Numb
Feeling has gone quiet: things that would usually move you barely register, often after more pain, shock or strain than could be taken in.
In the body
- A dull, cotton-wool sensation in the body
- A blank stare
- Slow reactions
Needs behind it
Softer and stronger
Often confused with
Apathetic is a loss of caring and drive; numb is a dulling of feeling itself, so that little gets through at all.
Calm is quiet with feeling still flowing underneath; numb is quiet because feeling has been dulled and little gets through.
Detached holds feelings at arm’s length while still knowing they are there; numb is when feeling itself has gone quiet and little reaches you.
Numb is feeling dulled so that little gets through; empty is a hollow where meaning or connection used to be, and the absence itself is felt.
Numb is feeling turned down low while you keep functioning; shut down is a fuller closing of feeling, thought and response, when even speaking is hard.
Stunned is a temporary blankness right after a blow; numb is a longer shutting off of feeling.