Alexithymia - Quiz and Discussion

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Yeah, this question tends to elicit some awkwardly jumbled details of how I would act in situation x, or whatever, and totally missing the point. It just categorically does not compute.

QFT

I scored 126. I'm a bit surprised I scored high because I've been a huge daydreamer all my life, and the daydreams are often illogical or not mundane. Also, I can usually guess what emotions(s) caused the weird physical symptoms. The rest fits, though.

Likewise, for me, in a sense. My imagination is completely whimsical and I tend to create fantasy worlds (albeit they tend to be somewhat relevant to special interests, rather than fairies and goblins) for myself. However, my emotional IQ assymptotically approaches zero, in that pretty much all I have is an acquired knowledge of superficial terminology that discribes certain observable behavior sets.

Holy sh**... must be an AS thing, so many people posting things so similar to myself. I can't stop living in my fantasy world, but don't understand much as to the emotional side of this world.

Result: 141
Alexithymia: You show high alexithymic traits

I got 132 on the test, which I don't believe is entirely accurate.

I know what emotions I am feeling, it's just that I don't have proper words for all of them. An early learning process of mine was to assign different feelings to different people and objects and then to categorize the people and objects by the feeling.

I'm almost always in a fantasy world or role playing myself through a problem or other event I am confused about. I often feel emotions in both of these situations, and I feel the emotion, not solely the physical sensation(s).

Describing my emotions to others is the problem of mine, since I don't have proper words for each one and don't show the body language correctly. When asked how I'm feeling, I'll usually just say "fine" while showing a blank expression.

There's an emotion I've been having often lately that I have no idea how to describe and can't decide on a facial expression for it. Could this be part of "alexithymia"? It could.

One of the other criteria of that quiz is about helping others out with their problems. I do this for my friends because I know what it is like to feel upset, and I do not want to wish the same feeling onto them. Is this "alexithymia"? It doesn't seem to be.

Final answer: Possibly

Thank you for this supremely well-worded response.
I have a decent imagination, and it colors the "real" world in ways that often seem immature or absurd. I like your word better; "whimsical". The bold section above describes exactly how I experience emotions. It is objective, analytical and rather sociological. I look to others and how they behave in order to construct what I have determined is an acceptable display of emotional response. I've always done this, totally subconsciously. It is only now that I understand the depth to which this phenomenon has shaped my entire life.

Result: 128 - high alexythimic traits

Going through the questionnaire there was a lot I could relate to rather heartily. I suspect I am a lot more alexythimic than my score suggested. In the page with score interpretation and background information, the following categories are analysed:

F1 - Difficulty Identifying Feelings

F2- Difficulty Describing Feelings

In respect of the two categories above, I find myself mentalising (i.e. intellectually thinking things through and analysing which can sometimes be a lengthy process) an awful lot about the feelings I am having. This is partly so I can describe them to others, something I feel a great need to do, more for practical reasons than anything else, tying in with the next category which is:

F2b- Vicarious interpretation of feelings

F3- Externally-Oriented Thinking

The questions included here are:

-I prefer to find out the emotional intricacies of my problems rather than just describe them in terms of practical facts.

-You cannot functionally live your life without being aware of your deepest emotions.

-I prefer doing physical activities with friends rather than discussing each others’ emotional experiences.

-When helping others I prefer to assist with physical tasks rather than offering counsel about their feelings.

- I find it useful to ponder on my feelings as much as the practical issues when setting my priorities.

-I don’t like conversations in which more time is spent discussing emotional matters than daily activities because it detracts from my enjoyment.

-I make decisions based on principles rather than gut feelings.

Perhaps this is the area where I am least alexythimic, I would say I am influenced by both internal feelings and external practical factors when making decisions.

F4- Restricted Imaginative Processes

My imagination is of an extremely logical, fact-oriented type, and surely theory of mind also ties in with this. For example one of the questions is about identifying the feelings of other people.

F5- Problematic Interpersonal Relationships

Definitely.

I don't have that problem, though I definitely used to. Now it does take some work to understand others, but at the end of the day I can usually figure it out. And I know my emotions more then the typical person. My therapists have all been impressed that I know what my thoughts mean almost all the time.

Acacia, I got a 137. I've always known I was emotionally confused. Still not sure what to think of this, though. I guess I should add this topic to my reading list.

133

Not suprising.

137; highly alexithymic

in fact, the abstract (empty) idea of a concept like "alexithymia" (i had only seen the word once, in passing, and reading the editorial announcement of the article

mistrusting choice of word by principle&definition me, decided NOT to read but put the word in backburner

not soon after lost my place, had to go back to ol'mum & myteenroom
went to new gp, he'd never had a patient make an appointment for introductory reasons

i brought up the concept...

and got on with miserable life & that back burner

much to say about the subject;

one year later, in december 2007, reported back to gp, asked for referral on basic of suspected schizoid (or but unlikely) shizotypal personality disorder

NO FEELINGS??? hm

NO VOLITION!! !! yes, definitely: lack of drive, ambition, direction, "motivation", unclarity ot insecurity of taste (overcome long ago but YES)

i just never seemed to WANT anything, never love, like at rare best
(neither want FOR, actually, interesting that)

no words???? MMMEEE? gotta be kidding - if i had ever experienced anything with a claim to the lable of love, i would be capable of defining what is love, forget Shakespeare, Plato get your romantic AS out of the way, here is oblio's

(did i just mention schizo-typal as unlikely???)

