Alexithymia

[ofwarren]

Do you struggle with this?

It's the lack of ability to identify and describe emotions.

Some examples are:

Difficulty identifying different types of feelings

Limited understanding of what causes feelings

Difficulty expressing feelings

Difficulty recognizing facial cues in others

Limited or rigid imagination

Constricted style of thinking

Hypersensitive to physical sensations

Detached or tentative connection to others

I personally really struggle with this and actually avoid any extremes of emotion so that I don't feel confused by what I'm feeling.

I cry when I'm happy as the feeling is extreme and confusing.

I don't know if I've ever felt what NTs describe as 'love'.

I'm emotionally unresponsive with a flat expression and I smile or laugh at inappropriate times such as being told someone is ill or hurt.

Here's an article about it
www.autistica.org.uk/what-is-autism/anxiety-and-autism-hub/alexithymia#:~:text=1%20in%205%20autistic%20people,happiness%20on%20a%20joyous%20occasion.

Yes, and I also have Prosopagnosia (Face blindness). If I meet anyone out of context I have no idea who they are.

Yeah. I got into trouble at nursing school once when I laughed at one of my fellow students when she told me she had to leave the course because she couldn't get childcare 🤦‍♀️ as you can imagine it didn't go down very well with everyone and nobody spoke to me for about a year afterwards.

Obviously I wasn't laughing because I though it was funny, it just came out because I didn't know how to respond.

@BarrowInFurnessRailwayStation

Yeah. I got into trouble at nursing school once when I laughed at one of my fellow students when she told me she had to leave the course because she couldn't get childcare 🤦‍♀️ as you can imagine it didn't go down very well with everyone and nobody spoke to me for about a year afterwards.

Obviously I wasn't laughing because I though it was funny, it just came out because I didn't know how to respond.

Oh no! Worst thing is, you didn't even know you were autistic then so couldn't explain why.

Oh no! Worst thing is, you didn't even know you were autistic then so couldn't explain why

Yeah, I just assumed I was an arse 😆 I used to have to stop myself laughing or crying at things by pressing my tongue to the roof of my mouth as this helps.

Yes, I came out quite strongly on this in my diagnosis. I also have trouble recognising faces. I don’t have inappropriate responses to things, but I struggle very much to recognise my own emotions and often cry when experiencing strong emotions as I don’t know how to handle it. I don’t think I ‘feel’ love like a normal person and definitely don’t have very strong emotional reactions to anything. I think it’s one of the less ‘obvious’ to others parts of autism, one I really struggle with but others aren’t aware that I’m doing so. It doesn’t require masking,

@WhyPaulMemory

Yes, I came out quite strongly on this in my diagnosis. I also have trouble recognising faces. I don’t have inappropriate responses to things, but I struggle very much to recognise my own emotions and often cry when experiencing strong emotions as I don’t know how to handle it. I don’t think I ‘feel’ love like a normal person and definitely don’t have very strong emotional reactions to anything. I think it’s one of the less ‘obvious’ to others parts of autism, one I really struggle with but others aren’t aware that I’m doing so. It doesn’t require masking,

That's a good point about it being less obvious to others.
I struggle with my husband though. He tells me I'm not affectionate and he doesn't feel loved by me but I don't know how to "perform" that emotion without being fake.

@ofwarren I know what you mean - it really used to cause problems with my DH as well, before I was diagnosed. He knew I loved him, but often didn't 'feel' it. I make much more of an effort to tell him how much I appreciate him, and also he's much more understanding these days. Our relationship has improved a lot since the diagnosis now he understands why I am like I am, and it's not because I don't love him. With friends, etc, I hate having to 'fake' an emotional response so that others feel happy, but have learnt the hard way that is what's required! AKA masking I suppose!