Emotional numbness rarely arrives with fanfare. It creeps in during long seasons of stress, after a shock that never fully got named, or in the quiet aftermath of chronic overwhelm. Clients often describe it as living behind glass, understanding that life is happening but not feeling it. The right words for joy, grief, or anger might still come in conversation, yet the corresponding sensations feel distant or muted. Somatic Experiencing, a body based therapy developed by Peter Levine, offers a practical path for thawing that freeze without flooding the system. The work looks subtle from the outside. Inside, it is exacting, measurable, and often quietly life changing.
What emotional numbness really is
Numbness is not the absence of emotion. It is a physiological stance, shaped by your nervous system, that deprioritizes feeling in the name of safety. When your system perceives that a threat is too much or too long lasting to fight or flee, it uses freeze and shut down to conserve energy and reduce pain. Think of an animal that goes limp to survive a predator’s jaws. In humans, that biological wisdom shows up as spacing out, feeling flat, or going through motions without much color.
Some people worry that numbness means they are broken, or that they simply lack depth. In practice, I rarely see that. More often, the people who go numb carry a high capacity for sensitivity and care. Their wiring needed to blunt the edges because reality brought more than it could process at the time.
Here is a straightforward way to notice it without pathologizing yourself:
- You can describe what you should be feeling, but the body does not echo the words. Tears do not come, or they arrive in a disconnected way. Music, movies, or time with loved ones feel pleasant but far away, as if you are looking through a window. You default to thinking, analyzing, or helping others to avoid noticing your own internal state. You swing between days of high anxiety and stretches of flatness, like the nervous system is spending itself and then shutting down. Touch, breath, or movement bring little sensation unless they are very intense, which can tip into overwhelm.
These patterns are common after prolonged stress, medical procedures, early attachment disruptions, and professional burnout. Certain medications, sleep deprivation, and alcohol use can also dull feeling, so a medical review is wise when numbness persists.
Why the body holds the keys
Talk therapy can name patterns and reduce shame, which matters. Yet when the body is still set to freeze, insight alone rarely melts the ice. Somatic Experiencing works with the subcortical layers of the nervous system that govern arousal, orientation, and protective responses. It uses small, precise doses of sensation to reintroduce movement where there has been stuckness.
A central idea here is neuroception, a term from polyvagal theory that describes how the nervous system scans for safety or danger, mostly outside of conscious thought. If neuroception keeps reading danger, the body stays guarded. Muscles brace, breath gets shallow, digestion slows, and the felt sense of aliveness dims. SE does not argue with that. It supports the body to notice actual safety in the present moment and to complete the survival impulses that were interrupted.
Clients are often surprised that the work is not about chasing big catharsis. Instead, we build capacity. If a strong emotion arises organically, we welcome it in digestible waves. The paradox is that a slower pace tends to produce more reliable change.
What Somatic Experiencing looks like in practice
A typical SE session starts with resourcing, which means finding a sensation, image, or interaction in your life that reliably brings a bit more ease. This might be the warmth of sunlight on your forearm, the support of your chair, the memory of a steady friend, or the quiet of early morning coffee. We are not escaping the issue. We are creating a foothold in the nervous system that lets us visit difficult material without getting lost.
From there, we titrate. Titration is the art of touching a small dot of the challenging experience, noticing what happens, and then returning to a resource before the system gets overwhelmed. If your body briefly tenses in the belly when you talk about your parent’s illness, we might pause right there and attend to that two inch zone of muscle. We invite curiosity. Does the tension have edges, temperature, a direction it wants to move? This is not a mental exercise. It is an attentional lens.
Then we pendulate. Pendulation is the gentle back and forth between activation and settling. Think of it like physical therapy for the autonomic nervous system. Over time, the spans get wider. Clients report that emotions show up with more nuance and leave without getting stuck. On a practical timeline, many people notice shifts in 4 to 8 sessions, although complex histories and current stress loads can extend the arc.
