[Sugacube7]

Last year I was in a terrible relationship and I was very depressed because of how he treated me, and I think I somehow... because I was so hurt and was in so much emotional pain... I think I was able to completely stop feeling any kind of emotion. I don't know if I just ignored them or what but it was strange, my boyfriend was extremely immature and annoying and I knew that but I never got mad at him or annoyed, but I never felt happy either. I never felt excited either. I didn't see him for a whole summer and for the first few weeks I was crying myself to sleep, crying when I woke up and crying throughout the day. After a while I stopped feeling sad even, it was actually quite peaceful. I think I could have stayed like that forever but I missed feeling happy so I started to try to feel and I succeeded. I gained all my emotions back but now they're worse than ever and I get angry and annoyed at the tiniest things when I never did before.

[Fhawn]

I found this not sure if it will help..just thought I'd give it a try.
Why Emotional Avoidance Does Not Work

It is important to recognize that we have emotions for a reason. Our emotions provide us with information about ourselves and the things going on around us. For example, the emotion of fear tells us that we may be in danger. The emotion of sadness tells us that we may need some time to take care of ourselves or seek out help from others. Given the important role they play in our lives, our emotions are there to be experienced and they want to be experienced.
Therefore, while emotional avoidance may be effective in the short-run and may provide you with some temporary relief, in the long run, the emotions you're trying to avoid may grow stronger. Basically, your emotions may “fight back” so they can be be experienced and listened to. If someone is determined to avoid his emotions, he may then turn to more drastic and unhealthy ways of avoiding emotions


Avoiding our emotions also takes considerable effort, especially when those emotions are strong (as they often are in PTSD). As avoided emotions grow stronger, more and more effort is needed to keep them at bay. As a result, little energy may be left for the important things in your life, such as family and friends. In addition, using all your energy to avoid certain emotions may make it difficult to manage other experiences, such as frustration and irritation, making you more likely to be “on edge” and angry.

What Can Be Done

The most important thing to do is to reduce the extent that you try to escape your emotions. Of course, this is a lot easier said than done. If you have been avoiding your emotions for a long time, it may be difficult to release them. Sometimes, when we let our emotions build up, they may escape all at once, like a dam breaking. This may lead to our emotions feeling out of control.


It is important to find ways to release your emotions. Therapy of all kinds can be very helpful in this regard. Cognitive-behavioral and psychoanalytic/psychodynamic therapies all give you the opportunity to express and understand your emotions, as well as examine the sources of those emotional responses. In addition to examining emotions connected directly to the traumatic event, cognitive-behavioral approaches may address how certain thoughts or ways of evaluating a situation may be contributing to your emotions. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (or ACT), a particular type of behavior therapy, focuses on breaking down avoidance and helping a person place his energy into living a meaningful life (and being willing to experience whatever emotions arise as a result). Psychoanalytic/psychodynamic approaches may pay more attention to early childhood experiences and their influence on your emotions. Either way, therapy can provide you with a safe place to express and approach your emotions. Seeking social support from trusted loved ones can also provide a safe way to express your emotions. Finally, writing about your feelings can also give you a safe and private way to release your deepest feelings.
If your emotions feel really unclear or unpredictable, self-monitoring may be a useful strategy for you. It can give you a sense of what situations bring of certain thoughts and feelings. Finally, if your emotions feel too strong, try distraction instead of avoidance. Distraction can be viewed as “temporary avoidance.” Do something to temporarily distract you from a strong emotion, such as reading a book, calling a friend, eating comforting food, or taking a bath. This may give the emotion some time to decrease in strength, making it easier to cope with.