cushion, suppress, kill, mute, dull, muffle, stifle, silence, blunt, dampen, deaden, numb, cool (down), stultify, quiet, desensitize, develop a thick skin, inure, accustom (someone to something unpleasant), suck the soul out of, insensitize, enfeeble, deafen

recoil, drag, crouch, sag, slump, freeze, freeze up, pull out, hide, slink, bolt, retreat, shy away, shrink, quit, stop, cut off, step back, hold back, bow out, withdraw, detach, flag, pull away, walk out/away, cave in, fall back, turn away, edge away, turn aside/away, shut up/away, back away/out, pull back/away, stand back/aside, sequester oneself, remove (oneself), lose (one's appetite), isolate oneself, avert, keep to oneself

stop one's ears, avert (one's eyes), shut down, go numb, cover one's eyes, hum to oneself, divert one's thoughts, talk over, squeeze one's eyes shut, look away, step out/outside, shield oneself, stay away, walk out/away

cut, slink, retreat, elude, evade, shy away, recede, vanish, disappear, flee, dodge, withdraw, shut down, avoid, leave, rupture, escape, sulk, turn away, isolate oneself, get drunk, get out of, insulate oneself (from the challenges of life), drop out, cut oneself off, run away, turn back, break away, turn to (drugs), back away/down, pull back/out, skip out, drop out of, quit (one's job), talk one's way out of, put in two weeks' notice, sleep, lock oneself in (a room), keep to oneself