Things you can look forward to when you’re not numb anymore

I once heard myself say something that, in hindsight, is sort of uncomfortable to admit:

“I can’t feel myself living anymore. I’m just existing, which doesn’t feel like anything.”

I’d gotten into a routine that most of you will recognize. It goes something like …

Wake up (at a time you don’t want to be waking up), get ready, take care of responsibilities (the dog, dishes, meal prep, etc.), grab something to eat on the go, drive to work, work for 9 hours (and everything that entails), commute home, prepare and eat dinner, clean up, watch a show, drink wine, go to bed too late, and start all over again tomorrow.

For the record, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this routine. And if you love your life and you love what you do, then often this routine (or any routine) can be done joyfully.

But I wasn’t joyful. I was numb.

Numbness is scarily common. In my case, and for most people I’ve worked with, it’s usually a twisted form of self-protection.

The more overwhelmed, depressed, or afraid you are of life’s circumstances, the less you want to feel anything. Numbing is a way of insulating yourself from all kinds of pain.

In the Vampire Diaries (Hey, don’t judge. I’ve loved Ian Somerhalder since 2004, when LOST premiered), vampires can do this thing where they “flip their humanity switch.” They can just choose not to feel, period.

I think a lot of us have inadvertently flipped our humanity switches, as a way to cope.

But the problem with flipping that switch is that you’re robbed of everything — not just pain, but joy and happiness and contentment, too.

ONE MORE THING ABOUT THE VAMPIRE DIARIES

OK, so here’s the hard part: When a vampire switches their humanity back on, the emotional pain of it is often excruciating. Us humans are no different.

If you’ve been avoiding actually feeling the depth of your grief, despair, unhappiness, etc., then allowing yourself to finally process and navigate those feelings is going to be rough at first.

You know how your entire leg can fall asleep after sitting for a while, and when you stand up you can barely put pressure on it because it’s tingling SO much and it sort of hurts? It’s like that.

But whether we’re talking about vampires or legs … there’s really no difference. Eventually, if you allow the feelings to come back, at first it will hurt, and then things DO get better.

Why? Because when you’re not numb, you have the ability to actually take action.

Numbing out means you’re avoiding life. You’re not getting closer to answering any questions or figuring anything out. You’re just surviving.

If you allow yourself to feel the pain, you might finally admit what’s no longer working. You might quit that job, end that relationship, or make some other big change.

 The longer you numb out and avoid feeling anything, the longer nothing will happen.

So, to motivate you to flip that switch, I want to share a few things you can look forward to when you’re not numb anymore.

YOU WON’T NEED TO RELY ON SUBSTANCES

I used to make a lot of coffee in the office Keurig and drink expensive, sickly sugary lattes. Not because I loved coffee, but because I was exhausted and needed a pick-me-up to look forward to.

And in the evening, I often drank wine while I was watching a show. Again, not because I loved wine that much, but because I needed something to enjoy.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with coffee or wine. If you truly, deeply enjoy them for their intrinsic value, then great!

But in my case, I relied on those substances to produce feelings artificially that I could no longer produce naturally.

I don’t drink coffee or alcohol anymore, and I feel a million times better than I did a few years ago.

(This isn’t an admonishment of caffeine and alcohol. If you enjoy them, that’s great! But personally, they did negative things for my health and I feel a lot better when I don’t partake).

I don’t need to induce artificial highs or lows because my own energy sustains me. And that never could have happened if I’d stayed numb.

YOU WON’T THROW MONEY INTO THE VOID

I can’t tell you how often I bought things I didn’t need, and often didn’t really want, to make me feel … anything.

I racked up credit card debt that followed me around for years thanks to my tendency to throw money into my existential void.

And of course, the clothes and shoes and handbags didn’t make me feel any better. I was just a numb, sad person with a better outfit.

These days I use money as a way to express what I value. I tend to spend the most on my health and well-being — my gym membership, organic groceries, supplements, etc. — because that’s what makes me feel alive.

And no amount of shoes ever made me feel like that.

LITTLE THINGS WILL BRING YOU CONTENTMENT

Speaking of the Vampire Diaries (last time, I promise), I remember this one time during the height of my numbness that I literally watched 22 episodes in 36 hours.

And while I guess you could say I enjoyed it, I think it was more in the gross, overindulgent way that you “enjoy” eating half a pizza by yourself.

There was nothing healthy or contented about that kind of bingeing.

I still love watching Netflix as much as ever, but I’ve never binged like that since. I can get more pure enjoyment from one episode of good TV than I ever got from a 22-episode binge-fest.

And that’s the really important point I want to make:

When you’re numb, you need bigger and more dramatic things to make you feel anything — substances, shopping sprees, and binge sessions, for example.

But when you’re not numb, you have a heightened sensitivity to life. Which means that much smaller things can make you feel happy and contented.

I recently heard the musician Moby being interviewed on Kate Northrup’s podcast. He was talking about how fame never lives up to its expectations and how famous people are often the least happy. Something he said really stuck with me:

“I think there’s more happiness to be found in a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice than in performing to a crowd of millions.”

I totally get that.

Nowadays, I get a lot of joy out of small things like a nice cup of tea, curling up with a good book, eating a well-prepared meal, or walking outside on a sunny day and just breathing it in.

Which leads me to one last point …

YOU WON’T NEED ANYTHING TO SAVE YOU

When I was numb, I was constantly searching for a workaround.

Because I was so desperate to not be stuck, I assumed the answer was to always feel the opposite of numb and miserable — so I looked to external things to swoop in and deliver all of my happiness to me.

I wanted out of my situation so badly that I looked at jobs and relationships as potential saviors that could “rescue” me from the nothingness.

When I woke up and started to engage with my feelings again, I had to start saving myself. I enrolled in coach training, and you know the rest.

And most importantly, I realized that it’s CRAZY to expect to never have rough patches in life. We’re humans! That’s part of the deal.

When you’re not numb, you can ride the wave of emotions. You’re not dragged down by every fearful, overwhelmed, anxious, miserable, or negative thought.

You don’t need to be saved from your bad times when you trust that good times are just around the corner.

So, what about you? Is your humanity switch flipped? If so, what’s your go-to numbing device, and how will you start to feel your feelings again? And if you’ve successfully flipped that switch back on, what worked for you? How did it go? Share with me in the comments below!

TOO LONG, DIDN’T READ? LISTEN INSTEAD!

If reading long blogs just isn’t your deal, you’re in luck:

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Here’s Rachel reading this week’s blog:

IF YOU LIKED THIS, THEN YOU’LL ALSO LOVE …

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Are you tired of pretending to be someone you’re not?

What to do when you don’t feel inspired

Much Love,

Rachel (+ Kristen)