WARNING : PSYCHIATRIST: NO ONDERSTAND SYERONYMO

if it hit him in the bloody face: that is about to cost me another 13.000 euro's
(explanation elsetimewhere)

but then it had become into March latest;
just before xmess, mum had been watching a documentary on savants, and i suddenly had this hunch, googled [alexithymia asperger's] and found myself straight into to the cluster4 grouping of DSM (where i had simply never gone before) and one click away from---

stumbled onto WP, and,
on the basis of having gone the entire fffing procedure on my own in the previous twentyboringfive years,

decided that was good & well enough for me: instant self-diagnosis


QUEST-IONN-AIRE
[for future reference[i]; 1-strongly 2-agree 3-??? 4-disagree 5-strongly][/i]


1. - When asked which emotion I'm feeling, I frequently don't know the answer.

1 <(;-[no comment, yet]


2. - I'm unsure of which words to use when describing my feelings.

1 <(;-[refer to answer given a moment ago]


3. - I prefer to find out the emotional intricacies of my problems rather than just describe them in terms of practical facts.

3 <(;-[oh, bother]


4. - When other people are hurt or upset, I have difficulty imagining what they are feeling.

4 <(;-[jeez...]


5. - People tell me to describe my feelings more, as if I haven't elaborated enough.

2 <(;-[-----]


6. - Sex as a recreational activity seems kind of pointless.

1 <(;-[! !! ! oh, nah,,,../..]


7. - I can describe my emotions with ease.

4 <(;-[zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz]


8. - You cannot functionally live your life without being aware of your deepest emotions.

3 <(;-[zzzz?????...ZZZzzzzz]


9. - People sometimes get upset with me, and I can't imagine why.

2 <(;-[]


10. - People tell me I don't listen to their feelings properly, when in fact I'm doing my utmost to understand what they're saying!

2 <(;-[]


11. - When I am upset I find it difficult to identify the feelings causing it.

2 <(;-[]


12. - Describing the feelings I have about other people is often difficult.

1 <(;-[]


13. - I prefer doing physical activities with friends rather than discussing each others’ emotional experiences.

1 <(;-[]


14. - I am not much of a daydreamer.

3 <(;-[]


15. - I don't like people's constant assumptions that I should understand or guess their needs... it's as if they want me to read their minds!

1 <(;-[]


16. - I sometimes experience confusing sensations in my body.

2 <(;-[]


17. - For me sex is more a functional activity than it is an emotional one.

2 <(;-[hmmmmoopsssszzzz]


18. - Some people have told me I am cold or unresponsive to their needs.

2 <(;-[]


19. - I don't dream frequently, and when I do the dreams usually seem rather boring.

1 <(;-[]


20. - Friends have indicated, in one way or another, that I'm more in my head than in my heart.

1 <(;-[]


21. - I can't identify feelings that I vaguely sense are going on inside of me.

3 <(;-[]


22. - I often ask other people what they would feel if in my personal situation (any situation), as this better helps me understand what to do.

5; <(;-[]


23. - I find it useful to ponder on my feelings as much as the practical issues when setting my priorities.

3 <(;-[]


24. - I use my imagination mainly for practical means, e.g., like how to work out a problem or construct a useful idea or object.

1 <(;-[]


25. - I often feel incompetent, awkward, uncomfortable, or occasionally physically sick in sexual situations.

1 <(;-[]


26. - When involved in difficult or turbulent relationships, I sometimes develop confusing physical symptoms.

2 <(;-[]


27. - I tend to rely on other people for interpreting the emotional details of personal/social events.

5 <(;-[]


28. - I don’t like conversations in which more time is spent discussing emotional matters than daily activities because it detracts from my enjoyment.

1 <(;-[]


29. - I often get confused about what the other person wants from a sexual relationship.

1 <(;-[]


30. - People I've been in close relationships with have complained that I neglect them emotionally.

3 <(;-[]


31. - I like it when someone describes the feelings they experience under circumstances similar to my own, because this helps me see what my own feelings might be.

4 <(;-[]


32. - My imagination is often spontaneous, unpredictable and involuntary.

1 <(;-[]


33. - When helping others I prefer to assist with physical tasks rather than offering counsel about their feelings.

3 <(;-[]


34. - I have puzzling physical sensations that even friends/aquaintances/others don't understand.

1 <(;-[]


35. - I get in a muddle when I try to describe how I feel about an important event.

3 <(;-[]


36. - My imagination is usually not spontaneous and surprising, but rather used/employed in a more controlled fashion.

3 <(;-[]


37. - I make decisions based on principles rather than gut feelings.

4 <(;-[o, well... shoot, the alarm!]