Here is a concrete vignette from my practice, details changed for privacy. A mid career physician arrived with classic burnout. Sleep was fragmented, weekends felt gray, and he described himself as a cardboard version of who he used to be. He had no appetite for dramatic therapy. We spent the first two sessions building a map of where his body still felt alive. Oddly specific anchors emerged, like the sensation in his hands while turning compost in his small garden. By session four, we worked with the micro freeze that hit behind his sternum when he opened his email each morning. As that softening took root, he reported a quiet return of appetite and a moment of spontaneous laughter with his daughter that surprised him. He was not fixed. He was thawing, and he could feel it.
Why numbness lifts slowly, and why that is good news
Numbness often dissolves in layers. First, people notice flashes of feeling. A lump in the throat appears for two seconds and vanishes. The shoulder blades drop without effort. Sleep deepens by 15 minutes. These are not minor wins. They signal that your system is regaining the range to move between states. The next layer might bring grief or anger that had been waiting. That part can feel like bad news. Clients sometimes say, I felt better when I felt nothing. The truth is that aliveness includes discomfort, and when we can feel it, we can also metabolize it.
Going slowly also honors the protective role that numbness played. If we rip away a coping strategy, the nervous system will bring a stronger one. The craft in SE is to update the protection rather than strip it. We thank the freeze for its service, and we negotiate new terms that fit your current life. This stance is not sentimental. It is efficient.
How SE differs from and complements other therapies
People often come to SE after finding limited traction with cognitive behavioral therapy, or after getting partway through EMDR and hitting a wall of shut down. Each method has strengths. I use all three in various combinations, along with IFS therapy when working with parts language helps someone name inner dynamics without judgment.
- EMDR intensives can accelerate trauma processing by concentrating sessions over two or three days. When a client’s system trends toward numbness or dissociation, we often front load those intensives with SE work to increase somatic capacity. That might mean two to four shorter SE sessions focused on tracking sensation and building resources before we enter intensive EMDR reprocessing. The result is smoother arcs, fewer post session crashes, and better retention of gains. IFS therapy offers a respectful way to relate to protectors and exiles within the psyche. In SE informed IFS, we bring parts awareness together with tracking the body. If a highly competent Protector keeps you numb so you can function, we might explore, with your permission, how that Protector shows up in your rib cage or jaw. When that part senses that you can feel small amounts safely, it tends to loosen its grip without power struggles. Classic talk therapy provides context, meaning, and relational repair. Many clients keep a weekly talk session and add SE every other week. When they can track sensation, the content from talk therapy lands deeper.
None of these are right for everyone, all the time. The choice depends on history, goals, and bandwidth. If your life is already overloaded, fewer, longer sessions might be realistic. Some clients do well with intensives, especially those traveling from out of state. Others prefer weekly maintenance to let their physiology integrate changes gently.
Working specifically with anxiety and burnout
Anxiety and numbness often trade places. On Monday you feel agitated, jumpy, and hypervigilant. By Thursday you go flat and stare at spreadsheets without absorbing them. There is a rhythm here. The body spends sympathetic energy, gets depleted, then defaults to freeze for relief. In SE we widen the middle zone, sometimes called the window of tolerance, so you do not have to ricochet between extremes.
With anxiety, the first target is not to eliminate arousal but to get more choice around it. Clients practice micro doses of activation, like standing and letting the legs press into the floor for three breaths, then sitting and feeling the support of the chair. This establishes orientation in the room, a cue of safety that the survival brain respects. Over a few weeks, many people notice their peak anxiety drop by 10 to 30 percent. They also recover faster after a spike.
Burnout carries its own texture. It is not only chronic stress. It is stress that has stopped feeling meaningful. The body tracks that distinction. In sessions, I listen for sparks of genuine engagement, which often hide in small corners of life that remain uncommodified. A research scientist may feel nothing at the computer but come alive when describing the clean sensation of swimming laps at dawn. We amplify those inputs, not as escape, but as biological medicine. The math is practical. Ten minutes of a high signal resource once or twice a day can shift the baseline more than a 60 minute practice you resent and skip.
