What does it mean when you can't describe how you feel?
Alexithymia isn't widely known, but this condition has been studied for more than four decades . It's presented in individuals who have difficulty recognizing and expressing feelings, and it often coincides with another underlying neurological condition or mental health disorder.
Why can't I ever explain how I feel?
That's because the emotional centres of the brain are nowhere near the language centres of the brain. In fact, they are in completely different layers. That explains why it is so hard to tell loved ones just how much they are loved. That's why it is so difficult to describe your self-discovery to someone else.
Why is it so hard to describe my feelings?
Alexithymia is when a person has difficulty experiencing, identifying, and expressing emotions. It is not a mental health disorder but has links with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), eating disorders, and various other conditions. It can occur with autism.
What is it called when you can't describe what you're feeling?
Alexithymia: When You Have No Words To Describe How You're Feeling.
Can alexithymia feel love?
People with alexithymia can feel love when it's strong enough. They just can't describe or express it in a way that provides others with emotional validation. Instead, they may express their love through action, rather than words or affection.
Why can't I communicate my feelings?
We might be afraid of conflict, afraid of judgement, or feeling tired, hopeless, or unsure of how the other person will respond. Communicating an emotion that might not be shared by someone else leaves us feeling vulnerable. Vulnerability is vital for good communication. It's also scary.
Why can't I express my thoughts?
It's common to occasionally have difficulty expressing what you're thinking or feeling. But regularly having trouble articulating thoughts or emotions may be a sign of a thought disorder. For example, being sleep-deprived can make it tough to think clearly and coherently express your thoughts.
Why can't I open up emotionally?
Some people can choose to remain emotionally removed from a person or situation. Other times, emotional detachment results from trauma, abuse, or a previous encounter. In these cases, previous events may make it difficult to be open and honest with a friend, loved one, or significant other.
Why do I overexplain myself?
“Over explaining is a habit response where we attempt to rid ourselves of guilt or anxiety by providing a 'right' answer to someone,” explains psychologist Dr. Nicole LePera. “The root of over explaining comes from patterns of fawning or people-pleasing.
Why can't I express myself?
Struggling with self-expression can often stem from a lack of self-awareness or fear of judgment. You might find it challenging to put your emotions into words, especially if you haven't practiced expressing your inner self.
Am I emotionally unavailable?
Emotionally unavailable people tend to struggle sharing their goals, regrets, wishes, hopes, and desires. Sometimes under the guise of being “private,” they have difficulty holding space for others when they share about themselves.
Why do I cry so easily?
Crying more often, or without knowing why, may be a sign of a mental health condition like depression, postnatal depression or bipolar disorder. 'If you're worried your crying is due to a mental health condition, speak to a doctor or therapist,' says Dr Oyefeso.
What alexithymia feels like?
You may have sudden, unpredictable physical symptoms like racing heartbeat, difficulty breathing, bodily pain and headaches but have no idea where they have come from. To the extreme, you may even have suicidal ideation and self-harm behaviours but are disconnected from the reasons behind them.
Who has alexithymia?
In a series of studies, Bird has found that about half of people with autism have alexithymia — it's these people who struggle with emotion and empathy, whereas the rest do not. In other words, emotion-related difficulties are intrinsic to alexithymia, not to autism.
Does alexithymia cry?
Some alexithymic individuals may appear to contradict the above-mentioned characteristics because they can experience chronic dysphoria or manifest outbursts of crying or rage.
Is alexithymia like autism?
Alexithymia is a personality construct characterized by altered emotional awareness which has been gaining diagnostic prevalence in a range of neuropsychiatric disorders, with notably high rates of overlap with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the nature of its role in ASD symptomatology remains elusive.
Can alexithymia go away?
While there is no cure for alexithymia, therapy and other strategies can be helpful in improving emotional awareness and expression. With the right support and resources, people with alexithymia can learn to manage their symptoms and live fulfilling lives.
Is alexithymia part of ADHD?
Alexithymia is a personality trait and not a mental health disorder. However, it co-occurs with many mental health conditions and forms of neurodivegence such as ADHD.
Why do I cry every time I try to express my feelings?
It's a physical manifestation of emotional relief, a way for the body to expel excess stress and sorrow. When tears flow during a therapy session, it's often a sign that the individual is releasing emotional tension and beginning to process their feelings in a healthier way.
