In psychology, emotional detachment, also known as emotional blunting, has two meanings: one is the inability to connect to others on an emotional level; the other is as a positive means of coping with anxiety. This coping strategy, also known as emotion focused-coping, is used by avoiding certain situations that might trigger anxiety. It refers to the evasion of emotional connections. Emotional detachment may be a temporary reaction to a stressful situation, or a chronic condition such as depersonalization-derealization disorder. It may also be caused by certain antidepressants. Emotional blunting as reduced affect display is one of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

 

Note:   The above text is excerpted from the Wikipedia article Emotional detachment, which has been released under the GNU Free Documentation License.