiety, checking (of arousal, attraction, emotions, etc), other compulsions, and numbness are going to ruin my relationship. It just makes me worry that i’ll never get those feelings back. TMI!!!!! i just want to feel h*ny again man and I want to feel those feelings I felt for my man 😭 Literally 6 years of numbness, depression, anxiety and I finally felt somewhat normal 😭 he was waking things up and my intrusive thoughts messed it all up again. Anyways, I just want to know if anyone has experienced this and if ERP helped at all. I have a therapist now (thank you nocd) and I’m finally going to do ERP, try to fix my depression, and stuff like that. I’m trying to take the advice of someone who commented on one of my posts. They say that i need to continue my life no matter what ocd tells me. It’s getting harder again but I just hope the work im about to put in will allow me to finally enjoy my life.
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