Do you numb out the overwhelm with food, doomscrolling, gaming, binge-watching, or substance abuse? According to Dr. Smith, this sign often goes unnoticed, “because we all do it to some degree. This means it allows chronic stress to go unaddressed for longer.” “How we numb stress may var,y but the function is the same. It is the trap that allows us to deny what’s really going on, as stress quietly builds in the background. Numbing out feels even more addictive when we are under stress because it offers such instant relief,” she said in a video shared on Instagram. “Do you notice that your own personal preference for distraction and numbing creeps up and becomes more compulsive when you have a lot going on? Whether that is alcohol, food, doom scrolling, or anything else, stress nearly always comes before the need to numb and escape. And stress itself is a signal that you have been spending too much of your physical and mental resources and now need to put something back into replenish them,” she added.