[ceejae]

A few months ago pdoc asked me how I was doing. I told him I'd quote a lyric from a song from when I was a teen (am I dating myself? lol). I replied "I have become comfortably numb" to which he responded he was worried about that.

I'm back to being comfortably numb a lot lately. It's like I feel no joy. I don't cry. I don't want to do anything. My "get up and go" got up and went. When something happens I usually would be bothered by I just ignore it. I'm just not caring about much.

Example of that is Easter. I always had to have my house spotless. Everything in it's place and clean whenever my mother was coming over as she is a clean freak. This Easter I didn't bother to hide the pots and pans I'd used (usually I shove them in the dishwasher to hide them so the kitchen looks tidy). They were strewn all over the counter and in the sink. Medications were left out on the counter which I usually put away. After the grandkids tore through their Easter baskets I did not vacuum up the Easter grass. I didn't even dust! I just didn't care.

I don't feel particularly depressed, just don't care anymore.

Anyone else get like that?

[kaliope]

I have always loved that song....lol.......

medication really helped me but I still feel much of what you describe. im just not depressed anymore. I just exist.

welcome to psych central and take care

[Standup2me]

Totally agree

It seems like the meds have stolen my emotions and left a sense of
just "being here"

Yes, I've used that one on p-docs. Freaks them out, apparently. Pink became comfortably numb from the med injection they gave to him. I take "comfortably numb" to mean that safe, wrapped-up in a soft blanket feeling that I am blessed with when meds are really helping me out. It only lasts for a little while, but it gives me the chance to recharge.

I would call that overmedicated

[VoiceOfChrysalis]

I equate the "numb" feelings with still being in a depressed state of my disorder, especially when I don't get things accomplished like I used to, have lost motivation, and/or have lost enjoyment in things I used to enjoy. All of those are symptoms of depression -- depressed doesn't have to mean "sad."

[BipolaRNurse]

"Comfortably numb"---I like that! It describes how I've felt since I went on Zyprexa full-time. I've been through all kinds of hell at work these past few weeks, and my med regimen is the only reason I am able to sit there and take nonstop criticism in a professional manner. Used to be all I could do was run into the bathroom and cry after it was over. Now I'm like, "Oh well, it is what it is---I'm doing the very best I can and if it's not good enough, it's not for lack of trying."

I can also get lost on a backcountry road without freaking out now. That's another huge change for me. I was a bundle of bipolar hot mess before the last couple of med changes, and if not being one means I'm "numb", I'm perfectly happy being numb.

[r010159]

Originally Posted by BipolaRNurse

"Comfortably numb"---I like that! It describes how I've felt since I went on Zyprexa full-time. I've been through all kinds of hell at work these past few weeks, and my med regimen is the only reason I am able to sit there and take nonstop criticism in a professional manner. Used to be all I could do was run into the bathroom and cry after it was over. Now I'm like, "Oh well, it is what it is---I'm doing the very best I can and if it's not good enough, it's not for lack of trying."

I can also get lost on a backcountry road without freaking out now. That's another huge change for me. I was a bundle of bipolar hot mess before the last couple of med changes, and if not being one means I'm "numb", I'm perfectly happy being numb.

I am also on Zyprexa. This is the state of mind that I look for and rarely happens. This tells me the brain chemistry is in ballance and all is well. Confidence and stability. I call it being "bullet proof".

[yagalada]

I felt like that for a long time. I decided with the help of my doc to go off my meds and I have feelings again. When I was on meds I was just existing. Sitting in the living room watching tv. Not showering, people forcing me to eat. Now I take care of myself.

There definitely is a numbness quality to my depression now. I haven't cried in a long time but still feel very down and out. I'm surprised that tears just don't come anymore. Numb is a good way to put it.

[Broken Robot]

It sounds like anhedonia, something I'm dealing with right now. I'm uncomfortably numb. I feel like my username... A broken robot. It's a very peculiar sensation, to lack emotion or motivation or any sense of comfort or desire/fulfillment.

[StartingFreshNow]

I felt that way and told my med doctor - my meds were switched and I started to feel again. Feeling happiness again after being numb was so nice.

Comfortably numb and uncomfortably numb mean two different things.

Sometimes being a bit overmedicated and feeling comfortably numb is a good thing. It's a protective state of being that we sometimes need for a while.

Being uncomfortably numb is a miserable feeling. I liken it to anhedonia.

My emotions are so overwhelming that the meds just keep me kind of normal. They form a sort of a boundary that keeps the worst of the crazy from escaping. I was not diagnosed until I was 45, so the majority of my life was self medicating with booze and drugs and bad men.
It is a miracle that I didn't kill anyone (came close a few times) and end up dead or in prison.
So my meds keep me in balance most of the time, and I would never stop taking them.
But if you can do it without drugs, the God bless you and I wish you luck.

