Reduced Emotional Range. Is That Normal?

[AzureMind]

Well Diana, having a limited emotional range isn't normal because that prevents the individual from living a fulfilling life because of the limited access to your range of emotions. Not all descisions we make can be decided based on the logic and options presented in a situation especially long-term goals and desires for our future so one's ability to make decisions I can understand myself what you mean by experiencing muted emotions, and only a deep level of depression/sadness, and what I can say are two things from this:

1.) Depression of this level (chronic depression) can be linked to PTSD, and often the sufferer will have both afflictions and suffer from them concurrently.
2.) Depression and PTSD may not be mutually inclusive, in that having depression even of the chronic variety doesn't mean one suffers from PTSD, though sufferers of PTSD may suffer, (and likely will suffer) from depression as a result of the presence of the flashbacks, changes in cognition regarding the trauma(s), and the chronic breakdown of a pre-existing faith system in life.

It seems to me that a majority of your emotional range is repressed behind the possible trauma(s) that you may have faced, and it would be in your best interest to begin the process of releasing them through therapy and in turn, you'll gain access to your full emotional range of experience. One thing is for sure; experiencing a lack of a change in affect (emotion) isn't a good thing at all, and you should look into therapy. Depriving your children, and yourself of your total emotional presence will be damaging to not only their growth, but of your own, and I say this out of personal experience, study, and from participating in therapy myself. I wish you the best in your journey through this, and we are a community of which is incredibly insightful into our own travels through this condition and alteration of cognition :)

 

[squireparty]

This has been an interesting thread for me. Definitely I have been emotionally numb for years - I can date this back to the last time in my life I felt things deeply and richly and could identity what I was feeling - the summer of 1989. After that, I just remember fields of numbness, with occasional breaks for frustration and aggravation. I can remember thinking when I was very young to always expect the worst in people - and once in a while you'll be pleasantly surprised. I also relate very well to not getting my hopes up and living predictably - though with the realization that I am going to be going the self employed route here as I just am not ready to work for someone else yet - this involves being less predictable and taking some risks and putting myself out there to some degree though Thank God a lot of what I plan to do will be online.

I really wonder what it is like to have a larger range of emotion. I don't know if I am capable of something like love, though I do feel close to my cat. I have one close friend that I do feel quite close to. Other than that, I have a lot and I mean a lot of numbness for the world in general.

 

[KatB]

. Lately I have been having episodes of anger causing me to become very frustrated with everyone in my family. I don't mean to take it out on them but there just there and I feel safe enough to express such feelings.

Whew, me too! This has been happening as well lately. I am just irritated and super-exhausted. I dont mean bad as well, but also because now, I feel safe that my brother is not home anymore, but now, it's like, "ohh??!, he's not here?" How do I live without drama nor chaos? All new.

 

[reckoner]

I haven't been living with PTSD for a long period of time, as my trauma(s) was quite recent. I don't feel sadness, even though I know it's there. I try to coax the tears to come to feel relief and as they near the verge of falling they inevitably vanish. I do feel fear, but in a way that's more animal than modern day society... with one ear open and a reaction for every noise that seems out of place... even if I've heard it a hundred times before. I do feel a bit cut off from people, quite inside myself looking out, not a lot of laughter, not a lot of trust. Sometimes the reason behind these non-feelings is faraway and sometimes it's tapping me on the back. In any case, I do think it's normal in relation to acute stress and PTSD, I think it's a coping mechanism... and as others have said, probably part of a denial process. Hang in.