Alexithymia

[Anothershitusername]

So I’ve just had my autism assessment,and this came up.
have never heard of it before
but upon looking it up ,it actually describes me 100% .
has anyone come across it ,or had help for it

I don't have this as such but I do struggle with seeming to have very intense emotions/going from 0-60 with no "warning" or ramp up (ADHD).

I was listening to this podcast with the lovely Mona Delahooke and she has some interesting info in the second half relating to Alexithymia, she describes paying attention to physical sensations in the body, as this is often part of what people experience when they talk about emotions, and if you struggle to put the words to it, this could be a different way of identifying something.

It's helpful for me because for example I've now started to realise that when my children talk in a certain "intense" tone of voice this causes a physical sensation at the top of my head. And in theory I could use that to "test" various different relaxation techniques and notice the effect directly on that physical sensation, rather than trying to work out if it's making me feel calmer, which has always been very difficult.

The idea is that when we feel emotions there are often physiological changes happening at the same time, which are things like muscle tension, heart rate, breathing rate, nervous system effects. It can be easier to identify that directly rather than have to label that feeling as "happiness" or "frustration". You can describe it more like "tightness in my head" "lump in my stomach" or even just by area "shoulders" "throat".

Sorry forgot the link.

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9taW5kbWF0dGVycy5saWJzeW4uY29tL3Jzcw/episode/NzdiZmE1ZDAtYWNiZC00YmM0LWJjZjItM2M3ZGM4ZmE1Y2Ix?ep=14&fbclid=IwAR2brpl1TGqAAC32seVp2IhjDODdaIQRumZpgZ6J3hvurTO7sMUMkif9abk

Thankyou Bertie ,that’s really helpful
I’ve ordered a book
emotionally dumb
not a great title,but plenty of info inside

I did a course on emotional regulation outside of the NHS and it was really helpful.

There's an ap called Molehill Mountain which is CBT based, I've used it and it's ok for tracking moods and emotions.

Learning the purpose of emotions might also help.