Alessitimia: poor access to emotions

With the term “alexithymia“Reference is made to a construct characterized by:

1. marked difficulty of identifying and describing one’s emotions;
2. inability to differentiate between emotions and body sensations associated with them;
3. A cognitive style characterized by concreteness, with reduction of the imaginative sphere.

To be alexithymic It therefore does not involve the complete absence of emotions or the inability to describe one’s emotional states, but rather one deficiency in the interpretative and evaluation component of the affections.

What is alexithymia

Individuals with alexithymia show normal activation in the presence of emotions, but they cannot organize the elements that characterize their body experiences in one organic mental representation.

THE Alexitimic subjects They have great difficulties in identifying what are the reasons that push them to experience or express their emotions. At the same time I am not able to interpret the emotions of others.

The imaginative and dreamlike skills are reduced, sometimes non -existent. They lack introspection capacity and tend to take on average compliance with strong dependence relationships.

Be alexithymic: characteristics and manifestations

The Alexitimic person presents himself with a rigid posture, tends to have explosions of anger or crying and, if questioned on the reasons for these events, is unable to respond.

Generally it tends to take on media compliance behaviors and to establish strong dependence relationships or vice versa favors isolation.

Consequences of the Alexithymia

A consequence of the limited ability to express one’s emotions typical ofalexithymia It is the tendency to focus on the somatic correlates related to emotional activation. These are amplified and erroneously interpreted as Symptoms of physical diseaseactivating hypochondriac concerns.

Furthermore, as a consequence of poor emotional regulation, i Alexitimic subjects show aaccentuated reactivity of the autonomous nervous systempromoting the development of physical symptoms of somatization.

How to identify the Alexitimic characteristics

The most popular and reliable test for the identification of thealexithymia It is the Tas-20 (Toronto Alexithymia Scale). A self-assessment scale to 20 questions, created in 1985 (Tas-26) and revised in 1992 (with a reduction at 20 items), to identify the presence of the three characteristics deemed at the base of the disorder:

1. difficulty identifying feelings;
2. difficulty in describing the feelings of others;
3. Thought oriented almost exclusively outside, and rarely towards their own internal processes.

THE’alexithymia It is not coded by current international diagnostic systems such as a disturbance in its own right, therefore it represents a deficit of the reflective function of the self, which can be present in numerous disorders, both physical and psychic.

Physical and psychological disorders connected to Alexithymia

Alexithymic features have been reported in numerous pathological conditionsincluding hypertension, dyspepsia, erectile dysfunction and abuse of substances.

Among the psychiatric pathologies the most related disorders in the presence of alexithymia are those of the anxious spectrum, there major depression and eating disorders (Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa).

Personality disorders

In general thealexithymia It is part of the difficulties in the so -called metacognitive functions that characterize a good part of personality disorders. In particular, the avoidant personality, the dependent personality, the obsessive-compulsive personality and the narcissistic personality.

Care of Alessitimia

There are still no certain data on the possibility of processing of Alexitimic patients.

The clinical experiences collected so far underline that, regardless of the type of symptomatology presented, the greater difficulty of intervention depends on the poor cognitive and mentalization processing capacity.

This makes the cognitive system of such patients hardly permeable to change.

There Cognitive-behavioral orientation psychotherapy At the moment it seems to be the most effective treatment.

The task of the therapist is to help Alexithymic patients express, recognize and manage their emotions taking into account the deficiencies of the Alexitimic subjectespecially in cognitive and interpersonal dimensions.