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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    Is it normal to feel no emotion if I'm clinically depressed?

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    Depression Mental Health
    Hi I'm looking for answers to my depression ,
    I've been living with depression for over twenty years now, and used to be very emotional person, for the last seven years I've been on Zoloft and the thing is I feel no emotions now. I function well on Zoloft but just have no emotion.

    I've just split from my wife, after 15 years and I feel nothing, not happy or sad, and could not care less.
    I was upset for one day but that was it, one day.
    Is this normal for someone who is clinically depressed ?



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    Grace Gonzalez

    Counsellor, Psychotherapist

    I am a counsellor with over two decades of experience working with non-for-profit organisations, private organizations, secondary education, community health services, and private practice in … View Profile

    Hi:
    First of all I would like to recommend if you have not done it yet to see a psychotherapist or a counsellor.  First of all any medication for depression will numb the emotions that cause you to approach your doctor for this issue. Generally, medication numbs emotions as these are the manifestations of all that which has attributed to the depression in the first place.
    Emotions are a symbolic way if you like to express and externalized what is going inside you. It is therefore my advice to search for a psychotherapist or a counsellor if you have not done so already. In response to your question, feeling numb is a normal reaction to both medication and life in general when it gets too much. Think of numbness as a vacation from feeling a lot or having to face too many responsibilities these being two examples of what purpose being numb serves. It is for this reason that seeing someone to explore how these emotions are used and apply in life is so important.
    You have expressed confusion about your lack of emotion in relation to your separation. If you are on medication this might affect how intensely you will respond to any situation. The response or reaction might be very different to what you would expect from yourself without the medication. You seem to be coping well with the separation from what I have read. Therefore, if the experience of feeling numb is what you are worried about do talk to your doctor to discuss and to explore the possibility of counselling.  Hope this has helped if not do not hesitate to reply.

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  • Dr Simon Easterbrook-Smith

    Health Professional

    My research interests include immunology and the mechanisms of amyloid formation. The latter has implications for people who are dealing with Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease … View Profile

    For me, writing as somebody who is in remission from clinical depression, thanks to a combination of meds, my hard work and skilled help from my mental health care team, feeling “numb” was symptomatic.

    I agree with what Grace has written.

    Expanding a bit on what she wrote, I think that it would be a good plan if you got your GP to give you a referral to a clinical psychologist with expertise in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

    ACT combines the very helpful but essentially intellectual ideas of CBT with the notion of mindfulness - just learning to notice, without judging, thoughts and feelings.

    I have found ACT of great assistance and hope that you might as well.

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  • Marc

    HealthShare Member

    Thank you for your help with this, both of you.
    i have every intention of seeking help trying to understand how and why I feel the way I do, this is something that has plagued me for all my adult life. But I can see light at the end of the tunnel .
    i will go back to my Dr and get a referral 

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  • Grace Gonzalez

    Counsellor, Psychotherapist

    I am a counsellor with over two decades of experience working with non-for-profit organisations, private organizations, secondary education, community health services, and private practice in … View Profile

    All the best Marc!

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