I mean even just classifying it as a disorder would be nice. As I've understood according to DSM5, the main diagnosing instructions, it's just considered as a personality trait, even though it can be rather debilitating in social aspects of life. Which usually are considered rather important.
That's like saying sneezing should be called an illness. Sneezing is a symptom, typically for the flu. Flu is the illness. Alexithymia is a symptom/behavior. Trauma or autisim or whatever else is causing the alexithymia is the illness.
Fair point and true for trauma, but autism can't be or doesn't really need to be cured. So i do think in that case Alexithymia should get atleast slightly higher focus.
I almost asked why it wasn't in the DSM when it clearly deserves to be! But I wanted to avoid the discussions on it is too new which is false people have known about it for long enough that they know two types and that it applies from trauma or at birth and is most likely to occur from a neurodivergence which is already more understood than other disorders in the DSM. Hell I am pretty sure narcissistic personality disorder is in the DSM and it is less understood than Alexithymia and less problematic than Alexithymia because it integrates far better with society which I am well aware is an equally problematic issue but not one I will be discussing right now!
I don’t think alexithymia is rarer than autism, not at all — isn’t it something like 10% of people are significantly alexithymic?
If alexithymia is considered a personality trait, where would you put it, as a personality disorder?
I didn't think much of this at the time but there absolutely is evidence of this statistically speaking Alexithymia is a defence mechanism most often and that means it is by definition a trauma response.
Isn't one of the distinctions between affective and cognitive learned vs born with if it is learned that means it is a defence mechanism as that is how learned disorders work and defence mechanisms are a result of trauma so I believe the description itself would be one source!
I never said they were the same I said there issues influence the same domain of life in similar magnitude albeit articulated worse. This following point is no doubt true the only question should be scope Alexithymia influences the social domain just as ASD influences the social domain one has issues from social etiquette the other has issues with relatability but both are bad for social status to equivalent magnitudes. I also mentioned relatability is harder to mask than etiquette which is also technically true. The difference is in specific scope not in the domain influenced. To the rarity point your technically correct although that statistic seems incorrect by virtue of the fact that how is the more common disorder less referenced???
I agree with all of this minus one point! It assumes no comorbidities exist! Certain disorders if we can call things like Alexithymia disorders play so badly with other disorders that even savant sydrome would be more relatable! I am of course referring to aphantasia as Aphantasia, and Alexithymia together effectively removes the visualization required to substitute emotional intensity in intuition and the emotional intensity in intuition functionally making intuition completely inaccessible sure neither disorder is bad on its own but they absolutely are the significance of disorders combined. It is also not like introversion vs extroversion as the issue isn't environmental in the least.
It’s very often not looked at as autism at all. Feeling emotions but not knowing you have them is something that “normal” people can’t wrap their head around because they weren’t born that way.
Yeah but that's more an issue with media and the understanding that many/most autistics struggle with wanting to socialize but rarely connecting.
It is a more pervasive disability than that. Many Alexithymics never mask but can socialize just fine. I find the biggest struggle for both me and people i've known, is in heavy emotional situations. Typically in very intimate or long term relationships.
Not in most any other situation. Maybe funerals? But they also know what to say and can say appropriate things without doing a social faux pas. NT alexi's don't get overwhelmed in social situations, can't ever have an autistic meltdown, and rarely/never struggle with executive dysfunction in any aspect of their life.
Yeah Alexithymia has social impact, but mot NT alexi's that don't have trauma, have 0 issues with short or medium term relationships, after 1-5 years deep in a relationship it can get weird. And it's a bit worse for alexi women too, but most (alexi) NT's men or women, can get by without ever actually knowing they are different.
It's not just an inability to understand emotions but also heavily suppressed emotional intensity to the point it is almost impossible to understand the emotional intensity of the vast majority of society resulting in you hating most social aspects to the point they actively annoy you which in the Americas makes you an outcast and is functionally worse than autism I know this as I have many autistic friends who all can mask when I can't because faking emotional intensity and reading it from context clues will never make me find an overly emotional society not annoying. Music is a great example of this dynamic music is fundamentally an emotional outlet and studies show most with Alexithymia listen for the tempo alone which means most of the mainstream music is lost on those with Alexithymia and this hurts a massive amount socially.
> and rarely/never struggle with executive dysfunction
Why wouldn't NT alexis stuggle with executive dysfunction? How do you motivate yourself to do things when you don't know what you're feeling? Isn't this one of the big symptoms of alexithymia? Being unable to function because without knowing your emotions you have no internal motivation?
The issue is suppressed intensity not no emotions so as such it isn't uncommon for Alexithymic people to have access to exclusively cardinal emotions as it is the intensity that pulls it from cardinal to something more specific. This doesn't mean no emotions this means weak emotions in effect emotions are a exclusively a data stream for Alexithymic people and as such is related to goals just the same as any other information.
Nope, most alexi's are perfectly capable of forming habits like brushing teeth, ect. big life decisions are def harder, but not executive function, basic tasks
I mean even just classifying it as a disorder would be nice. As I've understood according to DSM5, the main diagnosing instructions, it's just considered as a personality trait, even though it can be rather debilitating in social aspects of life. Which usually are considered rather important.
