Do you numb out?

Quick question. Do you ever find yourself numbing out?

When I say numbing out, I mean doing things to avoid or minimize the discomfort of your emotions. Sometimes it is referred to as "buffering." Our brains don't like physical or emotional pain, so we spend a lot of time trying to numb or buffer away from discomfort by doing things that give us instant gratification. We seek to stop the pain immediately with little thought to the long-term consequences on our health, relationships, finances, etc.

Maybe it's wanting to numb out from job stress when you get home and reach for the pantry's junk food. Perhaps you want to numb from feeling bored and scroll mindlessly through social media to fill the space. Maybe it's wanting to numb out from tension in your relationship, so you have another drink. Or you are overwhelmed with all you have to do, so you go shopping or obsessively clean your house.

We all have coping mechanisms for escaping emotional discomfort. But immediate gratification only gives us the illusion of freeing ourselves from emotional pain; it's short-lived. Absolute freedom is the ability to feel all your emotions and work through any discomfort without constantly needing to escape it.

We dive deeper into buffering in my Healthy Habits program; why we do it, when we do it, and how to proceed in a healthier way. But for now, get curious about what numbing looks like for you without negative judgment. Become aware of what tactics you may be currently using to numb out your emotions instead of getting at the root cause.