This post contains some of the best emotional numbness quotes.
What Does It Mean To Become Emotionally Numb?
To become emotionally numb means that a person is unable to feel any emotions or has difficulty feeling any emotions.
This can happen as a result of experiencing intense trauma, chronic stress, or ongoing emotional distress.
It can also be an unconscious coping mechanism to protect oneself from overwhelming emotions.
People who are emotionally numb may feel disconnected, indifferent, and unmotivated towards daily life activities and relationships.
It is important for individuals who experience emotional numbness to seek support from mental health professionals to properly address any underlying emotional issues.
Emotional Numbness Quotes
1. “And though the coldness I have always felt leaves me, the numbness doesn’t and probably never will. this relationship will probably lead to nothing… this didn’t change anything. I imagine her smelling clean, like tea…” ― Bret Easton Ellis
2. “Dissociation gets you through a brutal experience, letting your basic survival skills operate unimpeded…Your ability to survive is enhanced as the ability to feel is diminished…All feeling are blocked; you ‘go away.’ You are disconnected from the act, the perpetrator & yourself…Viewing the scene from up above or some other out-of-body perspective is common among sexual abuse survivors.” ― Renee Fredrickson
3. “I just let the pain take over, allowing it to numb the pain of being left behind.” ― Jessica Sorensen
4. “I’ve perfected the art of the fake smile. It’s not so difficult when you are completely numb.” ― Bethany Griffin
5. “It’s like being numb most of the time,” she tried to explain, tried to calm herself down by putting words to feelings. “Everything feels gray, but when I do feel something, it’s like I feel it more than most people and it hurts—it hurts me, personally, like the pain was made for me in mind. And suddenly—numb doesn’t feel so bad.” ― Nenia Campbell
Related: How To Feel Your Feelings & Sit With Painful Emotions? (Top 9 Difficult Emotions)
6. “Shock is when language and emotion get overwritten by trauma’s numbing code.” ― Stewart Stafford
7. “Some scars don’t hurt. Some scars are numb. Some scars rid you of the capacity to feel anything ever again.” ― Joyce Rachelle
8. “Sometimes we feel numb by the behavior of others but in reality, it can be our expectations or trust in them which can make us feel like paralyzed or demotivated. Stay calm & give time to yourself to heal from your mental peace loss.” ― Sonal Takalkar
9. “There was no other way to say it. After being heartbroken for so long, I had made myself completely numb inside. Maybe not from physical pain, but anything emotional, yes. Sexual pleasure? Numb to that, too. I’d have been a great actress. After all, I had the perfect, mind-blowing orgasm down to an art. Suppose I deserve an Oscar for that.” ― Jennifer Salaiz
10. “Traumatized people chronically feel unsafe inside their bodies: The past is alive in the form of gnawing interior discomfort. Their bodies are constantly bombarded by visceral warning signs, and, in an attempt to control these processes, they often become expert at ignoring their gut feelings and in numbing awareness of what is played out inside. They learn to hide from their selves.” ― Bessel A. van der Kolk
11. “I felt so much, that I started to feel nothing.” – Unknown
12. “I thought I’m healing but the truth is, I just stopped feeling.” – C. C. Aurel
Related: Top 21 Emotional Writing Prompts To Process Emotions
13. “We cannot selectively numb emotions, when we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions.” – Brene Brown
14. “The body shuts down when it has too much to bear; goes its own way quietly inside, waiting for a better time, leaving you numb and half alive.” – Jeanette Winterson
15. “I learned to be with myself rather than avoiding myself with limiting habits; I started to be aware of my feelings more, rather than numb them.” – Judith Wright
16. “We all experience numbness when we’ve been in pain for too long because we’re simply too exhausted to process our own emotion anymore. But eventually, we feel again…the highs and the lows, the joys and the sorrows. If you’re a deep feeler, numbness will always be a short reprieve. You cannot hold back an ocean.” – Ranata Suzuki
17. “Let it hurt until it can’t hurt anymore.” – Liam Ryan
Related: Best 99 Coping Skills (+FREE Coping Worksheets)
18. “It’s such a fine line between feeling everything and nothing at all.” – Unknown19. “How do you get so empty? Who takes it out of you?” – Ray Bradbury
20. “If I had to pick between experiencing pain and experiencing nothing, I would choose agony.” – Unknown
21. “Given the choice between the experience of pain and nothing, I would choose pain.” – William Faulkner
Related: Alexithymia Test (+ Top 5 Tips On Coping With Alexithymia)
