Feeling NOTHING? You're Not Alone: How Emotional Numbness is a Trauma Coping Mechanism

When life gets too overwhelming, numbing out may seem like the only defense mechanism available for your nervous system. But it's important to understand that emotional numbness is not just the absence of negative emotion, it's the absence of ALL emotion. And it's a traumatic experience in itself. Because going through life without emotion makes us feel unhuman, and robs us of experiencing the joy of feeling emotionally connected to the people and things we love. Have you ever suffered with emotional numbness? Do you have a road map to healing?

If you're needing help healing from trauma, anxiety, panic attacks, emotional numbness, and depersonalization/derealization, watch this free masterclass "The 5 Shifts To Heal From Trauma". Also at the end, if you meet the requirements, there is an opportunity to apply to work with us.

My name is Jordan Hardgrave. I once suffered from debilitating trauma, depersonalization/derealization, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, health anxiety, social anxiety, existential anxiety, and many more things that wasted many years of my life. I was tired, frustrated, and gave up hope that I could ever find healing. To be honest, I didn’t even know I was traumatized. My symptoms became a part of who I was. They became “normal”. Many years ago, after throwing together all the tools I could find online (most of which didn’t help), I accidentally stumbled upon a body-based method that brought me permanent healing. I figured, “If I apply all these tools at the same time surely one will work”. Little did I know at the time that hidden within the dozens of tools that didn’t work, I had discovered body-based tools that DID work, which skyrocketed my results and got me to being 100% symptom free.

When I was suffering I made a commitment that if I ever could become symptom free (I never thought I actually would, lol), that I would spend the rest of my life helping others heal. I spent tens of thousands of hours and dollars studying under the top trauma and mental health experts in the world, as well as constantly perfecting my method until it would bring rapid results no matter how long someone had been suffering. I based my method off evidence-based tools as well as the work and understanding of experts such as Dr. Steven Porges, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, Dr. Peter A Levine, and Dr. Joseph LeDoux just to name a few.

Yes, here I am. Like Forest Gump fulfilling his promise to Bubba that he would become a shrimp boat captain, I am at your service. :) I created the Trauma Free Academy as a resource to help you find the healing you have been searching for but have only been met with confusion. I don’t want you to have to make the many mistakes I made that wasted so much of my life. I want to show you how to get to the root of your symptoms instead of managing them for years but never getting to 100%. If you’re ready to go on this journey with me, follow me. Also, I have created tons of paid resources as well if you’re wanting more specific and personalized help. Here is what we have to offer:

DISCLAIMER: Nothing I say should by email or in any form of communication replace a consultation with a licensed mental health professional and doctor for diagnosis and treatment. I am unable to diagnose or treat any sort of medical or mental health condition. I am also unable to prescribe medication or give any advice about medication other than my general opinion. Anything I say in any form of communication is my personal opinion and should be treated as such and not taken as medical advice or seen as an attempt to diagnose or treat any sort of medical or mental health condition. Thank you.

[feel_less]

I never thought that not feeling pain is worse than the pain

[Nameless]

Damn…. Idk what to say nor feel.. I’ve been so hurt and consistently disappointed that I really can’t feel anything

[thoughtsdie]

Sometimes I have to remind myself to breath because I forget and don’t realize I’m hungry until my stomach won’t stop growling. Forget I’m even alive

[vzplfgf]

i've been cutting off my emotions for so long to the point that i cannot feel anything anymore

[allen]

when i say i love something or someone i feel my chest twitch but i can't feel the love radiating from within

[WayneSalesman-nkzp]

I was starting to think i was a psycho

[Totallyreal]

I never cry, I haven’t shed a tear in years. But I cry on the inside all the time, I feel such a weighted burden inside that I can’t show or communicate to anyone else. No one truly understands the pain I experience on the daily. It’s a lonely existence

[nue_nue_]

I'm dealing with emotional numbness and it sucks.

[erinsjourney]

I first noticed it @ 8 y/o when told my mom died. I sat there waiting for the grief. Nothing. After a few days I realized I needed to learn how to respond to people showing emotion. I’m 55 and still ‘masking’.

I experienced various trauma in my life but I believe it was crawling onto a cast iron heating grate @ 18months and spending weeks in children’s hospital that was the catalyst. My grandmother said I never cried and was such an even tempered child afterwards.

I’m not a sociopath because there have been a handful of times I’ve been angry, relieved and once I’ve been in love.

When my daughter called to say she was in an accident I had to remember to ask “are you okay?. When I caught my son with drugs I had to feign being angry. When told I have stage 4 cancer ... nothing. No, not nothing, actually, I felt relief. Sigh

[qkcmkho]

Gotta share this. I've felt this way for so long I can't remember not feeling this way. Last week I got a questionnaire from my psychiatrist and I wrote down everything I could think of that had happened to me. Since then I've felt like a hole has opened in this wall and today in my office I just sat and cried and felt here for the first time like I was finally awake. The emotions are faint but there is hope don't give up 💛💛💛

[kaninceinicd]

i started crying this mourning i wonder is thats a sign that my emotions are retunring

[nedelo]

I had that! It lasted 8 months straight. Then I only felt extreme anger for two months and made a lot of interesting decisions

[MsBalanced]

I’m going through this now. Can’t feel the highs or lows. Praying that this passes.

[DeepEnd-smuw]

Emotional numbness brought me here I'm dealing with a 11yr breakup as of today

[PaidWayBaby]

I miss the way my heart use to feel man, I can’t even see the world the same anymore 💔

[organtraderjes]

Ive felt like I havent been there for a few weeks now and I wish I could cry but I just cant.

[Fais]

I have been feeling numb for months now and I laugh and little things can make me happy for a really short amount of time and then my mind floods back to this feeling of why should I be happy? I’ve been through a lot of heavy stuff but none that I thought would make me numb. I now realize it is because I hid my feelings from myself and everyone. There’s thing that just a year ago I would cry about but now I just feel blank. My family got terrible news today and I just fucking say there and stared out the window. And if anyone is still reading this I’m sorry I’m just nonstop talking but this is the closest I can get to talking about my feelings with people without wanting to stop or leave because I am not saying it face to face. but I cant stay with this self pity shit which makes me feel worse. I don’t know how to continue without something compelling to

[wsch]

Thanks for your work Jordan! Please don’t stop and make this society trauma free. ♥️

[expiredjellybeans]

when i noticed i was having emotional numbness i quickly changed my mindset and now i can use it when i want to at any time

[jungookookie]

My body doesn’t even feel the weather anymore, everyone was freezing and I feel fine without a jacket. I can’t identify hunger too. A cut and a punch doesn’t feel much (I cook and practice body combat fyi). I have clear goals and excel work wise. I’m not happy nor sad, just emotionally empty.