When I’m numb, I’m only numb from emotions that are desirable to me: love, joy, feeling moved to tears by something, sadness. These are all healthy emotions that I cherish. When I’m numb to these feelings; all I can feel is the impotent rage and utter despair of being blocked from these other feelings. Not sure if you call this being numb. I call it selective numbness. It’s pure hell.

The best quote I keep saying " I'm not numb , i numbed myself "....and that realization creates all the difference...it actually shows you are not powerless and out of control....dissociation was a choice whether you made it consciously or unconsciously...and it's only you who will undo this decision...you have to figure out why your subconscious refuse to allow feelings to flow through your heart...?...and start little by little it requires a lot of patience...I can't say I'm fully recovered but I made a significant change..hope you never lose hope🤍🤍

Thank you. Listening to this, I felt acknowledged, and felt I was given dignity and not be talked down to as if I haven’t searched for decades about what is happening and why in my mind and body when I shut down from intense negative emotional experiences. You are correct, it’s not a void or nothingness, for myself, it is like a shut off switch that is pre set at a certain point, no emotions can come in and no emotions can go out when the set point has been exceeded.

I appreciate this. Kind of a relief to know its unconscious. Like its not my fault.

Really helpful. I've long been hypervigilant, on guard, kind of jailed and looking for where and how can someone support me to break out of this.... therefore everything including body has suffered a lot, almost no-one around understanding it, and actually misunderstanding which develops more issues.... only lately I'm learning to relax, release pressure, detoxify and attend to myself wholly without caring for who sees and says what.... and am getting to feel free, bit stable and guided internally.... and such videos are a great help. Thankyou.

This answered so many questions. I didn't know the emotional repression is unconsciously and unnoticeably facilitated.

This is a lot of useful information and a great way to look at this. The dissociation is one of my biggest challenges right now, so i really appreciate it!

Hi David, I gotta say I really like your calm unrushed delivery. Great work .

THANK YOU, David!! ❤❤❤ Please speak more about this if you haven't already! I will check your channel now. Thanks again!

This is one of the best videos I have heard on this subject. I have been searching the internet for info on emotional numbness and none of them have ever said it was something, instead of a lack of something. None of them have told me it was something that needed to be respected etc. I hope you have more videos on this subject, but this one has been a key for me and just knowing this info has shifted something in me. Thank you!!!

This makes so much sense because during quarantine I would block out any feelings instead of dealing with them head on and with that I turned to sweets to deal with it all

Wow, been searching for the explanation for this. Thank you so much!!! 🙏🏻

Helped me more than 1 year of cbt, thanks for the video!

Doctor, thank you for your explanation of this. I have been going through something like this since the day in early January 2020 when a midwife told my wife and I that our 20 weeks gestation baby was very small and we went through months of maternal fetal testing, preparing for a short life, etc...Only to have him born and well, mostly healthy, praise God. Still, it does seem like this is an adaptive thing I do without thinking about it. Maybe it helped our predecessors adapt to stressful situations. I have never thought of it this way. Thank you.

Thanks for the video! Looking forward to hearing more from you about this topic!

This is an excellent way of explains this. I have CPTSD from child abuse followed by coercive abuse in my adult life that went on for 25 years. I feel numb and have done for some time. I now understand the mechanics of dissociation much more thanks to you explaining it on your video David. I’m very, very grateful to you. Wishing you every success in everything you do. Thank you again. ❤👍🤩

Happy to see a new video!

I've been struggeling with this for the past 6 years. This was probably the most helpful video i have ever seen in those years. Thanks.

Great input, thank you! And congrats for upgrading your video setup. You look much better in that proper lighting! :-)

You have brilliant knowledge and your ability to communicate your expertise is transformative. Thank you for the guidence and assistence that you are giving. You are a genius and a true giver.

Totally resonated with me. My nervous system is so blocked up I can’t even go to the bathroom unless I’ve been alone in the house for 5h lol.

This was so helpful and I’m so glad I listened to the end! Thank you for sharing.

First video that really makes sense to me.