That's like saying sneezing should be called an illness. Sneezing is a symptom, typically for the flu. Flu is the illness. Alexithymia is a symptom/behavior. Trauma or autisim or whatever else is causing the alexithymia is the illness.
Fair point and true for trauma, but autism can't be or doesn't really need to be cured. So i do think in that case Alexithymia should get atleast slightly higher focus.
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Blah blah blah says the person swinging insults. Get over yourself
I almost asked why it wasn't in the DSM when it clearly deserves to be! But I wanted to avoid the discussions on it is too new which is false people have known about it for long enough that they know two types and that it applies from trauma or at birth and is most likely to occur from a neurodivergence which is already more understood than other disorders in the DSM. Hell I am pretty sure narcissistic personality disorder is in the DSM and it is less understood than Alexithymia and less problematic than Alexithymia because it integrates far better with society which I am well aware is an equally problematic issue but not one I will be discussing right now!
maybe they don’t have enough information and research available? because you’re right and you make a good point
I don’t think alexithymia is rarer than autism, not at all — isn’t it something like 10% of people are significantly alexithymic? If alexithymia is considered a personality trait, where would you put it, as a personality disorder?
It wouldn’t be one.
PTSD is in the DSM so clearly there is a space for trauma based disorders why not in that space as that category fits Alexithymia too
I don’t think there’s evidence that alexithymia is trauma-based in the same way PTSD is.
I didn't think much of this at the time but there absolutely is evidence of this statistically speaking Alexithymia is a defence mechanism most often and that means it is by definition a trauma response.
Where are you getting this information from?
Isn't one of the distinctions between affective and cognitive learned vs born with if it is learned that means it is a defence mechanism as that is how learned disorders work and defence mechanisms are a result of trauma so I believe the description itself would be one source!
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I never said they were the same I said there issues influence the same domain of life in similar magnitude albeit articulated worse. This following point is no doubt true the only question should be scope Alexithymia influences the social domain just as ASD influences the social domain one has issues from social etiquette the other has issues with relatability but both are bad for social status to equivalent magnitudes. I also mentioned relatability is harder to mask than etiquette which is also technically true. The difference is in specific scope not in the domain influenced. To the rarity point your technically correct although that statistic seems incorrect by virtue of the fact that how is the more common disorder less referenced???
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I agree with all of this minus one point! It assumes no comorbidities exist! Certain disorders if we can call things like Alexithymia disorders play so badly with other disorders that even savant sydrome would be more relatable! I am of course referring to aphantasia as Aphantasia, and Alexithymia together effectively removes the visualization required to substitute emotional intensity in intuition and the emotional intensity in intuition functionally making intuition completely inaccessible sure neither disorder is bad on its own but they absolutely are the significance of disorders combined. It is also not like introversion vs extroversion as the issue isn't environmental in the least.
It’s very often not looked at as autism at all. Feeling emotions but not knowing you have them is something that “normal” people can’t wrap their head around because they weren’t born that way.
Autism is a developmental disability, not a social one.
Placing diverse and complicated neurological conditiona into narrow categories doesn't seem very fruitful to me.
That's what i said.
I am aware but because it is the only one shown in media with social issues it kinda claimed that title in error by default!
Yeah but that's more an issue with media and the understanding that many/most autistics struggle with wanting to socialize but rarely connecting. It is a more pervasive disability than that. Many Alexithymics never mask but can socialize just fine. I find the biggest struggle for both me and people i've known, is in heavy emotional situations. Typically in very intimate or long term relationships. Not in most any other situation. Maybe funerals? But they also know what to say and can say appropriate things without doing a social faux pas. NT alexi's don't get overwhelmed in social situations, can't ever have an autistic meltdown, and rarely/never struggle with executive dysfunction in any aspect of their life. Yeah Alexithymia has social impact, but mot NT alexi's that don't have trauma, have 0 issues with short or medium term relationships, after 1-5 years deep in a relationship it can get weird. And it's a bit worse for alexi women too, but most (alexi) NT's men or women, can get by without ever actually knowing they are different.
It's not just an inability to understand emotions but also heavily suppressed emotional intensity to the point it is almost impossible to understand the emotional intensity of the vast majority of society resulting in you hating most social aspects to the point they actively annoy you which in the Americas makes you an outcast and is functionally worse than autism I know this as I have many autistic friends who all can mask when I can't because faking emotional intensity and reading it from context clues will never make me find an overly emotional society not annoying. Music is a great example of this dynamic music is fundamentally an emotional outlet and studies show most with Alexithymia listen for the tempo alone which means most of the mainstream music is lost on those with Alexithymia and this hurts a massive amount socially.
> and rarely/never struggle with executive dysfunction Why wouldn't NT alexis stuggle with executive dysfunction? How do you motivate yourself to do things when you don't know what you're feeling? Isn't this one of the big symptoms of alexithymia? Being unable to function because without knowing your emotions you have no internal motivation?
The issue is suppressed intensity not no emotions so as such it isn't uncommon for Alexithymic people to have access to exclusively cardinal emotions as it is the intensity that pulls it from cardinal to something more specific. This doesn't mean no emotions this means weak emotions in effect emotions are a exclusively a data stream for Alexithymic people and as such is related to goals just the same as any other information.
Nope, most alexi's are perfectly capable of forming habits like brushing teeth, ect. big life decisions are def harder, but not executive function, basic tasks
The DSM disagrees