What you might feel during and after sessions
People expect dramatic releases. Most notice subtler phenomena: a spontaneous deeper breath, an impulse to roll the shoulders, warmth in the hands, eyes that moisten without a sob. Sometimes a low grade tremor moves through the legs, especially after tracking fear or helplessness. This is not pathology. Mammals discharge incomplete survival energy through shaking, yawning, sighing, or heat. The therapist’s job is to keep you within a tolerable band so the discharge resolves rather than escalates.
After sessions, common reports include feeling more settled, a bit sleepy, or oddly alert. Hydration helps. Light movement like a 15 minute walk helps, especially if you keep your gaze soft and let your head turn to notice the environment. On rare occasions, people feel stirred up. When that happens, we debrief, slow down next time, and add extra resourcing.
A brief practice to try between sessions
Use this for two to five minutes, once or twice a day, especially when you feel flat.
- Sit, and place one hand on the side of your ribs. Feel the contact. Wait until you notice at least one clear sensation, such as warmth, coolness, pressure, or texture. Let your eyes slowly scan the space. Pick three objects that feel neutral or pleasant to look at. Name one detail about each, silently or out loud. Return attention to your hand on your ribs. Invite one deeper breath without forcing it. Notice any change, even if small. Place both feet on the floor. Press down with about 20 percent of your strength for two seconds, then release. Note the rebound in your legs. End by tracking a sensation that is 5 percent more alive than when you started. Do not chase intensity. You are training precision.
If any step spikes discomfort, stop at the previous step, or orient to the room by naming what you see and hear. The goal is to reacquaint your body with feeling in small, digestible https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/burnout bites.
When numbness is still protective
Not all numbness needs immediate dismantling. People living in volatile homes, high threat workplaces, or active medical crises may rely on reduced feeling to function. In those cases, the intervention is strategic. We look for places and times where it is truly safe to thaw, even for a minute. We also scan for systems level changes, like shift adjustments, boundary work, or leave policies. Therapy cannot compete with a 70 hour workweek forever. The most efficient outcomes often pair SE with real world edits, however modest. Think rotating off the most volatile cases for two weeks, or designating one meeting free hour daily. These are not luxuries. They are engineering choices that alter load on the nervous system.
Intensives, pacing, and realistic timelines
Intensives compress treatment into longer blocks. A common format is two sessions per day across two days, or a single 3 to 4 hour session with breaks. For clients traveling long distances, or those who prefer to immerse and then integrate on their own, intensives can be ideal. I use them for SE, EMDR intensives, or blended work. The downside is that concentrated work can stir more material in the short term, so we plan for aftercare. That might include a quiet evening, light meals, and a follow up call the next day. When numbness is entrenched, I often recommend an initial intensive to jump start sensation tracking, followed by three to six weekly or biweekly sessions to stabilize gains.
A rough guideline for timelines:
- Transient numbness tied to a single stressor often shifts in 4 to 6 SE sessions. Long standing shutdown linked to complex trauma can require 12 to 30 sessions across several months, sometimes longer, especially if current life stress remains high. Burnout layered over mission driven work tends to improve in steps, with noticeable changes after 6 to 10 sessions if paired with workload adjustments.
These are estimates, not promises. The more precisely we titrate and the more consistently you practice brief, body based check ins, the faster the system learns.
Measurement without reducing yourself to scores
Subjective change is meaningful, yet I like adding lightweight metrics. Some clients track resting heart rate variability on a wearable for two weeks before starting and then monthly. Others use a 0 to 10 daily check of aliveness, anxiety, and exhaustion. If the aliveness score moves from a 2 to a 3.5 on most days over a month, that matters, even if you still have low patches. Colleagues sometimes worry that numbers flatten nuance. They can. Used sparingly, they also validate what the body reports and help us adjust.
Working with memories, or not
A gift of SE is that you do not need to narrate every painful event to heal. We can work with present time physiology and still resolve past imprints. That said, if specific memories intrude or feel central, we can integrate them carefully. The method there is to anchor in the here and now, then touch the memory in short arcs while tracking the body’s micro movements and impulses. If imagery gets too sticky, we reorient. Choice is the through line.
