Emotional Blunting: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment
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Medically reviewed by Rachel Goldman, PhD, FTOS
When first starting antidepressants, you may not feel like yourself. Though your depression symptoms might have improved, feelings of extreme sadness can sometimes be replaced by an emotional numbness in which you are neither able to cry nor enjoy a real belly laugh.
If you feel this way, you are definitely not alone. There's a term used to describe this feeling—called emotional blunting—which aptly captures the dulled emotional state many people experience when taking antidepressants.
While emotional blunting may make you want to stop your antidepressant medications, it's important to know that there are things you can do to help overcome this effect and still continue your depression treatment. Learn more about why antidepressants can blunt emotions, as well as what actions you can take to start to feel like yourself again.
Never stop taking an antidepressant without speaking to your healthcare provider first. They may change the dose or switch medications to help combat any bothersome side effects you may be experiencing while continuing to treat your depression.
Symptoms of Emotional Blunting
Emotional blunting means that your feelings and emotions are so dulled that you neither feel up nor down. You simply feel "blah." People who experience emotional blunting will often report:
Being less able to laugh or cry, even when appropriate
Feeling distant from the world around them
Feeling less empathy for others
Not being able to respond with the same level of enjoyment that they normally would
Emotional blunting reduces your range of emotions, causing you to feel less love, fear, affection, or anger.
Prevalence of Emotional Blunting
A study from the University of Oxford found that 46% of antidepressant users experienced emotional blunting during treatment. According to the research, the antidepressants most commonly associated with emotional blunting are:
Selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) such as Cymbalta (duloxetine), Pristiq (desvenlafaxine), and Effexor XR (venlafaxine)
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Lexapro (escitalopram), Prozac (fluoxetine), Zoloft (sertraline), and Paxil (paroxetine)
Tricyclic and tetracyclic antidepressants like Elavil (amitriptyline) and Remeron (desvenlafaxine)
By and large, those who no longer needed antidepressants experienced a reversal of emotional blunting, confirming the role that these drugs play in this side effect.
Though the percentage of people who experienced emotional blunting was similar between the three drug classes, there were variations. On the one end, 33% experienced emotional blunting while on Wellbutrin (bupropion) while, on the other end, 75% experienced the same effect on Cymbalta (duloxetine hydrochloride).
Wellbutrin is a different class of drug known as a dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. Unlike the others, it does not target a chemical transmitter in the brain—known as serotonin—that all of the other drugs do. This suggests that the inhibition of serotonin may be one of the prime causes of emotional blunting.
This video has been medically reviewed by John C. Umhau, MD, MPH, CPE.
Other Study Findings
According to the Oxford study, men experienced blunting more than women at 54% vs. 44%, respectively. Moreover, the severity of depression before treatment directly corresponded to the severity of emotional blunting during treatment.
The study also found that not everyone viewed emotional blunting in the same way. Of the 819 people included, 38% regarded the blunting of their emotions as a positive outcome of treatment, while 37% viewed it negatively. Generally speaking, those with more severe blunting symptoms viewed it more negatively.
Related: Symptoms of Severe Depression
Supporting Evidence
Other research has found similar results. For example, an online survey of 1,431 antidepressant users from 38 countries aimed to identify the most common adverse side effects of treatment. "Feeling emotionally numb" was ranked number one, with 71% experiencing this symptom.
"Feeling foggy or detached" was a close second at 70% and "feeling not like myself" was third with 66%. The study didn't specify which types of antidepressants resulted in these effects.
All three of the most commonly reported negative side effects of antidepressants can be considered forms of emotional blunting.
A smaller study from New Zealand involving 180 people on long-term antidepressant therapy found that 64.5% experienced emotional blunting. Related side effects included sexual difficulties (71.8%), not feeling like themselves (54.4%), and a reduction in positive feelings (45.6%).
Additionally, a Canadian study involving 896 participants, 49.9% of whom had major depressive disorder (MDD) and 50.1% of whom had bipolar disorder (BP), found that emotional blunting was one of the main reasons for the discontinuation of therapy. After weight gain and excessive sleepiness, emotional blunting ranked third in the reasons to stop treatment among people with MDD.
Related: Long-Term Effects of Antidepressants
Causes of Emotional Blunting
Given that not everyone on antidepressants develops emotional blunting, it has been difficult for scientists to tease out a precise reason for this effect. Some experts have even questioned whether blunting is a side effect of antidepressant treatment or perhaps a partial failure of the drug itself.
While it would seem fair to assume that serotonin plays a role in the effect (given the lower incidence among Wellbutrin users), most scientists believe that a single hormone cannot be to blame.
It is likely that the imbalance of all three key neurotransmitters—serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine—may trigger the effect of emotional blunting and that those with an underlying hormonal deficit will fare worse.
Others still have suggested that emotional blunting is more of a symptom revealed, meaning that once the antidepressants are able to alleviate depression, the underlying symptoms of emotional blunting are revealed rather than caused. Much more research is needed before any conclusions can be drawn.
Treatment for Emotional Blunting
The good news is that emotional blunting can be treated. Some of the options to consider include:
Live a healthy lifestyle. Engaging in exercise stimulates serotonin and elevates mood. Eating healthier and avoiding alcohol (a mood depressant) can also help.
Ask about medication changes. If you experience emotional blunting, your healthcare provider may lower your dose or switch you to a different antidepressant (say, from an SSRI to an SNRI). They may also be able to add other medication to offset the emotional blunting.
Work with your therapist to find ways to elevate your mood. There may be a psychological component to your condition as well as a pharmaceutical one.
If you find the emotional blunting intolerable, do not stop treatment without first speaking with your physician. Doing so may lead to a rebound of depression symptoms or trigger the opposite effect, including anxiety, agitation, and sleeplessness.
Related: What to Know About Antidepressant Withdrawal
A Word From Verywell
Experiencing emotional blunting while on antidepressants doesn't mean that you can't reap the benefits of treatment. In some cases, a simple dose reduction may help clear some of the numbness. Making positive lifestyle changes can also help.
Continuing to work with your healthcare provider to find the right formula of medications, therapy, and lifestyle can help you overcome and manage your depression over the long term.