This is so comforting, thank you so much

wow true thanks for sharing Doc thanks so much for making this video. Yes i definitely can tell there is a lot of energy but we perceive is as nothing, But it is a lot. I am experiencing it though 24/7. For me it is not something that comes and go at all. You describing exactly how i feel, this desire to feel something, but u feel an actual blockage in my chest. Something i am doing is changing of environments like going to the park or friend house or do things differently. You amazing! Thanks i appreciate you.🙏🏻✨

I cant begin to thank you, i was stuck in a cycle of trying to force things for my self or to understand it on my own but man does your video make it make sense yk?

Very decent, much obliged. Cheers!

Thanks,man. Listening to You felt strangely therapeutic.

brilliant explanation.

Perfect timing , thank you.

This explains why I am so exhausted when I realize I'm dissociating from the negative emotions at work. Dang.

Thank you so much! This's accurate and it explains what exactly I feel

I have been trying to understand this for so many years. I was my mothers carer through Alzheimer’s and I was a zombie for that time. Then when she passed, my emotions were so overwhelming, then l started dissociating badly. I have felt numb for years but under that there’s a pain that I’m frightened of, it’s pure psychic pain that just makes me wish I wasn’t here. I’m beginning to recover but I’ve never totally understood this, and today, I do understand so much more. I’m scared of everything, but I want to get better. Thank you so very much!

Not sure if this is the same thing, at this point I'm completely stressed beyond belief due to finals and have emotionally shutdown. Watching this and actually acknowledging within myself that its not a shutdown but a suppression in a sense, helped to start to lift the weight and numbness off of me. Thank you

Thank you so much for the beautiful explanation. I can understand my 6 year struggle

Long term medication was the main reason I was numb. I stop the medication but I am still numb.

Thank u doctor, god bless you

thank you I thought I was turning lazy and uncaring about my familys problem

Thank you David!

Very useful...thank you !!!

Thanks for sharing.. I have struggled with this for so long.. There have been years of losses in my life.. I do everything I know of to help it - workout, eat healthy, try and get enough sleep etc but it doesn’t seem to go.. I would love to know how to overcome it..

What are your thoughts about emotional numbness from PSSD? the consultant I see regarding this has told me it often comes with emotional numbness, that is indeed the case for me too. My emotional numbness in other words was from an ssri i only took for a few weeks and years later off all medications and substances I have not gotten better. I do however notice your videos bring me identification as if my issue is indeed with my nervous system, just caused at first by medication

I think I realized I was feeling something like this recently, being stuck at home doesn't help... but most of the time I try to figure out and pinpoint Wehn and what triggered it, so I can easily start controlling my feelings more. ITs proven to be quiet difficult though

This is very good

Thanks a lot for this video! ✨ I'm not understanding that well why my mind is so empty and there are no thoughts or inner dialogue... Do you have any explanation? Greetings from Germany:)

The way I see ur example with the fridge, from someone going through this numb phase of life, I feel like when the electricity goes out, many find the fridge a safe place, maybe a wound made us shut ourselves in the fridge in the first place and when we’re numb we don’t realize the electricity went out, eventually we get confused and although it might be warm our minds trick us into thinking it’s freezing, when ur freezing it’s hard to think, it’s hard to put a finger on reality that it’s warm, how could one understand it’s warm, how can we figure out what is holding that door

Thank you

Hello David, you seem to understand very well my situation. I have been stuck for 3 years now and it seems that blockage isn't going anywhere, is it possible you have an open session with me in December? your calender seems full for the rest of the year. I seriously need some help

It’s very challenging being in a relationship with someone who numbs out and also directs any pain he is feeling at me and refuses to really recognize that he needs help.

I'm struggling with derealization/depersonalization and just feeling completely detached from my emotions and sense of self lately. I am willing to do what it takes to show my nervous system it's safe now, I just don't know what to do or where to start.

I felt a short term numbness in jail be cause I was in shock cause they told me I killed someone. Is that the same sorta numbness?

Hey, this was a great video, very informative!! Do you suggest avoiding stressful or even uncomfortable situations to establish that feeling of safety? I have social anxiety and I don't know if avoiding social situations would help with the dissociation.

whats the difference between Apathy and Anhedonia ???

