Emotional Numbness: A Common Symptom of Depression in Men
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Depression in Men
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Depression
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Feeling empty, like you’re almost not human anymore? Like a robot programmed to function as a human being?
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✨POV✨: Ever been confused about your lack of emotions? Like you know you should be feeling something, but can't feel anything - you're numb. Nothing affects you anymore, nothing gets to you, not even the happy moments.
Emotional numbness is that state of being when we feel no emotions - neither the happy ones nor the sad ones. We're just in a perpetual state of nothingness. It's floating our boat, but it's also very confusing.
We have felt emotions in the past and in high likelihood, intense ones. The kind that move us, break us, or even, heal us. But now, everything is just alright. And that's the only point of emotion. Why aren't we feeling? The answer lies in understanding mental illnesses.
Emotional numbness is the flip side of being overcome by emotions. Clinical depression is one such instance when experiencing intense emotions leads to a complete lack of them.
This complete reversal may seem a little dramatic, but it's our brain's way of protecting us. The impact of intense emotions may have been perceived as a threat, kicking in our survival instinct (which is to distance ourselves from the threat as much as possible).
Depression in Men 💔
Depression in men is a relatively new area of study, only because it involves undiagnosed and untreated depression.
Societal constructs have pushed men into their shell, where they don't even consider the possibility of depression until they experience physical symptoms (like difficulty sleeping, headaches, body ache, tightness in the chest and digestive issues.
Depression symptoms that are more psychological like feeling sad, hopeless, helpless or anxious are overlooked and dismissed because in a traditional and conservative patriarchal world (which we are now slowly weaning off from), these are signs of weakness.
And because of this, more men are diagnosed with severe depression (aka major depressive disorder) than any other type of depression.
What Causes Emotional Numbness? 🔌
Depression in men is as much of a system issue as it is psychological, because mental health symptoms (like sadness, helplessness, hopelessness and guilt) may present themselves as irritability, frustration, aggression, reckless behavior, and substance abuse. Thoughts like ‘I feel embarrassed to talk about my discomforts’ transform into ‘ I don't know how to control my anger’.
These aggressive emotions are more socially acceptable behaviors for men than feeling sad or crying. And because we're an evolving society where even aggression is no longer tolerated or passed off as a norm of masculinity, even these emotions are suppressed into numbness.
Another socially accepted behavior, which masks depression symptoms is overworking (which can also become a cause of emotional numbness). To know more, click here.
Last Word on Mental Health 🤍
It is easier to pretend like we have nothing to feel than to feel vulnerable, to push things under the rug, dismiss them, and not care enough to be affected by anything.
It's easier to have nothing to lose but it's more harmful to us over time. Emotional numbness can affect our relationships, work, and our sense of fulfillment.
Depression makes us believe we're something that we're not. To know more about how you can cope with this symptom of depression and others, click here. We can treat depression by narrowing down on a mental health treatment that works best for us.
Note on Mental Disorders 🚩
If you have depressive symptoms or thoughts of self-harm, please use the NIHM (National Institute of Mental Health) national suicide prevention lifeline or contact a mental health professional to seek treatment options (like talk therapy or medication) for treating depression.