Numbing pain suppresses every other experience.

Vulnerability, resentment, and anxiety drive numbing—but numbing doesn’t just take unwanted emotions, it takes them all. Shadow comforts distract from the pursuit of actual reinvigorating actions. Renewal comes from addressing the underlying drivers of the negative feelings.rB1


  1. Brené Brown, Dare to Lead: Brave Work, Tough Conversations, Whole Hearts (New York: Random House, 2018). (See notes.)