The Vulcan Syndrome
TL/DR: Alexithymia is a difficult word, and I don't know how I feel about that (you need to read the post to actually get the joke...
Yesterday, I brought up the term Alexithymia as one of my issues. Now, if you actually looked this up in the DSM-5 (what the US uses for psychological disorder diagnosis) or the ICD-11 (which is what the rest of the world uses), you won’t find it as an actual disorder. However, since these disorders are based on behaviors and, unlike physical ailments, based on causes, you might think that it is a made up word. I can verify for you that it is not, because I have it. Also, the APA tends to ignore psychological disorders that cannot be treated with pharmaceuticals. Asperger’s Syndrome, which I have as well, wasn’t recognized by the APA until 1994, in the DSM-IV. For reference, I was already finishing my Junior year in college and had developed my own coping (aka masking) strategies to get through. This was 50 years after it was first recognized in children by Hans Asperger in 1944. Then, in 2013, when the DSM-5 was published, the APA removed Aspergers Syndrome and put it as a sub-disorder to Autism. (They also made diagnosis as a child a requirement of Autism, so millions of Americans with Aspergers went from eligible under the ADA to “normal,” even though we are anything BUT normal, and ineligible; this made the insurance industry very happy since they now could deny treatment and pad their already huge profits. A ton of mental health providers found ways around this, though, by incorporating past behaviors and experiences into the diagnosis tools.) So, the very well known Aspergers Syndrome was only an “official” diagnosis for less than 20 years in the US. The ICD-10 still included it though, so we’re not extinct yet (I’m not sure about the ICD-11, since I only found out about it while reading the Wikipedia entry on Alexithymia; but, given the lack of press coverage on it from Autism groups, I am assuming it’s still in there.)
What TF is Alexithymia, you might be thinking. Well, one of the ways I try to understand new words is through the meanings of their parts.Alexithymia is made up of three parts: a- (meaning no or not); lexis- (meaning words); and -thymos (meaning emotions). So, literally, Alexithymia means “no words for emotions.” Somebody with Alexithymia has no way to explain emotions they are feeling, and often have difficulty understanding what emotion they are actually feeling. To put it in terms of Star Trek, it’s being like Spock. Check out this scene from Star Trek IV, the Voyage Home, that explains it perfectly: HOW DO YOU FEEL?
Alexithymia was first coined in 1973 by psychotherapists John Case Nemiah and Peter Sifneos. It is considered a symptom of many different disorders, and not a disorder in itself. Alexithymia is considered to have 4 components:
difficulty identifying feelings (DIF)
difficulty describing feelings to other people (DDF)
a stimulus-bound, externally oriented thinking style (EOT)
constricted imaginal processes (IMP) (this is controversial, and a number of people with Alexithymia don’t exhibit this)
So, I have difficulty identifying feelings, as well as describing how I’m feeling to others. Additionally, due to my Aspergers, I also have the stimulus-bound, externally oriented thinking style. So, for example, someone asked me today if I felt relieved about the completion of our home repairs, which have been an issue for 5 months. I couldn’t really answer them, or how I was feeling. I just responded that I’m in the moment and those repairs are in the past. For a couple of good reviews of Alexithymia, check out this article, and the Wikipedia page.
So, Alexithymia is a real thing (whether it is called a disorder or a personality trait), and it can have serious affects on a person’s social life and relationships. And, it is very prevalent with some disorders. For example, 85% of people on the spectrum exhibit Alexithymia at impaired or severely impaired levels, whereas out of the control group of adults, only 17% were at that level. It was also highly correlated with adults who have ADHD, Hyperactive type (although not with the inattentive type), PTSD, personality disorders, as well as a number of physical ailments.
There’s little research on the causes of Alexithymia. A big part of this is due to the fact that it is not recognized in the DSM-5 or ICD-11, and there’s no incentive to try and find those causes. There’s also few, if any, treatments for it. This is a shame since it severely affects interpersonal relationships. For example, I have been called a robot due to the lack of emotion that I exhibit. My wife has been very understanding with me, but I know that she is often frustrated by my lack of concern about things that she is worried about (although she has anxiety, so I’m never sure if that causes her concern). We are still married after 24+ years (25 this August), and I usually joke that she hasn’t murdered me yet (please don’t report that - it’s only a JOKE). We were together for five years before we got married, and it was a long distance relationship for most of that time, so I’m not sure how much my Alexithymia was exhibited.
So, that’s a little bit more about me, and more than most people know. However, I try to be open and honest about who I am, since I am comfortable in my own skin. I also don’t really care about what people think of me (which is probably another symptom of my Alexithymia).
Until next time…