How SE intersects with medical factors
Thyroid imbalance, anemia, sleep apnea, and certain medications can mimic or worsen numbness. A full medical workup prevents chasing a purely psychological fix when biology needs attention. I coordinate with primary care or psychiatry when appropriate. A common scenario is a client on a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor who reports relief from panic but increased flatness. We do not yank meds. We use SE to expand sensation within the stable platform the medication provides, and if warranted, consult about dose adjustments after we see steady gains.
Nutrition and movement matter too. Low blood sugar and heavy alcohol use both dampen interoception, the sense of internal bodily signals. Moderate, rhythmic exercise tends to support thawing more than high intensity workouts for those with shutdown patterns. A 20 to 30 minute brisk walk or swim three to five times weekly often outperforms sporadic hard sessions, at least in the initial phase of treatment.
Choosing a practitioner
Training and fit both count. Look for someone with formal Somatic Experiencing training, often indicated by SEP after their name. Ask how they work with numbness specifically. Solid answers sound grounded and incremental, not dramatic. Chemistry matters. If you feel pressured to perform emotion, keep looking. Sessions should feel collaborative, paced, and respectful. If you are considering intensives, ask about screening, breaks, and aftercare.
Cost and access are real constraints. Some practitioners offer sliding scales, group sessions focused on resourcing, or short course packages. Telehealth can work well for SE if the therapist coaches you on camera placement so they can see your posture and breath, and if you set up a predictable, private space.
A second vignette, because change looks different for everyone
A 28 year old designer arrived reporting no strong feelings for more than a year. She had left a chaotic relationship, moved cities, and buried herself in work. In early sessions she offered intelligent, insightful narratives, yet her body stayed still. We started with five minute practices that involved gentle orientation, then building precision in noticing what she called tiny somethings. By session three, she could track a small pull behind her left shoulder blade that showed up when she talked about creative work. We followed that pull as it intensified and softened. She described a ripple of sadness followed by warmth in her sternum. Over the next month, she reported brief moments of joy when biking, and a renewed wish to cook for friends. By month three, she cried during a song for the first time in years and said, I do not love crying, but I love that I can. The arc was not linear. Some weeks felt flat again. What changed was her confidence that feeling could return, and that it did not have to drown her.
Common missteps and how to avoid them
Two patterns derail progress. First, chasing intensity. People understandably want proof that therapy is working, and big feelings look like proof. The nervous system reads intensity as threat if capacity is not ready. Stay with moderate sensations that feel 5 to 20 percent more alive than baseline. Second, abandoning the body for story. Narratives matter, and without sensory tracking they can become loops. Therapists, myself included, have to interrupt kindly when words outpace the body.
Another edge case is spiritual bypass. Clients who practice meditation sometimes use stillness to override feeling. I respect spiritual practices, and I encourage adding small doses of interoception so that equanimity includes aliveness. A simple tweak is to spend the last two minutes of a sit tracking the breath in the belly and the contact of the seat in fine detail, rather than floating in a diffuse calm.
Where somatic experiencing fits in a larger life
Therapy is not the whole picture. People thaw when something in their life feels meaningfully engaged. That might be family, creative work, service, or craft. SE can make engagement possible again by restoring access to the body’s subtle signals. You will feel the yes in your chest and the no in your gut more clearly. That clarity simplifies hard choices. I have watched clients adjust schedules by an hour, ask for a different caseload, or decline one social obligation a week, then report markedly less numbness within a month. The changes look small from the outside. Inside the nervous system, they are structural.
If you recognize yourself in these descriptions, know that emotional numbness is adaptable, not permanent. The same physiology that narrowed your range to keep you safe can widen again. With careful pacing, a handful of reliable practices, and support that respects the body’s timing, sensation returns. Often, it returns first in quiet forms, like the precise feel of your feet in shoes, the smell of cut citrus, or the warmth that rises behind the breastbone when a friend tells a true story. Build on those, and the larger emotions come home in their own time.