Doctor I really need help I've been feeling like this for 4years now... I can't take it on my own. How can I get help

I don’t know if you Dr. Mahoney went through dissociation yourself but I ask myself many times how the Doctors could potentially have such an Insight of a disease they never went through. The empathy must be great. Thank you.

Thanks alot

Hello doctor, is it possible that mine happened after prolonged episodes of panic attacks, I notice the numbness after having anxiety attacks and panic attacks. One day I came back home and I felt like a weird numbing. Then I got scared over it. It became worse over the past month because I think I still been anxious and doing the wrong thing. Basically I can like laugh or cry but I don’t feel the chemical rushes of the emotions of crying or happiness if that make sense. I also can’t feel the chemical sensations of the emotion anger, jealousy, empathy, apetit, satisfaction. Is all of that normal?? Thx you

Emotions just feel like a light nudge to me now and I don't care when something like that happens but I care about not really feeling them so I feel sadness and I never feel sad unless I'm thinking about this. It's like a little bit of a deep sadness and I love This feeling I want more of it. I want to cry but I can't I became more religious because of this lack of emotion. I can only come close to a tear after I sim and I'm asking forgiveness from god That's the strongest I've felt The only thing I really feel is annoyance most of the time I can just ignore it but I still feel it and I don't like thsi emotion at all but I don't want to lose it I also feel empathy I feel a lot of it I can feel so bad for people But I don't care at the same time Back when I could feel and if I ever cryed(like back when I was five) I would be thinking and my thoughts would be very uncaring, but then I would also have my sad thoughts witch started on what ever got me crying then I would spiral about to anything else sad that I remember and after crying I would feel very comfortable and tired I think I felt kind of fulfilled after crying I've always been good at ignoring emotions but I would always revisit them when I was alone I guess a few bad things happens in my life The last thing that remembers I crying about about was my great grandmothers death Then after that i remember my mom telling me my dad was deported and we didn't have anyway to contact him My sister cried but I just felt nothing I felt bad for my sister but nothing about my dad even though I loved him I don't know, it's weird I'm very interested in this so I have been thinking about this a lot

Is there anyway out please answer

Does this same theory apply when you feel numb or lack of emotions from anti depressants? I'm only a week into taking them for the first time after a stressful life event and longer struggles with anxiety and depression and have really noticed the emotional blunting more than ever since starting.

I would love nothing more to be numb to emotions cuz I have problems to be friends with strangers and getting to know em as friends only 😢❤

so what to do then .... because maybe this thing break a relationship or something .. so please what to do !?

What are some tips on calming the nervous symptoms that you specifically use with patients

i feel nothing i hope i can heal

Ok so is it a bad thing that I like being emotional numb ? It’s not a “struggle” for me , Am I depressed? Idk. I like feeling nothing .. I’m not a bad or evil person I’m just tired of heartbreak idk maybe , it’s a mental thing ? I’m so confused

okay sir im 13 years old and i dont feel anything at all and that is really making me go like crazy and i even thought about just live with it for the last of my life the problem is i sometimes feel emotions for 2 to 8 sec and i cry for how good is its like make me happy instant like imaging you feel again for few sec after years and i think it has something to do with my father i had very rough ending with my dad when i think of him i kinda feel for less than a sec the reason im typing this beczz i had enough i would cry for entire day just if i had to feel again fo just 1 hour and thx you for reading this if you have any advise plz dm my thanks you

How do we start feeling, doctor?

I’m just waiting for him to pick up the guitar and talk as he strums some chords here and there

How do I feel again?

So, if I don't feel safe in my environment,will that make me shut down and lose interest? I've been in a shielding household for a year, with my parents, they both have Aspergers so there's absolutely no talking about feelings,or the impact of isolation on me, my confidence has gone and my relationship ended and I'm not near people. I don't know how to start again? My Dad was verbally aggressive with me during the first lockdown. Thank you. I fluctuate between numb and agony.

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Hi can brain injury neruological illness cause emotions feelings numbness please reply me .I can't feel anything

how to get out of dissociation and feel emotions again?

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ayo is this why im always so fkn tired? 🧍🏽‍♀️