Numbing Out
Finding Healing Over Numbing: Breaking Free from Spiritual Escapism
In our fast-paced world, it's easy to become numb to the very things that should stir our hearts. We read devastating headlines with little emotion, then get upset over trivial matters like sports scores. This emotional numbness often extends into how we handle life's struggles - we seek to escape rather than engage with our pain.
What Is Spiritual Escapism?
Escapism is the pursuit of diversion from reality through ignoring, avoiding, or numbing out to life's challenges. It's the spiritual equivalent of anesthesia - temporarily blocking our ability to feel pain, but also preventing us from experiencing the healing that comes through engagement.
Just as physical numbness can be helpful during surgery but problematic when your arm falls asleep, spiritual numbness serves a purpose in extreme situations but becomes dangerous when it's our default response to difficulty.
Why Do We Choose to Numb Out?
When we're struggling, we naturally seek relief. The feelings may be too difficult to handle, or we simply don't know what to do with them. So we medicate through various means: alcohol, binge-watching TV, social media scrolling, video games, substances, pornography, food, excessive work, or even isolation.
These methods are effective at hiding symptoms, but they don't heal the underlying problem. They're like taking pain medication for a broken wrist - you might feel fine temporarily, but the bone remains broken and won't heal without proper treatment.
The Problem with Masking Symptoms
When we numb out, we lose access to crucial information our emotions provide. Symptoms tell us what we need to know to get better. When we mask them, we might think everything is fine while warning sirens are going off all around us - we've just muted them.
After our escapes, we typically feel worse than before. A three-hour Instagram scroll doesn't leave us refreshed. A night of drinking doesn't bring rejuvenation. These temporary pauses bring us right back to where we started, often in worse condition.
Jesus and the Woman at the Well: A Better Way
In John 4, Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman at a well and offers her a profound alternative to her pattern of seeking satisfaction in relationships that ultimately left her empty.
"'Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'" - John 4:13-14
Jesus revealed that she had been married five times and was currently with a man who wasn't her husband. He wasn't condemning her but showing her that she kept drawing from wells that couldn't satisfy her deepest thirst.
What Well Are You Drawing From?
The question for us is: What well do you keep drawing from, longing for relief but leaving empty? None of the water we draw to numb out will quench our spiritual thirst. We scroll and become thirsty again. We shop, work, eat, and become thirsty again.
Jesus offers living water - satisfaction that actually quenches rather than temporarily distracts. God doesn't desire for us to escape reality but to trust Him while living in reality, because nothing can truly sustain us outside of Christ.
Three Steps to Healing Over Medicating
1. Name What You're Escaping To
Identify your go-to escape mechanisms. What do you long to do to either feel good or feel nothing? When you don't do it, how does it affect your mood? These things may bring momentary relief, but that relief flees when the anesthesia wears off.
2. Name What You're Escaping From
What drives you to escape? Exhaustion, shame, responsibility, boredom, disappointment, rejection, failure, anxiety, stress, depression, or grief? If you don't know what you're escaping from, it's difficult to understand why you escape.
3. Engage the Holy Spirit
Seek the Holy Spirit for healing rather than advice for medicating. There's a difference between seeking downtime and numbing out, between having "me time" and escaping reality.
Practical Steps for Engagement Over Escape
Replace Quick Hits of Pleasure with Prayer
As Paul writes in Ephesians 5:17: "'Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.'" Prayer is simply talking to God - no setup required. You can talk to Him faster than grabbing a drink or pulling up a website.
"'Don't be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.'" - Philippians 4:6-7
Replace Scrolling with Scripture
Paul reminds us to make "the best use of the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16). The Bible app contains over 10,000 reading plans and devotionals. God's word is described as "refreshing to the soul, makes wise the simple, gives joy to the heart, light to the eyes and sweeter than honey" (Psalm 19).
Replace Binge-Watching with Worship
"'Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.'" - Ephesians 5:18-19
Scientific research shows that genuine worship singing calms the nervous system, lowers heart rate, reduces stress hormones, and increases dopamine and oxytocin. Unlike passive entertainment, worship music engages multiple brain states simultaneously.
Replace Repetitive Busyness with Rest
Sometimes we use busyness to medicate because slowing down forces us to confront our emotions. But rest is both good for us and commanded by God. Jesus said: "'Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest... and you will find rest for your souls.'" - Matthew 11:28-29
Replace Isolation with Community
Paul encourages us to be "addressing one another" (Ephesians 5:19). If isolation is your escape mechanism, seek out your inner circle - people who share Christ-like values, listen without judgment, and point you toward healing.
Jesus Chose Engagement Over Escape
Jesus could have escaped the reality of the cross, but He willingly engaged in that pain to experience the glory of the Father's will. Often, it's through life's pain that God's will and glory are revealed to us most clearly.
God's glory shines brightest in life's darkness - in miscarriages and parenting exhaustion, relationship disappointments and loneliness, marriage struggles and singleness, busyness and boredom. When we engage the Holy Spirit and seek Jesus to fill the void that no medication can, we find true healing.
Life Application
This week, challenge yourself to engage rather than escape when life gets difficult. Instead of reaching for your usual numbing mechanism, try one of the replacement strategies: pray instead of scrolling, read Scripture instead of binge-watching, worship instead of isolating, or rest instead of staying busy.
Ask yourself these questions:
What specific things do I turn to when I want to escape or numb out?
What emotions or situations am I typically trying to avoid?
How can I create space this week to engage with God instead of escaping from my feelings?
Who in my life can I reach out to for genuine community and support?
Remember, when you numb out to life, you're likely numbing out to Jesus as well. He's more likely to reveal Himself through Scripture, prayer, worship, rest, and community than through endless entertainment or substances. Seek healing over medication, and trust that the Holy Spirit can work in all aspects of your life - both the good and the difficult.