Address: 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124
Phone: (402) 765-8761
Website: https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/
Email: [email protected]
Hours:
Sunday: Closed
Monday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
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Alli Christie Counseling provides mental health services centered on therapy intensives for high-achieving women in Colorado, with an office in Lone Tree.
The site highlights EMDR intensives, IFS therapy, Somatic Experiencing, and focused support for concerns such as anxiety, burnout, panic, trauma, and self-doubt.
The practice is led by Alli Christie Disney, LPC, and the Colorado location page says the office works with women from across the state, including Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins.
For local visitors in Lone Tree, the office is listed at 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124.
The practice appears best suited for women ages 16 and up who want a structured, longer-format therapy option rather than standard weekly sessions alone.
The official Colorado page also says online sessions may be available for people who prefer virtual work or want follow-up support after an in-person intensive.
To ask about fit or scheduling, call (402) 765-8761 or visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/.
For map directions and public listing context, see https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alli+Christie+Counseling/@39.5524957,-104.8803997,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x876c859f7a8fa043:0x7712f13d361a1824!8m2!3d39.5516997!4d-104.8794188!16s%2Fg%2F11h2cf2bsx.
Popular Questions About Alli Christie Counseling
What services does Alli Christie Counseling offer?
The official site lists therapy intensives, EMDR intensives, IFS therapy, Somatic Experiencing, anxiety support, and burnout-focused therapy content.Who is the practice designed to serve?
The Colorado location page says the practice specializes in working with high-achieving women ages 16 and up, including entrepreneurs, executives, and women in demanding fields.Where is the Lone Tree office located?
The contact page lists the office at 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124.Does Alli Christie Counseling only offer intensives?
The homepage says the practice primarily offers intensive healing experiences, while also keeping limited availability for some ongoing sessions in a more traditional format.Does the practice offer online sessions?
Yes. The Colorado location page says online sessions are available for people who prefer virtual work or want remote follow-up support after an in-person intensive.What issues are mentioned on the Colorado page?
The site names trauma, developmental trauma, childhood trauma, anxiety, panic attacks, imposter syndrome, burnout, self-doubt, and phobias among the concerns addressed through intensives.What therapy approaches are mentioned on the site?
The practice highlights EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Somatic Experiencing (SE) as the main modalities used in its intensive work.How can I contact Alli Christie Counseling?
Call tel:+14027658761, visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/, and follow https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling/ and https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/.Landmarks Near Lone Tree, CO
Park Meadows — Park Meadows is one of Lone Tree’s best-known destinations and is described by its official site as Colorado’s biggest shopping mall. If you are near Park Meadows, Alli Christie Counseling’s Lone Tree office is a useful local reference point for planning therapy visits.Lone Tree Arts Center — The Lone Tree Arts Center is a major local arts and culture venue and a recognizable anchor in the city. If you spend time near the arts center, the Lone Tree office gives you a simple nearby point of reference for counseling and intensive therapy services.
I-25 and Lincoln Avenue — The Sky Ridge at Lone Tree Station mobility hub project identifies the I-25 and Lincoln Avenue interchange as a major transit and access point in Lone Tree. If that corridor is part of your regular route, the office location is easy to place within the same local area.
Lone Tree City Center — The city describes Lone Tree City Center as east of I-25 between Lincoln Avenue and RidgeGate Parkway, with a walkable mixed-use focus and light rail access. If you are near City Center or RidgeGate, the office is part of the same broader Lone Tree service geography.
High Note Park and Happy Canyon Trail — The city’s High Note Park page highlights the Happy Canyon Trail connection running under RidgeGate Parkway and linking toward Lincoln Avenue. If you live or work near the RidgeGate trail network, the Lone Tree office is a practical local counseling reference.
Bluffs Regional Park and Trail — Lone Tree’s resident guide identifies Bluffs Regional Park and Trail as a major local trail area with a loop trail and trail connectors. If you use the bluffs or nearby trailheads as your local frame of reference, Alli Christie Counseling remains a clear Lone Tree destination to work from.