Emotion

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mournerx
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27 Sep 2016, 4:30 am

So I haven't really thought about this before, but since moving in with some new (non-autistic) people I have noticed they seem to experience a wider variety and greater intensity of emotion than I do. does anyone here feel like they ~don't~ experience a lot of emotion?

I have strong feelings (love for certain people, anger at what I perceive to be injustice, certain fears, etc) but I don't feel like I have a lot of access to my emotions. like I hardly ever feel sad, (although I have depression) and I don't miss people very much or experience jealousy. I am very 'flat' (as my partner says) most of the time and slightly dissociated. I often mimic how people behave when they get emotional to not be singled out, like when watching a film.

maybe I just don't get the difference between emotions and feelings - what's your understanding of it?

can anyone relate?

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C2V
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27 Sep 2016, 5:45 am

There are already three other topics on this page that discuss something similar -

viewtopic.php?t=329340

viewtopic.php?t=329532

viewtopic.php?t=329148

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TheAP
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27 Sep 2016, 10:56 am

^Nope. The first is about being unemotional specifically to other people's feelings (being callous). The second is about alexithymia, which is a completely different thing from not feeling feelings. The third is about whether you feel empathy to non-human animals. None of these are the same as this at all.

Anyway, sometimes I do experience a lot of emotion. My feelings of sadness and anger, when they happen, are strong, and I struggle with meltdowns and outbursts. But most of the time I just feel kind of emotionally neutral. I've noticed that I don't usually have anything to post in the "how are you feeling right now" thread.

SaveFerris
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27 Sep 2016, 11:23 am

mournerx wrote:

I have strong feelings (love for certain people, anger at what I perceive to be injustice, certain fears, etc) but I don't feel like I have a lot of access to my emotions. like I hardly ever feel sad, (although I have depression) and I don't miss people very much or experience jealousy. I am very 'flat' (as my partner says) most of the time and slightly dissociated. I often mimic how people behave when they get emotional to not be singled out, like when watching a film.

maybe I just don't get the difference between emotions and feelings - what's your understanding of it?

can anyone relate?

When I read out your post to my GF she said that's exactly how she would describe me.

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JakeASD
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27 Sep 2016, 12:52 pm

I tend to exhibit strong emotions over things (a sports result etc.)that many others would perceive as trivial. However, whenever I witness human suffering or learn that someone close to me has fallen unwell, I usually feel nothing at all.

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SaveFerris
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27 Sep 2016, 1:26 pm

JakeASD wrote:

whenever I witness human suffering or learn that someone close to me has fallen unwell, I usually feel nothing at all.

Does this affect you at all? Do you get any emotions because you don't feel anything for something that most would get emotional about?

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JakeASD
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27 Sep 2016, 2:06 pm

SaveFerris wrote:

JakeASD wrote:

whenever I witness human suffering or learn that someone close to me has fallen unwell, I usually feel nothing at all.

Does this affect you at all? Do you get any emotions because you don't feel anything for something that most would get emotional about?

Yes, it does. It makes me feel emotionally defective, inhuman and rather heartless.

Is that a paradox?

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arachnids
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27 Sep 2016, 3:07 pm

The main emotions I seem to feel are anger and fear. I can lose my temper quickly.

I dislike emotions and would rather just remain 'functional'.

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SaveFerris
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27 Sep 2016, 3:08 pm

JakeASD wrote:

SaveFerris wrote:

JakeASD wrote:

whenever I witness human suffering or learn that someone close to me has fallen unwell, I usually feel nothing at all.

Does this affect you at all? Do you get any emotions because you don't feel anything for something that most would get emotional about?

Yes, it does. It makes me feel emotionally defective, inhuman and rather heartless.

Is that a paradox?

I think it is a bit of a paradox but I can relate especially with the term "emotionally defective" in fact since reading this thread it's made me feel like an idiot :oops:

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mournerx
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04 Oct 2016, 8:40 am

arachnids wrote:

The main emotions I seem to feel are anger and fear. I can lose my temper quickly.

I dislike emotions and would rather just remain 'functional'.

Anger and fear certainly seem to be up there. Often I don't feel much emotion though and still struggle to function. I wonder if having more access to my emotions, i.e. learning to recognize them and differentiate between them, could help me function better.

MissAlgernon
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04 Oct 2016, 9:06 am

mournerx wrote:

I hardly ever feel sad, (although I have depression)

You posted the answer to your question, I think.
Many people are mistaken about depression. Depression (true major depression, not just ordinary blues) isn't feeling sad, it's when hopelessness has come so far that all the energy to truly feel emotions, even sadness, is gone. The person can't even have the energy to cry or to feel sad, it's like anesthesia of emotions, complete indifference to life. The world is viewed through some kind of think fog.

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