Is it possible to become emotionless?

[ksheehan88]

Serious question.

I feel too intensely, I'm sick of feeling my own and everyone else's emotions so strongly.

How can I stop this? I don't want to feel.

 

[Gritches]

I believe so. I remember doing it to myself when I was maybe 14 but I don't remember exactly what I did to accomplish it. All I remember is that to undo it, I had to become less selfish. So logically, becoming more selfish would probably do it.

That would be sad pandas all around, though. It's easy to be that kind of person; pretty much everyone does it. Most everyone is a practical sociopath like that. Someone with emotional intelligence is a rarity, though, and it would be sad to kill that person off and replace her with just another somebody.

 

[ksheehan88]

Its both a blessing and a curse.

It means I'm quite intuitive. It means I care very deeply. etc.

But it also means I'm always crackling with emotion. And while its good emotion its great! But negative emotion... well...

 

[Adora]

I know how you feel,but to be honest it’s good to be able to feel emotions whether they are good or bad because it also means you are able to love and care and also to have empathy though I admit I could do without the bad ones though.

 

[ksheehan88]

I know how you feel,but to be honest it’s good to be able to feel emotions whether they are good or bad because it also means you are able to love and care and also to have empathy though I admit I could do without the bad ones though.

Even love can be a painful emotion. Its TOO much intensity

 

[ksheehan88]

Like, if I didn't feel, I wouldn't care that I didn't care. I would hurt a lot less.

 

[Adora]

Even love can be a painful emotion. Its TOO much intensity

Very true there is a flip side to it and I know very well how it can hurt but i think that love is still a good thing to feel and to express.

 

[Autistamatic]

Emotions are just as important a part of the feedback mechanism that allows us to interact with the world as any of our senses. Just as a sweet flavour tells us a food is energy rich and a bitter taste is indicative of poison, our emotions evolved as a way of interpreting our world. Whether we gravitate towards or away from something is influenced by how it makes us feel.
I have learned over the years, and particularly recently whilst researching the topic of empathy in autism, that many of us experience emotions with an intensity rarely acknowledged by professionals. That intensity can sometimes be distressing and destructive.
I feel it too and I've been through numerous periods of depression as a result, but luckily for me, when it happens I can go back on SSRIs which help me control it very well until I'm back on track.
In daily life, I can only mitigate it by forcing myself to be rational, mentally explaining to myself that I am overreacting compared to how most people would, and using calming exercises - breathing etc - to bring myself back from the precipice. Favourite media can help too. There are certain songs and even movies that I can put on to shift my brain chemistry back towards equilibrium.
The one thing I avoid is trying to shun emotion - control it yes, but not to suppress it. I may react too much to "danger" but better to overreact than not at all

 

[Monachopia]

I know where you're coming from by wanting to feel things less intensely... However, I'd only encourage you to embrace that part of you and accept it... It's better to feel than not. I shut down my emotions to a large degree at around age of 18, but there's no pick and choose with them. You either shut them all down or none at all. Now I wish I could feel SOMETHING and I can't. Both are a curse in their own way.

 

[wight]

It isn't really possible. They can be compartmentalized in your mind, but they don't really go away and eventually have to be processed. If they are suppressed long enough, they start coming out sideways anyway, usually as anxiety or depression or both.

My suggestion would be to look for meditative or cognitive approaches to managing them.

 

[Mia]

I feel too intensely, I'm sick of feeling my own and everyone else's emotions so strongly.
How can I stop this? I don't want to feel.

That's a tough one. If there's less drama in your life, you learn to detach a little over time. Read people's emotions less than I used to, noticed yesterday when I was out with two friends for the afternoon that I didn't pick up on their emotions as much as I used to.

Knew they were with me because the wanted to help us with something. And all the physical things we did precluded much in the way of discussion. Yet I still sensed that both of them were avoiding some ongoing difficulty they have as a couple, by spending the afternoon with us. So they didn't have to deal with it.

It seems that women feel less in the way of emotion after menopause, less fluctuating hormones. Or rather, they don't mean as much as they had in the past. They lose some of their importance to you personally.

 

[ksheehan88]

That's a tough one. If there's less drama in your life, you learn to detach a little over time. Read people's emotions less than I used to, noticed yesterday when I was out with two friends for the afternoon that I didn't pick up on their emotions as much as I used to.

