Deficiency in understanding, processing, or describing emotions
Medical condition
Alexithymia
Other names
Emotional blindness
A drawing by an artist with alexithymia depicting confusion about one's own emotions
Pronunciation
/əˌlɛksɪˈθaɪmiə/
ə-LEK-sih-THY-mee-ə
Specialty
Clinical Psychology, Psychiatry
Frequency
10% (lifetime risk)
Alexithymia (/əˌlɛksɪˈθaɪmiə/ə-LEK-sih-THY-mee-ə), also called emotional blindness,[1] is a neuropsychological phenomenon characterized by significant challenges in recognizing, expressing, sourcing,[2] and describing one's emotions.[3][4][5] It is associated with difficulties in attachment and interpersonal relations.[6] While there is no scientific consensus on its classification as a personality trait, medical symptom, or mental disorder,[7][8] alexithymia is highly prevalent among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ranging from 50% to 85% of prevalence.[9]
Alexithymia occurs in approximately 10% of the general population and often co-occurs with various mental disorders, particularly with neurodevelopmental disorders.[10] Difficulty in recognizing and discussing emotions may manifest at subclinical levels in men who conform to specific cultural norms of masculinity, such as the belief that sadness is a feminine emotion. This condition, known as normative male alexithymia, can be present in both sexes.[11][12][13][6]
^Serani D. "The Emotional Blindness of Alexithymia". Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
^Hoerricks J (2023). "Chapter 2: What is autism?". No Place for Autism?. Lived Places Publishing. p. 62. ISBN 978-1915271815.
^Sifneos PE (1973). "The prevalence of 'alexithymic' characteristics in psychosomatic patients". Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. 22 (2): 255–262. doi:10.1159/000286529. PMID 4770536.
^Cite error: The named reference Bagby-1994 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Preece D, Becerra R, Allan A, Robinson K, Dandy J (2017). "Establishing the theoretical components of alexithymia via factor analysis: Introduction and validation of the attention-appraisal model of alexithymia" (PDF). Personality and Individual Differences. 119: 341–352. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2017.08.003. S2CID 148867428.
^ abFeldmanhall O, Dalgleish T, Mobbs D (March 2013). "Alexithymia decreases altruism in real social decisions". Cortex; A Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior. 49 (3): 899–904. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2012.10.015. PMID 23245426. S2CID 32358430.
^von Rad M (1984). "Alexithymia and symptom formation". Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. 42 (1–4): 80–89. doi:10.1159/000287827. PMID 6514973.
^Assogna F, Palmer K, Pontieri FE, Pierantozzi M, Stefani A, Gianni W, et al. (February 2012). "Alexithymia is a non-motor symptom of Parkinson disease". The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 20 (2): 133–141. doi:10.1097/JGP.0b013e318209de07. PMID 22273734.
^Hogeveen J, Grafman J (2021). "Alexithymia". Disorders of Emotion in Neurologic Disease. Handbook of Clinical Neurology. Vol. 183. Elsevier. pp. 47–62. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-822290-4.00004-9. ISBN 978-0-12-822290-4. PMC 8456171. PMID 34389125.
^Taylor, Bagby & Parker 1997.
^Karren K (2014). Mind/body health: The effects of attitudes, emotions, and relationships. Boston, MA: Pearson. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-321-88345-2.
^Karakis EN, Levant RF (2012). "Is Normative Male Alexithymia Associated with Relationship Satisfaction, Fear of Intimacy and Communication Quality Among Men in Relationships?". The Journal of Men's Studies. 20 (3): 179–186. doi:10.3149/jms.2003.179. S2CID 147645682.
^Nadal KL, ed. (2017). "Alexithymia". The SAGE Encyclopedia of Psychology and Gender. SAGE Publications. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-4833-8427-6.
Alexithymia (/əˌlɛksɪˈθaɪmiə/ ə-LEK-sih-THY-mee-ə), also called emotional blindness, is a neuropsychological phenomenon characterized by significant challenges...
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one's body Anxiety disorders Rapid mood swings Emotional dysregulation Alexithymia Food / energy restrictions despite being underweight or at a healthy...
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inability to express or perceive emotion is sometimes referred to as alexithymia. Human nature and the accompanying bodily sensations have always been...
aspects of sarcasm, which to some degree may also be due to comorbid alexithymia. But recent research has increasingly questioned these findings, as the...
creates a psychological trauma for the shunned party. Psychology portal Alexithymia Anhedonia § Social anhedonia Asociality Assertiveness Borderline Personality...
theme song to the stage play Psycho-Pass: Virtue and Vice. The song "Alexithymia Spare" was also used for the series, being the opening theme to Psycho-Pass...
other's pain: An fMRI study of alexithymia". Cerebral Cortex Bird J, Silani G, Brindley R, Singer T, Frith U, Frith C. Alexithymia In Autistic Spectrum Disorders:...
has no story to tell: Alexithymia". Psychiatric Times. 17 (7): 1–6. Frewen PA, Pain C, Dozois DJ, Lanius RA (Jul 2006). "Alexithymia in PTSD: psychometric...
In such cases, patients have difficulties expressing their feelings (alexithymia) and may be more prone to avoiding family conflicts. Family therapy can...
Balázs, K.; Égerházi, A. (2018). "Facial emotion recognition deficits and alexithymia in borderline, narcissistic, and histrionic personality disorders". Psychiatry...
(2003). "Stressful life events, social support, attachment security and alexithymia in vitiligo. A case-control study". Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics...
effect improvements to their health and stability”(Floyd, 2014, p.398). “Alexithymia is a personality trait characterized by a relative inability to understand...
Disorder Symptoms in College Students: The Complex Interplay between Alexithymia, Emotional Dysregulation and Rumination". PLOS ONE. 11 (6): e0157294...
others are showing without necessarily recognizing this is happening. Alexithymia describes a deficiency in understanding, processing, or describing one's...
tolerance for different worldviews or lifestyles, emotional flattening, alexithymia and a narrow range of interests. Rigidity is the most obvious aspect...
(born 1950), American computer engineer and co-founder of Apple Inc. Alexithymia Amygdala Aphantasia Cognitive neuropsychology Covert facial recognition...
abulia is clinically distinct from depression, akinetic mutism, and alexithymia. However, only 32% believed abulia was different from apathy, while 44%...
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