Are you born with alexithymia?
Primary alexithymia (also referred to as trait alexithymia) is an innate, stable personality trait that is present from birth and consistent across time and situations. It is considered a part of a person's baseline personality. Trait alexithymia likely has environmental and genetic components.
Why don't I like talking about my feelings?
A deep fear of being vulnerable, of being seen, and then of being negated, guilted or shamed in some way for that vulnerability. So instead of saying what needs to be said, they strap on another layer of hurt, or hardship, or heartache, or loss, or pain onto their back and keep on climbing up the mountain.
How do you fix alexithymia?
Individuals with alexithymia can work on developing their emotional awareness through self-reflection, therapy, or other interventions. Learning to recognize bodily sensations, identifying triggers, and using cognitive strategies to understand and label emotions can be beneficial.
Why can't I talk about my feelings without crying?
You might cry when you talk about your emotions because you're feeling vulnerable and raw—especially if you were discouraged from showing emotion as a child. It's also just cathartic to shed tears sometimes. If you've been holding back your emotions, crying can be a healthy release.
Why am I so cold emotionally?
Some people might inherently be more introverted and less emotionally expressive due to genetic factors. Environmental factors, including upbringing and experiences, also play a significant role. For example, someone who grew up in a household where emotional expression was discouraged might develop a cold personality.
What trauma causes overexplaining?
Overexplaining – This is a trauma response for people who had to walk on eggshells around their parents. Constant worry about doing or saying the wrong thing paralyzed them. So, people-pleasing becomes a default behavior, serving as a survival instinct to avoid abandonment.
Why do I overshare trauma?
There are a few reasons why people might engage in trauma dumping. For some, it might be a way of seeking validation or attention. Others may feel that they need to unload the burden of their experience onto someone else. Still, others may not know how else to cope with their feelings surrounding the event.
What does a trauma response look like?
Common reactions include: feeling as if you are in a state of 'high alert' and 'on watch' for anything else that might happen. feeling emotionally numb, as if in a state of 'shock' becoming emotional and upset.
What is Animotophobia?
Fear of emotions is called “animotophobia. It is not an official term in the DSM-5-TR. Still, fearing your emotions can have a significant impact on your well-being.
Is it unhealthy to not express yourself?
Instead, bottling up emotions can be unhealthy for your mind and body. A series of studies over the past few decades show that suppressing your emotions can – and does – affect your body and your mind.
Why do I feel bad after sharing my feelings?
A vulnerability hangover, a term first coined by Brené Brown, occurs after individuals are open and honest with others about their feelings. While expressing emotions truthfully is good, sometimes a person may feel they have shared too much. They may experience bouts of anxiety because they feel overexposed.
Am I emotionally immature?
Some characteristics of an emotionally immature person include: Thinking of themselves first. Show little to no empathy — they are unable to see other people's perspectives. They may have impulsive tendencies.
What are signs of emotional immaturity?
They understand what to say to make people feel better, and they know how to inspire them to take action. People like this have high emotional intelligence (or EI). They have strong relationships, and they manage difficult situations calmly and effectively. They're also likely to be resilient in the face of adversity.
How do I know if I'm emotionally intelligent?
Crying is a normal human response to a whole range of emotions that has a number of health and social benefits, including pain relief and self-soothing effects. However, if crying happens frequently, uncontrollably, or for no reason, it could be a sign of depression.
Is it healthy to cry easily?
Crying in response to yelling is a natural reaction for many people. When we feel threatened or criticized harshly, it can bring up feelings of shame, hurt, and shock that lead to tears. Crying helps us release some of the overwhelming stress and tension that builds up when being yelled at.
Why do I cry when I get yelled at?
Everyone cries now and again, and a person may cry more on a given day for no clear reason. If crying becomes more frequent or uncontrollable and there is no apparent cause, consider consulting a medical professional. A mental health condition, hormonal imbalance, or neurological condition may be responsible.
Is it normal to cry every day?
The prototypic person with alexithymia, however, is anxious, overcontrolled, submissive, boring, ethically consistent, and socially conforming, whereas the prototypic individual with psychopathy is anxiety-free, undercontrolled, dominant, charming, deceitful, and nonconforming.
Is alexithymia a psychopath?