[Alone & confused]

I get that way sometimes & I've been off meds for years.

[r010159]

Originally Posted by Sister Rags

Comfortably numb and uncomfortably numb mean two different things.

Sometimes being a bit overmedicated and feeling comfortably numb is a good thing. It's a protective state of being that we sometimes need for a while.

Being uncomfortably numb is a miserable feeling. I liken it to anhedonia.

Good point! It can be a good thing not to be thrown about by what is going on around you.

Yeah, I mean...people who are struggling with mental illness need down-times even more than "normal" people do. Sometimes that means being inpatient, but sometimes it means being comfortably numb.

[venusss]

Originally Posted by Sister Rags

Yeah, I mean...people who are struggling with mental illness need down-times even more than "normal" people do. Sometimes that means being inpatient, but sometimes it means being comfortably numb.

And there I thought it meant to going to disputed territories and transitioning democracies

Tbh, the "downtime" reminds me too strongly of "soma holidays" and it sounds it could get into substance abuse territory (doesn't matter doctor prescribed it. If you use it to zonk yourself out and avoid life, it has potential of being ungood). One should find their way to have downtime that is not taxing on the body so much.

Although, can't say I fully blame you. I done the "I am sad, but I have absinthe" route few times.

The writers of all those songs that throw out the lines "rather hurt than feel nothing at all" or similar obviously haven't hurt enough to know the joys of being comfortably numb.

(Awesome taste in music BTW.)

[venusss]

Originally Posted by BeteNoire

The writers of all those songs that throw out the lines "rather hurt than feel nothing at all" or similar obviously haven't hurt enough to know the joys of being comfortably numb.

(Awesome taste in music BTW.)

Maybe they do. I mean, how many of us hurt ourselves physically to feel something, because feeling numb feels you are dead already and may just do away with the body and be done with it.

Sometimes elderly people joke around that "if you feel pain anywhere in the body, it means you are alive". It's the same with emotional pain, I think.

No, I am not referring to getting high/substance abusing. I am saying that if, for example, I am at work and am going through a particularly difficult day I think it's healthy to boost one of my meds a bit (with my p-doc's permission) so I have more of a "screen" (so every little thing doesn't slam into me so hard that I start having negative symptoms). Yes, I might feel a bit numbed-out for a few hours BUT I remain aware (mindful) of my breathing, my thoughts, my feelings, my actions. In other words, sometimes a bit of a med boost gives me the distance I need from swirling around in my own perceptions. Then I can be a more functional person.

[r010159]

Originally Posted by Sister Rags

No, I am not referring to getting high/substance abusing. I am saying that if, for example, I am at work and am going through a particularly difficult day I think it's healthy to boost one of my meds a bit (with my p-doc's permission) so I have more of a "screen" (so every little thing doesn't slam into me so hard that I start having negative symptoms). Yes, I might feel a bit numbed-out for a few hours BUT I remain aware (mindful) of my breathing, my thoughts, my feelings, my actions. In other words, sometimes a bit of a med boost gives me the distance I need from swirling around in my own perceptions. Then I can be a more functional person.

This is a very good description of the benefits of feeling comfortably numb. This is when personally I feel bullet proof and sometimes really enjoy the feeling. The beats my sudden, miserable mood swings and my attention that it takes away from what I need to do.

[venusss]

I guess I have a different description of numb, even comfortably.

Comfortably numb is making a strong sleepy brew or taking valerian tincture and passing out in the blankets, while enjoying the pre-sleep state to me.

Originally Posted by r010159

This is a very good description of the benefits of feeling comfortably numb. This is when personally I feel bullet proof and sometimes really enjoy the feeling. The beats my sudden, miserable mood swings and my attention that it takes away from what I need to do.

Thank you. I like your "bullet-proof" description.

According to the concept of "Comfortably Numb" in The Wall:

As with the other songs on The Wall, "Comfortably Numb" tells a segment of the story about Pink, the album's protagonist. This song has to do with Pink's battle to handle the world. The lyrics feature interplay between a doctor treating Pink and Pink's thoughts.

After injecting a drug into Pink's arm, the paramedics drag Pink out of the hotel and to his limousine. Pink is now able to tear off his diseased shell and emerges as clean, alert, and in control of his surroundings.

[r010159]

After injecting a drug into Pink's arm, the paramedics drag Pink out of the hotel and to his limousine. Pink is now able to tear off his diseased shell and emerges as clean, alert, and in control of his surroundings.

I want something like that! The person who has created it can be a billionaire.