Emotional detachment

Emotional detachment may be a temporary reaction to a stressful situation, or a chronic condition such as depersonalization-derealization disorder.

They may have a hard time being a loving family member, or they may avoid activities, places, and people associated with past traumas.

In some cases, they present an extreme difficulty in giving or receiving empathy which can be related to the spectrum of narcissistic personality disorder.

[6] In a study of children ages 4–12, traits of aggression and antisocial behaviors were found to be correlated with emotional detachment.

[8] While some depression severity scales provide insight to emotional blunting levels, many symptoms are not adequately covered.

[9] An attempt to resolve this issue is the Oxford Depression Questionnaire (ODQ), a scale specifically designed for full assessment of emotional blunting symptoms.

The ODQ is designed specifically for patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in order to assess individual levels of emotional blunting.

Emotional detachments can also be due to psychological trauma in adulthood, like abuse, or traumatic experiences like war, automobile accidents etc.

[10][11] Emotional blunting is often caused by antidepressants, in particular selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) used in MDD and often as an add-on treatment in other psychiatric disorders.

This detachment does not necessarily mean avoiding empathy; rather, it allows the person to rationally choose whether or not to be overwhelmed or manipulated by such feelings.

[20] Emotional detachment may allow acts of extreme cruelty and abuse, supported by the decision to not connect empathically with the person concerned.