Alexithymia

[Jack1]

Alexithymia test

What is it.

The symptoms or features of alexithymia include

• problems identifying and naming emotions
• little understanding of the cause of emotions
• difficulty understanding others’ emotions and facial expressions
• little connection with others
• a lack of impulse control and imagination
• heightened sensitivity to physical senses

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

Honestly this sounds an awful lot like autism. Is there any real difference to distinguish between the two?

 

[Jack1]

Alexithymia vs. Autism and Psychopathy​

Sometimes doctors and others mistake alexithymia for an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or psychopathy because they believe the symptoms indicate a lack of empathy. However, studies show people with autism do not lack empathy, they simply process emotions differently. Some people with autism have alexithymia, but it is the alexithymia and not the autism that leads to an apparent lack of empathy. People with psychopathy have distinct differences in their brains and can observe and logically understand emotions as well as the appropriate emotional response in situations, even if they experience them uniquely. This is known as cognitive empathy. Psychopathy differs from alexithymia, where individuals cannot understand or identify emotions.