Life, Emotions, Intensity sometimes we have overload
Switching off emotions
In therapy there is a focus on emotions, but sometimes our internal landscape feels bleak and silent, when life’s stressor happen, it can lead to exhaustion.
That sense of numbness can impact every aspect of our lives, and we feel muted, and switched off. It’s why therapy is useful, to give you the space to explore it fully.
At a glance
- Stuckness and numbness aren’t weakness — they’re signals.
- Stuckness shows up as circling, procrastination, or paralysis.
- Numbness flattens emotions as the mind protects itself from overload.
- Therapy can help you understand these states and take gentle steps back into movement and connection.
Feeling Stuck or Numb
Most of us know what it’s like to feel stuck. Life moves on, yet inside it feels like standing still. Days blur, energy dips, choices feel impossible. Sometimes it isn’t even “stuck” — it’s numbness, as if nothing touches you at all.
These states can feel unsettling, but they’re more common than people realise. Stuckness and numbness aren’t signs of laziness or failure. They’re often the mind and body asking for attention.
What “stuck” feels like
Stuckness can look like going through the motions without purpose, procrastinating even on things you care about, or knowing you want change but feeling paralysed by not knowing where to begin. It’s like pressing the accelerator and brake at the same time — energy spent, but no movement forward.
What numbness feels like
Numbness is slightly different. Instead of circling thoughts, there’s a kind of emptiness. Emotions flatten. Things you once enjoyed feel far away. Sometimes numbness is the body’s way of protecting itself from overload — a temporary shutdown.
Why we get stuck or numb
Stuckness and numbness often stem from stress overload, unprocessed emotions, or avoidance that creates a “holding pattern.” Burnout or exhaustion can slow the system down. Fear of change can freeze movement. Trauma or depression may also blunt emotions as a form of survival.
Think of stuckness as your body’s way of power saving, it’ll get moving again when you have the right energy – sometimes it takes to plug yourself in, and that’s where therapy can help.
Stuckness isn’t the end. It’s a pause — the body’s way of saying, ‘enough for now, not forever.’
Helpful perspectives
- Stuckness is movement paused, not ended. Even when you can’t see it, things shift beneath the surface.
- Numbness is protection, not permanence. It’s the body saying “enough for now,” not “forever.”
- Neither state defines you. They’re experiences, not identities.
Here’s’ a few things which can help. you moving forward. Naming how you feel (“I feel stuck” or “I feel numb”) reduces shame. Small actions — a short walk, cooking a meal — can gently restart momentum. Routine anchors offer steadiness. Creative expression, art, or music can bypass thought loops. Talking with someone often sparks new perspectives.
Therapy and these states
In therapy, we don’t force movement. Instead, we sit with what’s present, understand what it may be protecting you from, and explore what gentle steps could follow. Sometimes speaking a feeling aloud is already the start of change.
From pause to possibility
Feeling stuck or numb isn’t the end of movement or emotion. It’s a pause — sometimes painful, sometimes protective — that carries meaning worth listening to. At Safe Spaces Therapy, you don’t need to force progress. Together, we can take the first gentle steps towards connection, movement, and meaning.
