Reflective Seeds by Counsellor Seyram

Have you ever persistently felt low energy where you lacked motivation in life? Have you ever felt detached from yourself and everything around you? Well, you might have experienced a condition known as emotional numbness. According to Kerig et al. (2016), “Emotional numbness is a state of being in which you are not feeling or expressing emotions”. It is a usually a sign of an environmental or mental health issue. Emotional numbness which is also known as emotional blunting, anhedonia, alexithymia, emotional detachment or disassociation may seem strenuous to understand or describe if one has not experienced it before. However, some people often describe it as a feeling of isolation while others experience emptiness and feel discouraged. This may cause them to become unfocused and disoriented. Mayra Mendez, a licensed psychotherapist and program coordinator at Providence Saint John's Child and Family Development Center describes it as “the mental and emotional process of shutting ou

Aging is the process of growing older, a process that includes physical changes and, sometimes, mental changes. “The aged” refers to elderly people, those who have reached an advanced age (Encyclodpedia.com, 2024). The term has different conceptions in different contexts; while in Africa and China it refers generally to people aged 50 and above, it begins from 65 and 70 years in Europe and America respectively (Aged Care Guide, 2024). In most cases, old age is tied to retirement age in each country (Aged Care Guide, 2024). According to the United Nations (2009), the world population over the age of 60 is expected to reach two billion by 2050. Aging in the African context particularly in Ghana is often considered as a remarkable achievement. It connotes goodwill and prosperity for the family and an evidence of a life worthy of emulation by the community at large. However, research indicates that “one of the possible negative consequences of the rapid ageing of the global population is