Alexithymia: No feelings, or something else?
Alexithymia Test
What is alexithymia, and what can I do about it? Read on to find out.
Word for no emotions
Alexithymia has Greek origins; a (no) - lexis (words) - thymos (emotion). So literally- 'no words for emotions'.
The definition of this term comprises the following elements (1):
Difficulty identifying feelings
Difficulties describing emotions
Problems knowing the difference between feelings and bodily sensations
A tendency to focus attention outside the body (external focus)
So, people with alexithymia don't lack emotional experiences, but they do have problems identifying and describing feelings.
Researchers have suggested that alexithymia has both neurological (e.g., insula) and psychological causes (2). This issue is not a psychiatric or medical condition, but a personality trait.
Alexithymia occurs both independently and in conjunction with medical conditions (e.g., Alzheimer's disease, stroke, brain injury).
Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS)
The TAS is the best-known measure of alexithymia. The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale is used in both treatment and research settings. The TAS stacks up scientifically (has good ‘psychometric properties’). However, like all psychological measures, the TAS should never be used to 'diagnose' alexithymia.
No Feelings
Alexithymia is not an absence of emotion, but it can sometimes feel that way. A more helpful analogy is that people are 'blind' to emotions in themselves and others. For some, negative emotions are confusing and difficult to describe or label. This confusion can sometimes lead to overreactions and avoidance of emotions.
No Words...and more
The inability to label emotions can be confusing, frustrating, and even scary. These unpleasant experiences add to the core difficulties of alexithymia. This issue also results in various cognitive problems, such as short-term memory (3).
Alexithymia Mood
Some people experience depression and alexithymia at the same time. But, further research is needed to better distinguish alexithymia from mental health conditions like depressive disorders (4).
Alexithymia in Relationships
Alexithymia clearly has relationship implications. Reading people and gauging their emotional states are critical relationship skills. Problems processing this information can damage a person's ability to develop healthy and close relationships (5). For example, people with alexithymia can over-respond to emotions (6).
Male Normative Alexithymia (MNA)
The American Psychological Association cites Ron Levant's proposal that MNA is (7):
A subclinical form of alexithymia found in boys and men reared to conform to traditional masculine norms that emphasise toughness, teamwork, stoicism, and competition and that discourage the expression of vulnerable emotions.
In other words, MNA is a form of alexithymia caused by gender socialisation. Men may be more prone to alexithymia by being taught to be tough, resilient, and show no emotion as boys.
Alexithymic
Help is available for this issue. However, there are conflicting findings regarding the effectiveness of treatments for alexithymia (8). If seeking professional help, you should receive the following (Nunes):
Information on emotional identification and describing
Emotion regulation training
Social skills training and exercises
Application of skills to situations involving other people
There are also general strategies to improve emotional identification and description. However, these techniques may not always help someone with alexithymia. In these cases, professional assistance could be required.
Here are some general suggestions:
Improve self-awareness: Keep a diary where you describe strong emotional experiences broken down into physical sensations, thoughts, and behaviours.
Emotion regulation: Pause before responding to others via a strategy like diaphragmatic breathing.
Understanding others: Be a 'fact finder' and ask people to describe their perspective on a shared situation/experience.
Active listening: Try this listening strategy.
Alexithymia Pronunciation
A-lex-e-thigh-me-uh
Further Reading
Here is a wider read on psychology applied to males.
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References
(1) Bräutigam, W., & Von Rad, M. (1977). Towards a theory of psychosomatic disorders. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 28(1/4), XI-XIII.
(2) Goerlich, K. S. (2018). The multifaceted nature of alexithymia- A neuroscientific perspective
(3) Nicolas Vermeulen (2021) Alexithymia disrupts verbal short-term memory, Cognition and Emotion, 35:3, 559-568, DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2019.1701418
(4) Ricciardi et al. (2015). Alexithymia in neurological disease: A review. The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 27(3), 179-187.
(5) Poquérusse, J., Pastore, L., Dellantonio, S., & Esposito, G. (2018). Alexithymia and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Complex Relationship. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 1196. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01196
(6) Olivier Luminet, Kristy A. Nielson & Nathan Ridout (2021) Cognitive-emotional processing in alexithymia: an integrative review, Cognition and Emotion, 35:3, 449-487, DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2021.1908231
(7) APA: https://dictionary.apa.org/normative-male-alexithymia
(8) Nunes da Silva, A. (2021). Developing emotional skills and the therapeutic alliance in clients with alexithymia: Intervention guidelines. Psychopathology, 54, 282-290.