Quote from Lewis Carrol’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

This is similar to what some trauma survivors can experience, and is especially common for military personnel and veterans suffering from PTSD.

When a person experiences a number of very emotionally heightened experiences, they can then come to feel that common, everyday experiences seems dull by comparison.

In addition, emotional numbing occurs as the person’s mind tries to protect it from the extremes of emotion that are often felt in traumatic experiences. This emotional numbing can be difficult to turn off and then interferes with the individual’s ability to enjoy everyday life and the ability to connect with others.

This can often contribute to these individuals engaging in risk taking behaviors to feel alive.

Therapy is crucial to help these individuals learn to tolerate emotions again and to face and change the messages they internalized about themselves from their traumatic experiences.

EMDR therapy is one such treatment that is powerful and effective in changing how the brain stores these memories and helping those who suffer to gain a new outlook on themselves and the world. To learn more about EMDR therapy click here.