Knew they were with me because the wanted to help us with something. And all the physical things we did precluded much in the way of discussion. Yet I still sensed that both of them were avoiding some ongoing difficulty they have as a couple, by spending the afternoon with us. So they didn't have to deal with it.

It seems that women feel less in the way of emotion after menopause, less fluctuating hormones. Or rather, they don't mean as much as they had in the past. They lose some of their importance to you personally.

I just need to wait it out another 20 years or so and things should settle lol

 

[tree]

Maybe instead of focusing on the feelings,
you could study rational thinking?

 

[TheFreeCat]

I thought it was possible. But all it takes is someone making a rude comment or going to the store .......then I feel again.

 

[Kirsty]

It seems that women feel less in the way of emotion after menopause, less fluctuating hormones.

YAY can’t wait until after the menopause. Not that I’m wasting my life away.

Or rather, they don't mean as much as they had in the past. They lose some of their importance to you personally.

We do mean what we say. It’s the guilt afterwards that sabotages us or we say things that others are too afraid to say, but needs to be said.

 

[Pats]

First - emotions do not lessen after menopause. I think they got worse for me and I was crying at the drop of a hat. Got bad enough that I had to go on an antidepressant. I don't want to not feel, just not cry all the time. That's why I only take half of the lowest dose. It controls the crying but I still feel emotions. Without emotions we're just moving around like zombies. Don't do anything you enjoy because you lose the good emotions as well as the bad. Emotions are the biggest part of who we are, and I always thought during the really rough times is when I learned the most about myself and about the world around me. People try to bury them with drugs and alcohol and look at what they become. That's the last thing you want to do because it NEVER ends well. And trying to bury them usually backfires, also - learned that the hard way. They always find a way out and hiding them they just build into an explosive mess. Allow yourself to feel and be yourself.
Several years ago I was in a situation that was so bad that one day I called my son and asked if he could get me something that would help my pain (worse with stress) and make me just not care. He asked if I was wanting him to get me some marijuana and I said yes. His response did more for me than anything else could have. His exact words, "Mom, I know you and you don't smoke pot. And if things have gotten bad enough for you to get to this point, you don't need to smoke pot, you need to get those people out of your house." I realized he was right and I started working on things to improve my life, not hide from it.

 

[Theta.G]

Yes

Although the experiences that lead to the shutting off of ones emotions or greatly inhibiting them are typically very problematic in and of themselves.

I'll just say... If you want it or need it bad enough. If it comes to a point where it's so bad that you may not live because of extreme emotions than your subconscious mind will direct you to an experience in order to numb the emotions out. To survive. Taking actions (which you're not consciously aware of their effects but are generally out of character) which could lead to:
- A head injury which could give you what you want at the price of another thing.
- An alcohol or drug addiction which will make you emotionally dead but again, bring about more problems.
- A loss of a loved one that is so crushing and dramatic that a mental condition develops which will numb you out. Which will inhibit the production of emotionally driven hormones and chemicals in your brain.
(Psychology and magick are intertwined. equivalent exchange)
I suppose you could look into self hypnosis. Just understand that shutting off your emotions will have consequences you won't know about it until it's too late. What are you willing to sacrifice for this? Is the misery you're going through now weaker than the misery of unknown, permanent, future potentials? (Other physical or mental disorders?)

 

[Nervous Rex]

It's possible. I've done it during a few dark periods in my life. It's not healthy and it will eat you up from the inside.

Emotions are like necessary payments on Life Rental. If you put them off, they come back later with interest. Emotions are patient - they will wait for years, but they will never go away until you deal with them.

For the really difficult emotions, have something handy that brings you joy and comfort - a favorite book, tv show, craft, friend, club, sport, activity, etc. Allow a little of the negative emotion, but try to focus on understanding the situation that led to it and what you can learn from it - how it can help you deal better next time, and how it helps you understand those around you. Then, quickly go do your joy and comfort activity.

 

[Bolletje]

When I'm severely depressed my feelings mostly just shut down. The emptiness I get in return isn't too great either though. I've tried escaping emotions as well through various unhealthy coping mechanisms, but they always catch up to you some way. I can relate very much to what @Nervous Rex said.

 

[Mia]

First - emotions do not lessen after menopause. I think they got worse for me and I was crying at the drop of a hat.

Well they did for me, so I think it depends on the person. I'm far more rational than I was before.