Alexithymia

So today I decided to talk a bit about Alexithymia. To start off, what does this word that sounds like I could have pulled out of nowhere mean? To put things simply, Alexithymia is a personality construct categorized by the inability to identify and describe emotions in oneself.

Now, just to be clear for anyone who has the entire DSM memorized front to back, this is unfortunately not a personality disorder recognized in the current DSM, nor was it recognized in the past. It definitely means that this issue is something that can often times be ignored by medical professionals.

 

So, what are some things that you can look for to identify if this might describe you?

Well, Alexithymia is described by the following:

• difficulty identifying feelings and distinguishing feelings and the bodily sensations of emotional arousal
• difficulty describing feelings to other people
• constricted imaginal process, generally has a limited capability of imagination
• an unawareness of what is happening in their own mind

 

Studies have shown that Alexithymia was shown to be influenced by age, but not by gender. Alexithymia seems to be prevalent in less than 10% of the population.

 

“Trait” or “State” Alexithymia:

Researchers suggest that there may be two types of Alexithymia. “Primary Alexithemia”, or otherwise known as “trait” Alexithymia, is an enduring psychological trait that remains unchanging over time. “Secondary Alexithemia”, otherwise known as “state” Alexithymia, is a state-dependent trait that seems to disappear after the evoking stressful situation has changed.

 

Possible Comorbidities:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• PTSD
• Anxiety Disorders
• Other Personality Disorders

 

It’s important to remember! A misconception about Alexithymia is that individuals who are affected are totally unable to express emotions verbally and that they may even fail to acknowledge that they have those emotions. It’s not that we don’t experience those emotions, we can even tell you if we are feeling anxious or sad or happy! However, for the most part we struggle with identifying the emotions that we feel, and sometimes can’t come up with words to describe the things that we are feeling. This can make it hard to connect with others.