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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    Inability to feel emotions

    Long story short, I can't feel emotions. I know I had them at some point, but I don't know what happened. I used to enjoy things, I used to be passionate, I used to love, and feel anger, and feel happiness. Is this what happens? Do emotions just disappear without a reason? I'm not really upset about it; it's liberating, really, so I guess I'm just more curious than anything. How long have I just been going through the motions with people that I care about? I love my significant other, I know it's in there, but I can't feel anything toward them. Same goes for my family. I've tried to imagine the worst happening to one (or all) of them to provoke an emotion, but nothing. I have a great job, my significant other is nothing less than phenomenal, and finances aren't a burden. (Those are the most common reasons for this sort of thing, right?) Thoughts?
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    I have been working in Eltham, Melbourne as a relationship and family counsellor for over twelve years. I draw on current theory and research about … View Profile

    It's really difficult to know what may be the reason for you not feeling your emotions without getting a lot more information. Sometimes we experience a disconect from our emotions after grief or a traumatic experience (this may happen when it is too painful to feel our intense feelings). There are possibly other reasons too, which may be connected to particular mental health conditions or side-effects of some medications. If you are wanting to explore this further, perhaps the place to start may be by getting a referral to a psychiatrist via your GP. If you suspect your emotional disconnect may be due to life events, you may alternatively wish to explore this with a counsellor first of all, before researching possible medical explanations.

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