07/29/2022
Alexithymia
Loosely translated from Greek as 'No words for emotions'
“I’m fine”
Inability/difficulty to identify or describe one's emotions
This can lead to:
Anger; Confusion; Discomfort; Anxiety
Delayed emotional processing
Difficulty reading the expressions of others
Increased heart rate
Meltdown/Shutdown
It’s estimated that 1 in 10 people are alexithymic, but up to 1 in 5 of the Autistic community.
It’s also common among those that struggle with depression.
Alexithymia can make it difficult to express emotion, this doesn’t mean they don’t exist though.
Autistic people often have stronger emotions than the wider population, but if a person doesn’t know what it is they are experiencing, or why, then it can be difficult to process and translate.
This can create confusion, anger, panic, and overwhelm.
Not being able to detect physical sensations, such as adrenaline and heart rate (low proprioceptive sense) can make anxiety much worse, causing overwhelm to increase.
Being alexithymic can cause difficulty in emotional regulation, again leading to increased overwhelm, meltdown/shutdown, and burnout either by being reactively expressive or simply ignoring the emotions until they eventually explode.
Not being able or struggling to understand and process one’s intense emotions can make communication and relationships difficult, whether with family, friends, or partners.
There can also be difficulty in processing the emotions and situations of others, becoming situationally mute, shutting down, or even laughing at a serious situation. Simply because you don’t know how to process and react.
Talking with family, friends, or partners about how you feel (text, mouth words, etc) can help you to process the emotions and gain mutual understanding.
Not talking to others and trying to process by yourself can leave you feeling alone, misunderstood, and even depressed.
Talk to safe people, so that you aren’t alone with your thoughts, so they understand what and why you feel something.
This can help them to understand you, and for you to better understand yourself.
Say “I need time to process”, and allies, accept that “I don’t know” is a valid answer.
Help your Autistic friend, partner, or child by connecting a situation and/or environment to their emotion, and what led to the experience. Not the emotion itself.
Autistic people do not inherently need therapy, but if part of your profile is subject to e.g., depression, trauma, etc, then it would be sensible to use an Autistic experience informed therapist.
A non-Autistic experience informed therapist could do more harm.
An emotion wheel can be useful for yourself and others to understand what you might be experiencing.
Emotion wheel:
https://workplacefairnesswest.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/feelings-wheel.jpg
Flibble