People with alexithymia can feel love when it's strong enough. They just can't describe or express it in a way that provides others with emotional validation. Instead, they may express their love through action, rather than words or affection.
Why can't I express love?
Share on Pinterest Flat affect is characterized by a lack of response to emotional stimuli. This may include having a neutral facial expression. Symptoms of flat affect can include: monotone voice. lack of eye contact, changes in facial expressions, or interest.
What is a flat affect?
Short answer: INTP/ISTP.
Which mbti has alexithymia?
Relatively speaking, alexithymic people feel negative emotions undoubtedly, but emotions of love, happiness, bliss, sometimes even solemn sadness, and others are hard to identify. For a rare few, they not only can't identify them, but they legitimately do not feel them.
Can a person with alexithymia be happy?
People who have alexithymia may have have trouble identifying, understanding and describing emotions. They may also struggle to show or feel emotions that are seen as socially appropriate, such as happiness on a joyous occasion.
Can people with alexithymia feel happy?
Can Alexithymia Feel Love? The answer is yes, we can feel love. It might be harder to find the words to describe how you feel, but sometimes it can be easier to show love through actions. If someone with alexithymia feels and recognizes they are in love; it means the feeling is very strong and real.
Can alexithymia feel love?
Alexithymia is a broad term to describe problems with feeling emotions. In fact, this Greek term used in Freudian psychodynamic theories loosely translates to “no words for emotion.” While the condition is not well-known, it's estimated that 1 in 10 people has it.
How rare is alexithymia?
Several subsequent studies suggested that alexithymia might develop in response to overwhelming stress to avoid experiencing agonizing and unbearable emotions[97,98].
How does alexithymia start?
Clinical experience suggests it is the structural features of dreams more than the ability to recall them that best characterizes alexithymia. Some alexithymic individuals may appear to contradict the above-mentioned characteristics because they can experience chronic dysphoria or manifest outbursts of crying or rage.
Do people with alexithymia cry?
Alexithymia may be related to the repeated experience of trauma and the nervous system's susceptibility to stress [13, 14]. Also, it may refer to a preexisting condition that increases the probability of developing PTSD. Multiple traumatization is another factor considered to increase the risk of alexithymia.
Is alexithymia a trauma response?
Alexithymia is a personality trait and not a mental health disorder. However, it co-occurs with many mental health conditions and forms of neurodivegence such as ADHD.
Is alexithymia part of ADHD?
Alexithymia is a personality construct characterized by altered emotional awareness which has been gaining diagnostic prevalence in a range of neuropsychiatric disorders, with notably high rates of overlap with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the nature of its role in ASD symptomatology remains elusive.
Is alexithymia like autism?
ADHD can often result in memory impairments that allow emotional reactions that are stronger than anticipated. As a result, your brain is flooded with one intense emotion like anger, sadness, or frustration. When emotions rule, you'll have a lower tolerance for frustrations and be more reactive than others.
Why do I cry so easily ADHD?
People with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may have a higher risk of experiencing dissociation, which involves feeling disconnected from yourself and your surroundings. This risk is higher for people with ADHD who have also experienced trauma.
Can ADHD cause depersonalization?
You'll be protected from bacteria
As a culture, we tend to view crying as weakness, but crying is purposeful and healthy. The sooner we accept that tears are our bodies' way of protecting, soothing, and healing, the sooner we'll be able to be more authentic and accepting of how we process the world around us.
Is it better to cry or hold it in?
Bottling up emotions can prevent us from processing them and make them harder to handle. But so many of us find it hard to talk about our feelings. We might overthink the process, worry about being judged, or struggle to find the right language. There's no right or wrong way to go about sharing how you feel, though.
Why can I physically not talk about my feelings?
Can alexithymia go away?
Can someone with alexithymia feel happy?
Do introverts have alexithymia?
Can people with alexithymia feel happy?
Does alexithymia get worse with age?
Can people with alexithymia be in relationships?
Relatively speaking, alexithymic people feel negative emotions undoubtedly, but emotions of love, happiness, bliss, sometimes even solemn sadness, and others are hard to identify. For a rare few, they not only can't identify them, but they legitimately do not feel them.
Can people with alexithymia have a healthy relationship?
People who have alexithymia may have have trouble identifying, understanding and describing emotions. They may also struggle to show or feel emotions that are seen as socially appropriate, such as happiness on a joyous occasion.