Emotions

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Are we meant to be aware of feeling something all of the time, or just some of the time?
I mean, if someone asks us what we are feeling at any given moment, should we be able to identify and name a specific emotional state, as to be honest, unless my emotion is very clear and basic, like excitement, anger, sadness, jealousy, I cannot really identify emotions in myself.

During a state of calmness is a time where you arent experiencing much emotion. Is this what your talking about?

i guess its similar to colors: a colors hue becomes all the more easily identifyable the more saturated the color is. unless we are talking exceptionally clean colors, most colors are something that could be dubbed "muddy" or "grayish-brownish" - not the best identification in the world.

with emotions, i guess some backdrop is there, but as long as its nothing extreme, its hard to decide what emotion exactly it is.

I usually never feel emotion. Except the infrequent feelings of sadness, despair, frustration, bordeom, and worry. I don't mind it.

Or another time is when your mind is distracted from all other emotions while doing something neutral like posting on the forums for example.

It is called Alexithymia, it is a difficulty in recognising and describing one own emotions. 85% of people with Asperger's have Alexithymia. I exhibit this trait myself.

For example, in 1987 I visited a doctor for panic attacks, but I could not explain my emotions to him. Thus he did not understand that I was scared, that I was experiencing panic attacks. I was treated for a heart condition and he sent me to see a cardiologist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexithymia

There is currently an edit war happening on Wikipedia that was unintentionally started by me, I added information that included several papers that show that Asperger's and Alexithymia overlap. This is the bit I wrote (its a little modified now).

"Research indicates that alexithymia overlaps with Asperger syndrome. In a 2004 study, Uta Frith reports that not only does this overlap exist, but that at least half of the Asperger syndrome group obtained such extreme scores on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) that "they would have been classified as severely impaired."[27] Fitzgerald & Bellgrove pointed out that, "Like Alexithymia, Asperger’s syndrome is also characterised by core disturbances in speech and language and social relationships".[28] Hill & Berthoz agreed with Fitzgerald & Bellgrove (2006) and in response stated that "there is some form of overlap between alexithymia and ASDs".[29] They also pointed to studies that revealed impaired Theory of Mind skill in alexithymia, neuroanatomical evidence pointing to a shared aetiology and similar social skills deficits etc."

Fitzgerald M, Bellgrove MA (2006). "The overlap between alexithymia and Asperger's syndrome". Journal of autism and developmental disorders 36 (4): 573–6. DOI:10.1007/s10803-006-0096-z. PMID 16755385.

Hill E, Berthoz S (May 2006). "Response to “Letter to the Editor: The Overlap Between Alexithymia and Asperger's syndrome”, Fitzgerald and Bellgrove, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(4)". Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 36 (8): 1143–1145. DOI:10.1007/s10803-006-0287-7.

Hang on... can someone answer what I think is the original question.

Are you supposed to have a "resting-state" emotion? I always assumed not. I've had people assume I'm bored because I often have a blank expression when I'm like that...

It took me a long time to develop a vocabulary for talking about my feelings.

I think a "resting-state" emotion would be "contentment."

Something odd I have noticed is that, although NTs might be better at having the right words and knowing what they are feeling... they don't seem to actually really talk about feelings as such. I mean, I get into dialogues trying to talk about how I feel, and it is seen as self pitying and the like, and seems to just end up being misunderstood. Other people just don't seem to actually discuss feelings, they just seem to get on with it... my habit of sometimes going into verbal detail about things seems to be anomalous.

Talking about feelings is a form of intimacy. Fear of intimacy is a common problem across the board.

I dont get that. I only know that with one friend, there just seemed to be awkwardness whenever I tried to talk about things bothering me and it came across in the wrong way and I asked, how do other people approach a friend when they have a problem.
I just don't understand that at all. Talking about feelings, to me, is a way of problem solving and making yourself understood.

Fear of intimacy is a common problem. Some people don't talk about their problems.

I fear intimacy but I dont see talking about emotions as intimate really. I don't know.
Confused now about it all.
I hate others talking about emotions with me mostly. I know that.