Feeling Is Human: Why Numbing Our Emotions Isn’t The Answer

If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’ve been told, directly or indirectly, that your feelings are a problem to be fixed. Maybe it came from a doctor’s office, a well-meaning family member, or the endless parade of commercials promising relief from anxiety, sadness, or pain. We live in a world that’s gotten really good at medicating away discomfort. But after watching the documentary Medicating Normal, I can’t help but wonder: What if our feelings aren’t the problem at all?

Medicating Normal is a film that pulls no punches. It shines a light on a truth that many of us in the veteran and first responder community have felt in our bones but rarely see acknowledged so honestly: emotions—yes, even the messy, overwhelming, or painful ones—are a normal, even essential, part of being human. The real trouble starts when we try to numb them instead of facing them head-on.

The Myth of “Fixing” Feelings

There’s a scene in the movie that stuck with me. A young woman describes how, after a traumatic event, she was prescribed medication to help her “cope.” At first, it seemed to help. But over time, she felt more and more disconnected—not just from her pain, but from her joy, her relationships, and even herself. She wasn’t living; she was existing in a kind of emotional fog.

That story isn’t unique. In fact, it’s all too common, especially among veterans and first responders. We’re trained to push through, to compartmentalize, to get the job done. When the weight of those experiences catches up with us, the system’s answer is often a prescription pad and a pat on the back. “Take this, you’ll feel better.” But better rarely means whole.

The truth is, feelings, grief, anger, anxiety, even despair, are not signs of weakness or illness. They’re signals. They’re the mind and body’s way of processing life’s hardest moments. When we numb those signals, we don’t erase the pain; we just bury it deeper. And buried pain has a way of resurfacing, sometimes in ways that are even harder to manage.

Integration: The Missing Piece

Here’s the part that doesn’t get talked about enough: healing doesn’t come from avoiding our feelings. It comes from integrating them. That means allowing ourselves to feel, to process, and to make meaning out of what we’ve been through.

It’s not easy. In fact, it’s some of the hardest work there is. But it’s also the work that leads to real growth and resilience. When we integrate our emotions, when we let ourselves grieve, rage, or fear and still move forward, we build a foundation that can weather life’s storms.

This isn’t just theory. At Grunt Style Foundation, we see it play out every day. Through our Warcry for Change initiative, we’re challenging the status quo that says the answer to trauma is more medication. We’re advocating for informed consent, for transparency about the risks of psychotropic drugs, and, most importantly, for a shift in how we approach mental health.

Warcry for Change: Choosing a Different Path

Warcry for Change isn’t about throwing out all medication or demonizing those who need it. It’s about demanding better. It’s about saying, “We deserve a system that sees us as whole people, not just a bundle of symptoms to be managed.”

That means pushing for more peer support, more access to holistic therapies, and more honest conversations about what healing really looks like. It means recognizing that sometimes, what we need most isn’t to be numbed, but to be heard and understood.

We’re working to bring these conversations out of the shadows, on our podcasts, in our workshops, and through every program we offer. We’re not afraid to talk about the hard stuff, because we know that real change only happens when we stop pretending everything is fine and start facing what’s actually going on.

You’re Not Broken—You’re Human

If you take nothing else away from this, let it be this: you are not broken because you feel deeply. You are not weak because you struggle. You are not alone.

The path to healing isn’t about erasing your feelings; it’s about learning to live with them, to make sense of them, and to find your own way forward. That might mean reaching out for help, trying something new, or simply giving yourself permission to feel what you feel.

We know this isn’t easy. But you don’t have to do it alone. Whether you’re a veteran, a first responder, or someone who loves them, you’re part of a community that believes in facing the hard stuff together.

So if you’re tired of being told to “just take this and you’ll be fine,” know that you’re not the only one. There’s a movement building—one that says it’s time for a different kind of healing. One that honors the full range of human emotion and the strength it takes to face it.

Let’s keep this conversation going. Watch Medicating Normal (embedded below), share your story, and join us in our Warcry for Change. Together, we can build a future where feeling is not something to be fixed, but something to be embraced.

Medicating Normal" is a documentary film directed and produced by Lynn Cunningham and Wendy Ractliffe. This powerful exploration of the impact of profit-driven psychiatry is presented by Medicating Normal Film LLC. For more information, visit www.medicatingnormal.com. Used with permission.